Kustom Kar Kommandos (1965) Poster

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6/10
Sort of short sequel to Scorpion Rising?
Polaris_DiB8 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Pretty much a stylistic and thematic sequel to Scorpio Rising, only not quite as long and engaged and definitely not as dark. The action, for three minutes, is a man polishing his car. However, the imagery is of some serious lovemaking, and we're not talking about tongue-in-cheek "hur hur hur he's boning his car dudes", we're talking straight-up fetishizing of a vehicle obviously feminized, with seating in the shape of vaginae and an engine that looks like it has breasts. The car itself is, ironically enough considering its femininity, a perfect body, with bright shining clean skin and sleek design, less than 2% body fat and real muscle.

In terms of the title, Kenneth Anger is not ignorant of what KKK means. Like in Scorpio Rising, he replaces cultural idiosyncrasy with a queer eye for alternative meanings. With his love of alchemy, different "chemical" elements (such as the artifice of the car, the blue tight-fit clothing of the man, the fuzzy boa he polishes the car with, and the pink background) turn one thing (the simple act of polishing and starting a car) into another (sex and death, Eros of the imagery and Thanatos of the title).

--PolarisDiB
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7/10
shiny - a nifty little movie, no more no less
Quinoa198410 May 2016
This is simply a three minute short film - maybe closer to what, if Anger had been working by the 80's, as a music video - where a man is shining a sexy convertible with a fluffy white piece that looks like one of those expensive looking cats. That's all you get here, nothing quite as complex as what Anger did in Scorpio Rising, but what he does is enough: cars are a fetish object, and so we see it as just that.

Like Scorpio once again music and image get put together in such a way that meaning is unmistakable: "Dream Lover", not the faster version but the more slow-dance tempo, is meant to croon us into loving the car and seeing it as this boy may see it. There's also the inside of the car too, which has so many things to look at that it feels like something grandiose like a spaceship.

At the same time it's a specific intention here: cars like this may be made and driven today, but back then (or more specifically even the 1950s which this hearkens back to), if a guy couldn't get a girl then at least he had his car, and if he did get the girl then it's double the pleasure. Perhaps what Anger then is saying is... the car could be enough, right fellas?
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6/10
Like making love to a hot rod!
planktonrules5 December 2009
This is from the second DVD of a set called "The Films of Kenneth Anger"--a collection of avant garde films by this odd film maker. I found the first disk to be more satisfying--the second has a lot about Aleister Crowley and Satanism that I found a bit dreary.

KUSTOM KAR KOMMANDOS is about the closest you'll come to making love to a hot rod! Kenneth Anger met a guy with a beautiful custom-detailed hot rod and got him to agree to having the car and himself filmed. There is no dialog, just a slowly moving camera with deliberately intense colors. It's like a love song or poem all about the beauty and lines of the car and is the sort of film that hot rod enthusiasts might love. Otherwise, most will see it as a reasonably short and pleasant stroll down memory lane--but not a must-see film.
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4/10
Homoerotic undertone
Horst_In_Translation10 July 2015
Warning: Spoilers
At least this is what I was thinking all the time when watching these slightly over 3 minutes. It's a 1970 film by famous short movie director Kenneth Anger and basically shows us a guy cleaning his car and then driving off with it. Anger has always used colors to emphasize the contents of his work and here pink is his dominant choice. I am not too sure how homosexuality was perceived in 1970, but the schmaltzy pop music together with the visuals clearly give off such a vibe here. And even if it was not Anger's idea how this would be perceived, it is interesting to see how perception changed over the decades. Anyway, Anger was in his 40s already when he made this, so in the middle of his career pretty much as he started shooting films already way before his 20th birthday. Today he is almost 90 and still active. I thought this was an interesting watch, but it does not have as much depth as I hoped it would. Don't feel the need to watch it anytime soon again and cannot really recommend it, but still I believe this is among Kenneth Anger's more successful works. Also pay attention to all the K's used in the title. A KKK reference? Or just the first letter from the director's name? Your pick.
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10/10
Dreaming of the Past
mrdonleone20 May 2006
Oh, how I enjoy the time I think back at those memories of Kenneth Anger's films, especially his 'Magick Lantern Cycle'. Kustom Kar Kommandos is undoubtly of great importance for later directors like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.

Later of great importance, the whole carscene is about nothing else but a guy who really adores his own car. So much that he cherishes his vehicle while washing it. There isn't very much I can say about it, it's simply perfect. If you haven't seen this short feature, you can't exactly know what you're talking about when you say you love those satiric car moments in films of Scorsese and company.

It's more in it's place thanks to the great soundtrack: the Paris Sisters sing 'Dream Lover', and then you see images of a guy (named Sandy Trent?!) who's fascinated by his "dream" and becomes the "lover". Hence, "Dream Lover".

I like Angers short films, especially Scorpio Rising (it became my favourite movie ever seen since), but my second favourite is surely this almost unbeatable work of art, 'Kustom Kar Kommandos'.
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8/10
Interesting, if you understand the point of it.
a-moss20 April 2005
First of all, this is a movie Kenneth Anger never finished. Its only 1/8 of what he planned, so its probably difficult to give it a fair judgment as a whole. First time I saw it, I didn't get it at all. Its a three minute short movie about a very 'gay' looking man caressing his expensive car. Very visual, and nice colors.. but thats it! He uses a powder puff to brush the shiny car.

What Anger wanted to do with this movie was to make us think about the growing bubblegum-mentality in youngsters of America. The teenage of California in a world of hot-rod and customized cars. How crazy it is. How our standards as humans in some circumstances are far above anything normal.

I thought it was an interesting project and I'm sad he never found people to support it financially to complete it.
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10/10
Quick, colorful, lots of fun
preppy-319 October 2000
Whole film is about 3 minutes long. We see a buff guy shining up his beautiful 50s style car while a great 50s song plays on the soundtrack. That's about it, but it's quick, has beautiful color and is just a fun little short! Worth seeing.
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9/10
A good one
ebbets-field3 January 2001
What a refreshing contrast to Anger's normal output -- this is short, to the point, simple, and under control. No pretentiousness, and competent technical qualities, for a change. It's not about anything of importance, just fetishism for the bodies of cars and of young men, but for once Anger masters his form and puts it to the service of his small idea. A mini-delight.
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10/10
Wow this is sexy
injury-6544722 May 2020
I have tingles and chills after watching this!

What a master Kenneth is. The combination of imagery and perfect music evokes an utterly erotic sensation in the viewer.

Without explicitly showing anything that would be considered taboo it still manages to cause the viewer to feel vaguely "naughty". As if they are being a voyeur. Ideas of sexuality permeate. Secret delights.
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9/10
Review - Kustom Kar Kommandos
Maxence_G30 October 2020
There is not a lot of things to say about that film, it is only 3 min. What is remarkable is how Anger is capable of sexualizing objects and render the 1980s look 15 years in advance.
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