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IMDb > Begotten (1990)
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Overview

User Rating:
6.4/10   1,828 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 15% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
E. Elias Merhige (writer)
Release Date:
5 June 1991 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
God disembowels himself with a straight razor. The spirit-like Mother Earth emerges, venturing into a bleak... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Reviews:
Unwatchable piece of brilliance more (94 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Brian Salzberg ... God Killing Himself
Donna Dempsey ... Mother Earth
Stephen Charles Barry ... Son Of Earth - Flesh On Bone
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Gandia
Daniel Harkins
Michael Phillips
Erik Slavin
Arthur Streeter
Adolfo Vargas
Garfield White
more
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Additional Details

Runtime:
78 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Approximately eight to ten hours of optical work - re-photographing, visual treatments, and filtering - was required to produce one minute of film. The total postproduction period for the 78-minute movie was eight months. more
Movie Connections:
References Eraserhead (1977) more

FAQ

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9 out of 15 people found the following review useful.
Unwatchable piece of brilliance, 4 August 2004
10/10
Author: captvanhalen from USA

E. Elias Merhige's existentialist experiment in the enduring is definitely one hell of a boring watch. This is like something Alexander de Large was forced to watch in "A Clockwork Orange." But, despite just how unwatchable this film really is, it is a success.

If you are reading this and have not already seen the film, then it is too late. For me, at least, the payoff (after 3 separate viewings with lots of break in between mind you) was seeing the list of characters *after* the story was told. That's when the simple message hit home. But i wonder if Merhige could have told a 5 minutes story in about 30, instead of 78.

However, seeing as how the cast of credits is displayed prominently on the front page for this movie, the cat is already out of the bag and you surely will only appreciate this film if you appreciate existentialist film making from the early 20th century. Even then, you might puke.

4/10 (but i commend Merhige for crafted a piece of art, even if it is unwatchable)

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Begotten (1990)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
meaning's intro carr_jam1987
Connections with 'The Ring' cursed video gibbs-thyron
Where did you get it and for how much? mystcprodigy
what i liked and didn't like elscorcho86
Soundtrack to Begotten jpolvi
Trents inspiration for broken + Downward Spiral markgrizzly
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