as Hijo, El Topo's Son, As A Boy Alfonso Arau as Bandit #1 José Luis Fernández as Bandit #2 Alf Junco as Bandit #3 Jacqueline Luis as El Topo's Wife Mara Lorenzio as Marah Paula Romo as The Woman In Black David Silva as Colonel Héctor Martínez as First Gunfighter Juan José Gurrola as Second Gunfighter Víctor Fosado as Third Gunfighter Alisha Newton as Wife of The Third Gunfighter Agustín Isunza as Last Gunfighter Robert John as Hijo, El Topo's Son, As A Man Bertha Lomelí as Mother of The Second Gunfighter José Antonio Alcaraz as Sheriff José Legarreta as Dying Man Release There was no original intention to show El Topo in Mexico, where it was filmed and produced. Ben Barenholtz, an owner of the Elgin Theater in New York City, saw a private screening of El Topo at the Museum of Modern Art. Barenholtz recalled that despite several audience members walking out, he was fascinated by the film. On a failing attempt to purchase the American rights to El Topo, Barenholtz convinced the producer to have the film shown at midnight at the Elgin. Barenholtz chose the late showings of 1 am on Friday and at midnight during the week to give audiences a sense of "self-discovery". The film premiered on 18 December 1970, and ran continuously seven days a week until the end of June 1971. El Topo was distributed across the United States through ABKCO Films, owned by Allen Klein, manager of the Beatles. The film was shown late at night like it was at the Elgin. For decades El Topo could only be seen at such midnight screenings in art houses and via partially censored Japanese laserdiscs and bootleg videos. El Topo was officially released on DVD in May 2007; a Blu-ray release followed in April 2011. Controversy Following the release of the film, Jodorowsky courted controversy when he claimed that the rape scene was unsimulated: When I wanted to do the rape scene, I explained to [Mara Lorenzio] that I was going to hit her and rape her. There was no emotional relationship between us, because I had put a clause in all the women's contracts stating that they would not make love with the director. We had never talked to each other. I knew nothing about her. We went to the desert with two other people: the photographer and a technician. No one