Attempted Murder Basically; Here is the 'Fight' Video
http://www.ifilm.com/video/2815238?cmpnid=746&if&filmid=2815238
sharejeez, that is just bizarre
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MovieChat Forums > Maidstone Discussion > Attempted Murder Basically; Here is the ...
For a little perspective, check out Vincent Canby's New York Times review of the movie when it was released in 1971:
http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?title1=Maidstone%20%28Movie%29&title2=&reviewer=VINCENT%20CANBY&pdate=19710924&v_id=100971
About the fight between Mailer and Torn, Canby says this:
"...on the last day of shooting, Rip Torn improvised an attack on Mailer-Kingsley with a toy hammer that turned into a real fight. As the two men fought (Mailer's choppers neatly clamped on Torn's ear, drawing blood), Beverly Bentley (Mrs. Mailer) and the Mailer children screamed hysterically, and the cameras continued to roll.
"The result is a very mysterious scene that is more than just a close-up of the author-at-play. At one moment Mailer is shouting about trust betrayed, which is one of his most seductive themes, and in the next he is saying that he'll never forgive Torn for having, in effect, made a fool of him in front of his children. It's complex and dense and very much in keeping with what a major author is required to give his public in this era of Total Revelation."
At this point I'm not sure whether it's possible to say with absolute confidence that Torn's hammer was a toy, but in watching the clip on ifilm.com it appears Torn does hit Mailer in the head with the hammer at least once -- and it's hard to imagine Mailer not losing consciousness (at least momentarily) after receiving such a blow from a piece of honest-to-God hardware.
first of all, torn says he hit mailer with the SIDE of the hammer, not with the "ball" or "business end" of it. second, i don't know what (the usually level headed and reliable) candy was smoking when he wrote the review. the words that torn and mailer "improvise" are pure drivel. the sequence would have worked better as a tightly edited "pure" action scene, bereft of any dialogue save for the grunts and groans of the participants in the fight. mailer wasn't a "real" director or actor. he didn't know how to write for the screen, either. in fact, as a writer, norman was JUST ABOVE being a hack. people like cornell west, fredric jameson, and richard rorty WROTE. norman mailer, on the other hand, scribbled.................
shareWho knew Norman Mailer was such a frikkin psycho? "I had to do that, baby." Frikkin weirdo. Almost glad that he's dead.
shareRip Torn was out of his mind. He was absolutely high. Way too many drugs. I don't respect what he did as art, he was a raving, violent drug addict, and should have been arrested at that time. Well, but now he does films like Men in Black and Freddy Got Fingered. Suits him well.
"You keep him in here, and make sure HE dosen't leave!"
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shareWhen Norm's wife comes up and yells I thought it was fake but when she grabs his hair and starts punching.. wow.
I am guessing people are doing all this judging of the 'fight' based on the movie scene and not the unedited version now available?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AzmhorISf4
That was so bizarre. I guess that's where Vince Vaughn got his famous Swingers line from.
Rip Torn was out of his mind... A YT commenter said he thinks at :28s he's eating Acid, someone else said he was 'spun'
Anyway it was very interesting to watch that.