Cool Videos: Old man fight! Norman Mailer vs Rip Torn!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Norman Mailer is one of the most renowned literary figures in American history. But many people do not know that he was also a film director. Sure, he didn’t release any mainstream movies, but much like is writing, he experimented with film in various ways. One of his films, MAIDSTONE, starred Mailer along with Rip Torn. Torn became known in recent years for his bizarre antics that landed him in court several times. But, during the course of filming the movie, things took a turn and resulted in Mailer and Torn fighting each other.

This is just so f**king glorious! Norman Mailer, Rip Torn, a hammer, and a movie camera. Go.

From Criterion: There are disturbing movie scenes, and then there are disturbing movie scenes. The following, from Norman Mailer’s Maidstone, is not for the faint of heart. The 1970 film is the ultimate example of Mailer’s cinematic philosophy, which held that a thin veil of fiction could better expose people for who they really were than the supposedly unadorned reality of Direct Cinema, then the documentary mode du jour. Shot over the course of five drug-fueled days in East Hampton, New York, Maidstone stars Mailer as an underground filmmaker and presidential candidate surrounded by both followers and enemies. Near the end of the film, reality bleeds, quite literally, into the film when Mailer’s costar Rip Torn explodes in a hammer-wielding fury and attacks Mailer. Luckily (or not, depending on your point of view), the cameras were rolling and captured the resulting violent brawl. Nothing about this splenetic rage is staged. (Warning: the clip contains NSFW language.)

If you find a cool movie-related video online that you think other readers would appreciate, please email us the link/info at [email protected].