The film is derived from one of Crowley's dramatic rituals where people in the cult assume the identity of a god or a goddess. In other words, it's the equivalent of a masquerade party - they plan this for a whole year and on All Sabbath's Eve they come as gods and goddesses that they have identified with and the whole thing is like an improvised happening.

This is the actual thing the film is based on. In which the gods and goddesses interact and in THE INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME it's the legend of Bacchus that's the pivotal thing and it ends with the god being torn to pieces by the Bacchantes. This is the underlying thing. But rather than using a specific ritual, which would entail quite a lot of the spoken word as ritual does, I wanted to create a feeling of being carried into a world of wonder. And the use of color and phantasy is progressive; in other words, it expands, it becomes completely subjective - like when people take communion; and one sees it through their eyes.

"A highly ingenious Chinese torment!" - Jean Cocteau

16mm film available for rental, please inquire for pricing.