‘The Virgin Sacrifice (J. X. Williams, 1969) is a different case from the other films in this collection: the nine minutes here are all that remain of a feature film haunted by misfortune. Several deaths, a maiming, and a fire in the film lab hang over this production, the last claiming the negative, leaving only the film’s opening: a mute newcomer rents a room from two girls who startlingly resemble Marcia and Jan Brady; they casually let drop that they’re practicing Satanists (one of Anton LaVey’s crowd was the chief investor). Cut to yet another phantasmagoric montage, psychedelic effects swirling around naked people who appear to be alternately dancing and performing open-heart surgery.’

Re-post du 20 juillet 2009

 

BEHIND THE CODEX GIGAS

 

Filled with satanic images and demonic spells, the cursed text, according to legend, sprang from a doomed monk’s pact with the devil. What else do we know about this mysterious Devil’s Bible?

* The Devil’s Bible is so huge that it requires at least two people to carry it.

* Once considered the eighth wonder of the world, the Codex Gigas stretches three feet long and weighs a hundred and sixty-five pounds.

* It is the only book that places the Old and New Testaments alongside violent, holy incantations.

* The Codex Gigas contains one full page – right opposite the devil portrait – of a towering Heavenly City. Although no people can be seen in the Heavenly City, it is a symbol of hope and salvation, a contrast to the portrait of the devil on the opposing page.

* The Codex Gigas includes mystical medical formulas for anything from treating ailments such as fevers and epilepsy to resolving practical problems such as finding a thief.

* The book’s transfer to Prague in 2008 took a year of planning. It was insured for $15.1 million during the transfer.

* The Devil’s Bible has 600 pages, which is 310 parchment leaves, all made from donkey skins.

 

***

Codex Gigas on Wiki

Until the Light Takes Us
Aaron Aites, Audrey Ewell, USA, 2008, 93 min

 

‘In 1991, Norwegian churches started to burn down, just after an underground circle of metal musicians had formed. The film reveals the true story behind the music, murders, and church burnings, and shows what happened to these young men, who tried to change the world using music, art, and violence. Ultimately, they lost control of what they had created.’

 

blackmetalmovie.com

Photo ANNIE-ÈVE DUMONTIER
(source)