Begotten

Description

BEGOTTEN is the creation myth brought to life, the story of no less than the violent death of God and the (re)birth of nature on a barren earth. Astounding and baffling critics and audiences alike, BEGOTTEN was named one of the Ten Best Pictures of 1991 by Time Magazine. Time's Richard Corliss wrote: "Nobody will get through BEGOTTEN without being marked... BEGOTTEN is a spectacular one-of-a-kind (you wouldn't want there to be two), filmed in speckled chiaroscuro so that each image is a seductive mystery, a Rorschach test for the adventurous eye." In production notes for the film, director Merhige commented, "Each shot in the film went through hours of preparation to achieve the look you will experience when viewing... the etheral "pulse" that hypnotically permeates the film. It took over ten hours to re-photograph less than one minute of selected takes."

The BEGOTTEN DVD special features include: a souvenir booklet; interactive menus; scene access; the original theatrical trailer; and rare, never-before-seen stills and color production photos. USA, 1991, 78 mins., black & white, digital sound, full format. Unrated. Suggested retail $29.95.

Customer Reviews:

Don't listen to the naysayers.......2007-09-07

There are many people that will hate Begotten because it isn't entertaining in the sense that you would go see a movie like Rush Hour 2. There are even people that won't like it that consider themselves to be a part of the elitist group of avant-garde film buffs. Pay no attention to them. If you are looking for something truly different and challange, then Begotten is the way to go.

I own three copies of this film: the first was a video tape I bought online years back. I let someone borrow it but their mother found it in the tape player and threw it across the room. I had to buy another one but it was a dubbed version and inferior in quality. I finally got the DVD and it was worth it.

I watched it again last night and I loved it even more. You see new things each time you watch it.

Look, if you're favorite movie is Weekend and Bernies then avoid Begotten at all costs. If you want to see cinematic art by a brilliant director then consider checking out Begotten. It's my favorite movie. It's nice to know that there are brilliant people out there with the vision, drive, and ambition to make something like Begotten.

nether fish nor fowl.......2007-07-13

Begotten is artistically one of those moving targets, that by design keeps your brain at an arms length from any point of connection. Yet the mind being what it is persists in trying to make some connection, then slips into a state of tranquilized submission, occasionally aroused by images too visceral or sexual to ignore. Some will give up, doze, daydream, critique, or remain with a glassy-eyed focus.

Are 10 minutes of Begotten more or less rewarding than the full 70? I think the Charms Tootsie-Pop ad put it best "The world may never know" Because no matter how long you watch you will drift in and out, such is the nature of ones reaction to the willfully obscure.

For the record, I took it in with one swallow and really have little else to say, based on what I've said you should know yourself well enough to decide if this is for you. It's not the kind of film one recommends or condemns across the board.

A Document of Nightmares.......2007-07-11

From its opening images of God killing himself with a straight razor, Begotten is a viewing experience unparalleled in the history of cinema. Yet despite Susan Sontag acclaiming it as "one of the ten most important films of modern times" and being hailed by Time Magazine as "one of the ten best pictures of the 1991," E.E. Merhige's (Shadow of the Vampires, Suspect Zero) dialogue-free directorial debut has slipped into such obscurity that even bootlegged copies often fetch more than fifty dollars on the secondary market. However, despite its scarcity, this "metaphysical splatter film*" has not lost its ability to hit viewers like a wrecking ball to the spiritual gut.

According to Merhige, who spent eight to ten hours editing each minute of film to achieve its organic, grainy appearance, Begotten was made to feel "not as if it were from the twenties, not even as if it were from the nineteenth century, but as if were from the time of Christ, as if it were a cinematic Dead Sea Scroll that had been buried in the sands, a remnant of a culture with customs and rites that no longer apply to this culture, yet are somewhere underneath it, under the surface of what we call reality." This reference to that which exists beneath ordinary consciousness might call to mind the films of David Lynch, and it's no surprise that Begotten has been compared to Eraserhead, arguably Lynch's most bizarre and cosmically stark vision to darken celluloid. It is also intriguing to note that while Lynch is a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, Begotten was the product of Theatreofmaterial, a troupe who, along with Merhige, included actors and visual artists. Together, Theatreofmaterial spent over four months engaging in breathing exercises where they would "breathe to the point of hysteria and create these moments of panic," among other activities.

While it would be easy to interpret Begotten as a product of the modern American subconscious, as David Lynch's more nonlinear work could be interpreted, one should also take into consideration mythologies of the past. According to David and Margaret Leeming in A Dictionary of Creation Myths, dismemberment of a primordial being is an archetype found in both Babylonian and Norse creation stories. Among other archetypes are creation by secretion and creation by emergence, characteristics of both which can be found in Begotten, when after emerging from beneath the clothing of the deceased God, Mother Nature engages in a strange necro-sex act. In the next scene comes one of the most startling and beautiful images in the entire film: a pregnant Mother Nature rubbing her belly and standing beside an upright coffin, which vanishes just before the screen blackens and makes way for the birth of Son of Man - Flesh on Bone. From there, Mother Earth and Son of Man wander through a barren wasteland and encounter a group of nomadic beings. While the tribe initially praises the convulsive (both God and Son of Man flail like epileptics during most of their time onscreen) Son of Man, they begin to torture him in various acts that use up a hefty chunk of Begotten's 78-minute runtime.

Contributing to the spiritual dissonance of the film is the soundtrack, which is comprised solely of birds chirping, among other sounds of nature, and occasionally soft, almost choral strings. Perhaps employing such familiar sounds is among the primary reasons that the outlandish tale is so readily accepted by viewers. However, others are less convinced, often likening Begotten to an extended version of the infamous tape from The Ring. However, whether one falls into that group or not must be decided through firsthand experience, and regardless, Begotten is a film that must be experienced. It is a film that possesses the power to alter the internal mechanics of those who witness its terrors and ecstasies. In many ways it can be likened to the mythical Necronomicon, that elusive monument of horror that exists only in the mythologies of pop culture and H.P. Lovecraft. Only, this a nightmare document that actually exists, and for a price, may be possessed by anyone. To everyone, splatter fanatics and connoisseurs of quiet horror alike, this viewer welcomes you to the nightmare universe of Begotten, the ultimate straight razor to the cinematic eye.

One of the best films ever.......2007-01-15

The first time I saw this movie I had taken some acid and and had went over to my friends house. My friend was watching this movie. It was at the start of the movie where God was cutting his guts out. I watched that part then my friend stopped the movie and said that I had seen enough. At that piont in time that scene was the most disturbing thing that I had ever seen. I couldnt stop thinking about it for weeks. Maybe it was because I was on acid, I really don't know. Anyway, about 8 or 9 years later I started going through this phase where I was trying to watch the gorriest, or most messed up movies that I could find. I watched the likes of Cannible Feroux, I stand alone, Irreversible, Funny Games,Ricky O, and so on. I had been looking for Begotten for a really long time and finally I found it. I watched the whole thing finally and I was amazed. I have never seen anything like it. That is one of the most amazing movies of all time. Again I kept thinking about it for like 2 weeks after I watched it but not because of God cutting his guts out but because of how deep it was. This movie should be required watching for everyone going to film school or planning to make a movie, then anyone planning to make a piece of garbage like Showgirls or Your friends and neighbors or even Who's that girl may reconsider.

independant surrealistic bliss.......2006-09-24

this film is absolutely astounding. it felt as if i were watching a nightmare sucked right out of someone's head (i recieved the same feeling the first time i watched lynch's earaserhead, though both were some of the first surreal/arthouse films i had seen at that time)

the two main hightlights of the film were, of course, its gritty & "old fashioned" camera style & the other was the sound, which were absolutely superb.

the only con out of my pro's was that it felt about 10-15 minutes too long, maybe I need to watch it again to see if thats true to me.

the film is definately not for the younger audience, hell its not meant for most adults, (hence the independence) it wasnt about sitting around with family & friends with a bowl of popcorn to get"ooh" & "ahh" responses. It is made the same way an artist paints canvas,its not meant for everyone to enjoy, who knows what it all means, in fact who cares. art was never meant to make sense in the first place. I'm sure merhige had no intentions whatsoever in making this a crowd pleaser. It was simply a dark yet beautiful piece of art made by an artist.

note: not recommended but a good film to watch on acid, depending on your mood, but that could go for any surreal film, or any film that matter, just depends on how much acid you take, but hey, ive said too much already....

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