Filled with hundreds of Matthew Barney's arresting, fantastical images, this comprehensive volume--which accompanies a major international exhibition--is the first to survey the artist's entire Cremaster cycle, an epic, five-part film project that uses the biological model of sexual difference as its conceptual departure point. Nancy Spector explores the cycle's themes and aesthetic achievements; Neville Wakefield provides a guide to the films' richly arcane vocabulary; and Barney's key collaborators--composer, costume designer, make-up artist, technicians, and actors--provide texts that reveal his working process. With a wealth of film stills and other illustrations, this is a crucial companion to the film cycle.