Product Description

'In Search of the Great Beast 666' documents the chilling life, impulses and journey of Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), one of the most controversial and mysterious characters of the 20th Century; infamously known as 'The Wickedest Man in the World'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27570 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-10
• Rating: Exempt
• Formats: Black & White, Colour, PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 125 minutes

Synopsis
The self-proclaimed 'Great Beast', Aleister Crowley was known to the press as the 'wickedest man in the world' and perhaps one of the most notorious figures in British history. This dramatic reconstruction delves into the sordid past and how his legacy would influence many, including President George Bush, The Beatles and Ian Fleming.

Customer Reviews

Facts and fallacies
Quite a thorough and fact filled documentary of the life of Aleister Crowley that is somewhat marred by it's overall negative tone, the inclusion of unsubstantiated rumours originally spread by John Symonds in his book, The Great Beast, and some complete fabrications and distortions of fact. While the producers have clearly done their homework there is a feeling that they too frequently pander to sensationalism and the sinister. This leaves you with the feeling that you are watching a horror story rather than a documentary.

The dramatic reconstructions seem a little wooden and are given a certain negative spin for extra effect.
On the plus side there is good use of archive material and some nice, though brief, location film footage. The use of photographs is occasionally confusing like when the narrator is talking about one person while showing the photo of someone else.

It's probably the best Crowley documentary ever made. Unfortunately that's not really saying much. It's good-ish but could have been much better.

Not bad, but could have been better
Before I give my views on this DVD, I would like to say that I am not a follower of Crowley, so hopefully my view will be more objective than either those for or against him. AC always did invite extreme reactions either way, so it's difficult to come across a more 'middle ground' viewpoint.

First of all, I didn't really feel that the film focussed a great deal on what Crowley was actually trying to achieve. Although he did practice in the darker side of the occult, his original intention was to work for the light and contact his Holy Guardian Angel - unfortunately, he disappeared off to Paris in the middle of a ritual that definitely should not have been left unfinished, and I think this is where the problems really started (I have heard from other sources that he failed to perform the banishing ritual before leaving and therefore left himself open to forces that possibly overtook him). The sad fact was that he was an extremely intelligent man but his repressive religious childhood caused him to take an extreme viewpoint on spiritual issues and he did seem to spend the rest of his life rebelling against this. Had he focussed more on his own positive attributes, he no doubt could have been a very successful writer in his time.

Back to the plot. The film makes no mention of what happened to Victor Neuburg after he left Crowley (again from other sources I have been led to believe that he died either from a virus or a fatal illness - a fate that seemed quite common amongst people who had dealings with Crowley). It also doesn't give his wife Rose credit for her contribution to his writing (it was apparently she who insisted that he go to the Museum in Cairo to be given the message that would lead him to perform the ritual in the Great Pyramid). The Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu was covered quite well, but the overall feeling you get is that Crowley seemed to spend most of his life taking off at the drop of a hat to some location which would stimulate his constant desire for novelty. This may be true but the overall feeling is that the sheer volume of his actual writings are skimped over, almost with a passing thought.

I was interested to see that Rick Wakeman provided the soundtrack for the film. Rick Wakeman is one of the finest keyboard players, if not the finest in the rock world (listen to 'Awaken' by Yes to hear his musical genius at its best) but I didn't realise he had any interest in Crowley. Perhaps he doesn't and just happened to accept the offer of doing it, but Jimmy Page would have seemed an obvious choice to write it with his interest in Crowley (though he did sell Boleskine 17 years ago and a lot of Crowley's magickal items so perhaps he is veering away from that now).

I have to say that I agree with the previous reviewer that the film did focus on the more negative aspects of Crowley's life, though I am relieved that it wasn't made by somebody from the rock world. I did hear a rumour that one rock singer (who shall remain nameless to protect their identity) wanted to make a film on Crowley, but I think the problem there would be that they would be too biased the other way, i.e. they would want to portray a more romantic image of Crowley as a great magus and spiritual revolutionary. My own view is that Crowley was a very intelligent man but like many people who follow any sort of spiritual path, he did have his shortcomings. Manners, as they say, not magick, maketh the man and Crowley could be incredibly cruel to some of his associates. Again, as the previous reviewer said, this is the only film on Crowley to date so it would be interesting to see if further films are made about him to see how they would portray him. Whatever peoples views on Crowley, he remains one of those people who hold your fascination, whether you are interested in his work or not. He certainly inspired some of the people whose music I listen to and so perhaps in his own subtle way, he has infiltrated peoples consciences without them realising it. Now that's what I call clever!

Very poor
The bias, the inaccuracies & the extremely poor research make this a tabloid documentary at best...The "sinister" music of Rick Wakeman only enhances the crass nature of this film. If you like your documentaries to be banal, predictable, biased and factually incorrect - then yes, feel free to crack open a tin of cheap lager and enjoy...personally, I'd recommend the books "A magick life" and "Do What Thou Wilt" for a more rounded picture of this great occultist...perhaps someday, someone will have the nerve to produce an honest overview of his life...til then save your money and stick with the above books.

93