It's just as incohesive as his other directorial efforts, but as a sociological study of late 1960s America, Norman Mailer's MAIDSTONE is a masterpiece. Shot in 1969 in the Hamptons, Mailer assembles a large cast of ne'er do wells, freaks, family members, hippies, black radicals and at least one professional actor for this epic look at the massive egomania that goes into creating a work of "art." Mailer himself plays a film director and possible presidential candidate shooting a remake of Luis Buñuel's BELLE DE JOUR...of course, this being a Mailer production, the whores are all men and the clients are all sexy women. Rip Torn is the nominal star, but the supporting cast, including Ultra Violet, Joy Bang, and Hervé Villechaize (in a cameo, playing piano) is really something. Mailer gives each player a shot at a close-up. He also manages to insert himself into basically every scene. The finale, featuring Torn & Mailer in a brutal fistfight, has become legendary.