The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. 1

Easily the most significant DVD release of 2007 (and not just for film snobs), Kenneth Anger’s long-overdue digital debut is treated in the luxe manner the experimental giant deserves. A gorgeous four-color brochure—with fawning intro by Martin Scorsese—has the power to soak up an obscene amount of time. But the five essential shorts are the real lure: All are jewels restored to their full color vibrancy. Each boasts a witty commentary by Anger and a technical comparison with earlier prints. “Fireworks” (1947), a gay nightmare made when the young director’s parents were on vacation, reveals him as a libidinous surrealist in the same league as Maya Deren; his heartbreaking “Eaux d’Artifice” (1953), a sequence of cascading fountains scored to Vivaldi’s “Winter,” is as pure a piece of visual lushness as has ever been committed to celluloid. Anger puts it this way: “Louise Brooks told me it was my sexiest film!” — Joshua Rothkopf