River of Fundament
2014Visionary artist Matthew Barney returns to cinema with this 3-part epic, a radical reinvention of Norman Mailer’s novel Ancient Evenings. In collaboration with composer Jonathan Bepler, Barney combines traditional modes of narrative cinema with filmed elements of performance, sculpture, and opera, reconstructing Mailer’s hypersexual story of Egyptian gods and the seven stages of reincarnation, alongside the rise and fall of the American car industry.
Acted in
Chief Dave Beautiful Bald Eagle
as Norman III
Milford Graves
as Norman II
John Buffalo Mailer
as Norman I
Ellen Burstyn
as Hathfertiti
Maggie Gyllenhaal
as Hathfertiti
Madyn G. Coakly
as Hathfertiti
Paul Giamatti
as Ptah-Nem-Hotep
Joan La Barbara
as The Widow of Norman
Stephen Payne
as Usermare
Aimee Mullins
as The Ka of Norman / Isis
Matthew Barney
as The Ka of Norman / Osiris: James Lee Byers
Jennie Knaggs
as Nephthys
Herbert Perry
as Set
Eugene Perry
as Set
Brennan Hall
as Horus
Shara Nova
as Lieutenant Worden
Elaine Stritch
as Eulogist
Lila Downs
as Ranchera Singer
Lila Downs
as Priest / REN Manager
Debbie Harry
as Singing Wake Guest
Terrell Howard
as R&B Singer
Belita Woods
as Blues Singer
Bobbi Starr
as Garage Manager
David Amram
as Wake Guest
Suzanne Bertish
as Wake Guest
Dick Cavett
as Wake Guest
Jeffrey Eugenides
as Wake Guest
Fran Lebowitz
as Wake Guest
Cinqué Lee
as Wake Guest
Larry Holmes
as Wake Guest
Jonas Mekas
as Wake Guest
Salman Rushdie
as Wake Guest
Lucy Sante
as Wake Guest
James Toback
as Wake Guest
Lawrence Weiner
as Wake Guest
Zeena Parkins
as Wake Ensemble
Art Baron
as Wake Ensemble
