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pistolwink wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2026 8:28 pm I fondly(?) remember the effusive praise for that film by Susan Sontag, which became the linchpin of the film's marketing, to a humorous degree. (Nearly the same went for Sokurov's Mother and Son, whose trailer not only used her name twice, but actually had her signature on screen.)

Probably partly as a result of her endorsement, Begotten became one of the strangest and most cult-y films to be available at my local video stores.

brundlefly wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2026 11:38 am Restoration teaser for E. Elias Merhige's Begotten.

I n December, 1930, Russian revolutionary film director Sergei Eisenstein travelled to Mexico to experience firsthand its “geographical, ethnological, cultural and historical diversity,” and to make a film he would call ¡Que Viva México! After shooting more than 30 hours of 35mm film—striking compositions of centuries-old Mayan ruins, traditional funeral rites of the indigenous people, the raucous festivities of Día de Muertos, and so much more—Eisenstein departed Mexico in April 1932, without having begun to edit. The footage instead made its way into the hands of other filmmakers, who sought to approximate his bold vision. A first of its kind, SERGEI EISENSTEIN ¡MÉXICO! assembles newly restored versions of those films derived from Eisenstein's legendary Mexican footage: Thunder Over Mexico (1933) and Death Day (1934) by Sol Lesser, Time in the Sun (1940) by Marie Seton, Bell & Howell’s four-volume Mexican Symphony by Willam F. Kruse and Egon Mauthner (1940-41), and the debut of Idols Behind Altars (2026), a diptych of Eisenstein's raw footage conceived by Bruce Posner with a new score by Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky). This special two-disc collection also includes rare outtakes, photographs, sketches, and documentaries featuring historians and filmmakers who savor the brilliance of the Mexican footage, and discuss the challenges in representing a masterpiece which exists only in tantalizing fragments.

Product Extras :
A Trip to Tetlapayac, a 2022 Documentary by Ian Christie and Chiemi Shimade
Sensuous Lines, Eisenstein's Mexican Drawings 1930-32
Interview with Kenneth Anger Discussing ¡Que Viva Mexico!
Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising
Illustrated 48-Page Booklet of Essays and Notes
Gallery of Photographs
And More

A Philological Quandary, Kenneth Anger’s ¡Que Viva Mexico! (2026, dir. Bruce Posner)

Kenneth Anger edited his own version of Sergei Eisenstein’s unfinished Mexican reverie, and even showed it at a festival. Alas leaving no trace of the object. Bruce Posner, now, created his own multi-screen variation on the story that lyrically compares moments from ¡Que Viva Mexico! with scenes from Anger’s avant-garde axiom Scorpio Rising.

A first of its kind, SERGEI EISENSTEIN ¡MÉXICO! assembles newly restored versions of those films derived from Eisenstein's legendary Mexican footage: Thunder Over Mexico (1933) and Death Day (1934) by Sol Lesser, Time in the Sun (1940) by Marie Seton, Bell & Howell’s four-volume Mexican Symphony by Willam F. Kruse and Egon Mauthner (1940-41), and the debut of Idols Behind Altars (2026), a diptych of Eisenstein's raw footage conceived by Bruce Posner with a new score by Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky). This special two-disc collection also includes rare outtakes, photographs, sketches, and documentaries featuring historians and filmmakers who savor the brilliance of the Mexican footage, and discuss the challenges in representing a masterpiece which exists only in tantalizing fragments.

pistolwink wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2026 6:30 pm That said... I'm assuming this includes the feature-length 1980(ish) version entitled Que Viva Mexico put together by Aleksandrov, which doesn't seem to be explicitly mentioned. It'd be very strange if this were excluded as it's the best-known version of the footage and Kino released it on VHS once upon a time.

pistolwink wrote: Tue Sep 22, 2026 9:00 pm I could easily imagine that's the case, but how then does Deaf Crocodile end up licensing stuff from Russia?

pistolwink wrote: Tue Sep 22, 2026 9:00 pm I'm guessing it's similar to how I Am Cuba could be released because Milestone already had the rights and Criterion licensed from them, rather than from Mosfilm directly.

Calvin wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2026 4:42 pm Quite apart from the logistical difficulties in doing so, there's also the moral argument against giving money to Mosfilm at the present time.

JSC wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2026 12:11 pm Anyone here seen E Elias Merhige's Begotten? Coming from Kino in December.

https://kinolorber.com/product/begotten-limited-edition

brundlefly wrote: Wed Feb 12, 2020 2:05 pm

bottled spider wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2020 11:58 pm
Begotten (Merhige,1990). The notoriously gruesome content is considerably muted by the distancing effect of "distressed" black-and-white photography, which is so grainy and over-exposed at times as to render the image illegible. Whatever it is that's going on, it's going on at some sort of impersonal, mythopoetickal level: the eviscerations are not, er, visceral. Whether this is a work of staggering genius or a misbegotten pile of pretentious twaddle, it's unlikely to make anyone throw up.

One of my top five theatergoing experiences. I think it weirdly premiered at a revival theater, the old Thalia Soho, in a double feature with Eraserhead . The audience was mostly respectful, if exasperated. Everyone chose their own place to yawn, but when the end credit for "Story Consultant" arrived the room united in laughter. As much as I enjoy the movie's textured tedium -- bought the VHS tape, which was never fuzzy enough -- I've never settled on whether its total lack of release is an accomplishment or just a joke in search of a punchline.