River of Fundament (2014)

Drama
Fantasy
Horror

Visionary 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.

Cast

Norman III
C Chief Dave Beautiful Bald Eagle
Norman II
M Milford Graves
The Ka of Norman / Osiris: James Lee Byers
Matthew Barney
Nephthys
J Jennie Knaggs
Set
H Herbert Perry
Set
E Eugene Perry
Horus
B Brennan Hall
Lieutenant Worden
S Shara Nova
Eulogist
Elaine Stritch
Ranchera Singer
Lila Downs
Priest / REN Manager
Lila Downs
Singing Wake Guest
Debbie Harry
Norman I
John Buffalo Mailer
R&B Singer
T Terrell Howard
Blues Singer
B Belita Woods
Garage Manager
Bobbi Starr
Wake Guest
David Amram
Wake Guest
Suzanne Bertish
Wake Guest
Dick Cavett
Wake Guest
Jeffrey Eugenides
Wake Guest
Fran Lebowitz
Wake Guest
Cinqué Lee
Wake Guest
Larry Holmes
Hathfertiti
Ellen Burstyn
Wake Guest
Jonas Mekas
Wake Guest
Salman Rushdie
Wake Guest
L Lucy Sante
Wake Guest
James Toback
Wake Guest
L Lawrence Weiner
Wake Ensemble
Zeena Parkins
Wake Ensemble
A Art Baron
Hathfertiti
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Hathfertiti
M Madyn G. Coakly
Ptah-Nem-Hotep
Paul Giamatti
The Widow of Norman
Joan La Barbara
Usermare
S Stephen Payne
The Ka of Norman / Isis
Aimee Mullins

Crew

Director
Matthew Barney
Writer
Matthew Barney
Director of Photography
P Peter Strietmann
Production Design
M Matthew D. Ryle
Editor
Katie McQuerrey
Producer
M Mike Bellon
Original Music Composer
J Jonathan Bepler