Good Crowley Documentary?

[BSwett]

Yesterday I stumbled into a youtube Crowley Doc that was interesting, but felt biased and full of sensationalist BS.

Does anyone know of a truer source for info on this interesting man and his life? Hopefully a documentary...

 

[Zephyros]

Unfortunately documentaries tend to be like that. However, there are some good biographies, among them "Perdurabo" by Richard Kaczynski.

 

[Aeon418]

Does anyone know of a truer source for info on this interesting man and his life? Hopefully a documentary...

Sorry. All the Crowley documentaries I've ever seen are rubbish pitched towards a general audience that needs to be 'entertained.' If you want good quality info you're going to have to 'hit the books'. The recent bio by Tobias Churton is a good alternative/complement to the one suggested by closrapexa.

Edit: Looks like Churton is doing a follow up book. Could be interesting.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aleister-Cr...d=1385064562&sr=8-7&keywords=aleister+crowley

 

[Zephyros]

Not long ago I saw a documentary (forgot the name, watched it on YouTube) that seemed like it would different. It was interesting, sounded reasonable and balanced (or so I thought). But... then the narrator called Crowley "iniquitous" and that got me listening more closely, and it was ultimately the old rehash.

 

[Aeon418]

I remember the first time I watched the Crowley episode of Masters of Darkness when it was first broadcast of British televison over a decade ago. Near the beginning you can hear Crowley reciting a few lines from his poem, The Pentagram. But it was edited. It kind of set the tone for the whole show. A shame really because the John Dee episode was quite reasonable.

"Deep-mouthed from their thrones deep-seated, the choirs of the aeons declare
The last of the demons defeated, for Man is the lorde of the Air."
"Arise, O Man, in thy strength! the kingdom is thine to inherit
Till the high gods witness at length that Man is the lord of his spirit."

But after a quick edit by the production team:

Deep-mouthed from their thrones deep-seated, the choirs of the aeons declare
The last of the demons the kingdom is thine to inherit.

 

[BSwett]

Thank a for the sugestions. I will have to 'hit the books'. I have an overflowing stack of books that I need to get through, but a good Crowley bio might jump up the list.

 

[Richard]

Thank a for the sugestions. I will have to 'hit the books'. I have an overflowing stack of books that I need to get through, but a good Crowley bio might jump up the list.

I enjoyed reading Perdurabo (closrapexa's suggestion). To some readers it may seem bloated here and there with extraneous biographical material, but everything seems well researched and sufficiently objective. Above all, it is refreshingly non judgmental.

 

[Zephyros]

Not usually one to spread disinformation, but this is the film I was talking about. It is interesting because of the subject matter but watch it with discernment; there are many exaggerations and a few outright lies. You can always request clarification here, of course.

That movie isn't half as bad as this one is. You might also be interested in hearing an interview with Robert Anton Wilson about Crowley, which is really quite interesting.

 

[Richard]

I disagree. The BBC documentary about Boleskine House was sort of interesting. However, I don't watch stuff like that objectively. There's a filter in my brain that turns on as soon as I hear the word 'Crowley'. It automatically edits out most of the crap.