Barney's Wall

What makes a rebel? This 78 minute documentary probes the psyche of bad-boy publisher and free speech warrior Barney Rosset, whose mid-century legal and cultural battles smashed sexual and political taboos in the United States — unleashing the counter-culture of the 1960s and introducing millions of young intellectuals to the most radical currents in literature, film, theater and politics. In his late eighties, coming to terms with his life, Barney Rosset began to obsessively sculpt an autobiographical 15′ x 22′ surreal wall mural, embedded with jewel-like vignettes crafted out of found objects, each a clue to the conflicts and obsessions that drove Barney’s lifetime rebellion against authority. A cast of artists, a neurologist, and a shaman connect the clues and piece together Barney’s life.

Cast

Barney Rosset Self (archive footage) Buster Keaton Self (archive footage) Samuel Beckett Self (archive footage) M.M. Serra Self Phoebe Legere Self James Fotopoulos Self David Amram Self

Peter Foges Self

Jan Jönson Self Malcolm X Self (archive footage)

Metadata from the source database.