Maidstone a film directed by Norman Mailer in 1971 is a bizarre phantasmagoria of a film. Ostensibly about a movie director who decides to run for President, Maidstone brings to mind the films of Bunuel and Antonioni with a cinema verite funkiness that seems very much a product of the ass end of the sixties. Mailer described it as ” a revolutionary film”. Well, the revolution came and went without much fanfare. The movie died at the boxoffice and has been out of circulation for 40 years. Recently, it’s become available on French gray market DVDS.

While the bulk of the movie is a bit of a self-indulgent bore, the ending has to be seen to be believed.

Mailer had completed principal photography on Maidstone but felt the film was unresolved. So, he and his co-star Rip Torn improvised a scene in which Torn’s character was to kill Mailer’s. Problem was, Torn, who was allegedly zooted on amphetamine and LSD, went waaaay too far, actually smashing Mailer on the head with a hammer, drawing blood and Mailer’s ire. Mailer, in turn, jumped Torn, biting and ripping Rip’s ear. The brawl escalated in full view of Mailer’s screaming children. Film was rolling.
 
This is the uncut scene. Check out Rip’s facial expressions. Is he acting? Or in need of an exorcist?