Poster for the movie The Illiac Passion

The Illiac Passion

1967 • 90 minutes
DramaFantasy

Prometheus, on an Odyssean journey, crosses the Brooklyn Bridge in search of the characters of his imagination. After meeting the Muse, he proceeds to the "forest." There, under an apple tree, he communes with his selves, represented by celebrated personages from the New York "underground scene" who appear as modern correlatives to the figures of Greek mythology. The filmmaker, who narrates the situations with a translation of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, finds the personalities of his characters to have a timeless universality.

Picture of Richard Beauvais

Richard Beauvais

Prometheus

Picture of David Beauvais

David Beauvais

Prometheus' Conscience

Picture of Robert Alvarez

Robert Alvarez

Narcissus

Picture of Taylor Mead

Taylor Mead

The Demon or Sprite

Picture of Sheila Gary

Sheila Gary

Echo

Picture of Peggy Murray

Peggy Murray

The Muse

Picture of Tom Venturi

Tom Venturi

Hyacinthus

Picture of Tally Brown

Tally Brown

Venus

Picture of Kenneth King

Kenneth King

Adonis

Picture of Gerard Malanga

Gerard Malanga

Ganymede

Picture of Jan Chippman

Jan Chippman

Eurydice

Picture of Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

Poseidon

Picture of Phillip Klass

Phillip Klass

Daedalus

Picture of Margot Brier

Margot Brier

Pandora

Picture of Paul Swan

Paul Swan

Zeus

Picture of Wayne Weber

Wayne Weber

Icarus

Picture of Carlos Anduze

Carlos Anduze

Hades

Picture of Stella Dundas

Stella Dundas

The Moon Goddess

Picture of John Dowd

John Dowd

Endymion

Picture of Philip Merker

Philip Merker

Apollo

Picture of Beverly Grant

Beverly Grant

Persephone

Picture of Clara Hoover

Clara Hoover

Io

Picture of Gregory Battcock

Gregory Battcock

Phaeton

Picture of Philip Fagan

Philip Fagan

Cupid

Picture of Gregory J. Markopoulos

Gregory J. Markopoulos

Narrator / The Filmmaker

Picture of Jack Smith

Jack Smith

Orpheus