Taking Sides on Films of the 90's Pt. 3: "Begotten" vs. "Forrest Gump"

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E. Elias Merhige's grainy, horrific dollop of uber-masturbatory imagery versus Robert Zemeckis' equally insufferable, cinematic Bataan Death March.

Son of Earth-Flesh on Bone versus a Bubba Gump Shrimp.

Personally speaking, as interminably long, boring, silly, stupid, pretentious, irritating, confusing, ill-conceived and utterly pointless as Begotten so irrefutably was.....I'd much rather sit through its grainy, headachey shenanigans again than EVER have to see fuckin' Forrest Gump a second time.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 8 April 2005 01:37 (twenty years ago)

I'm all about pretension and highfalutingness, but Begotten is a worthless piece of shit. And so is forrest gump.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 8 April 2005 02:00 (twenty years ago)

But, Dan, YOU MUST CHOOSEONE!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 8 April 2005 02:01 (twenty years ago)

Only forrest gump has a good thing about it which is after you watch it you can go out drinking and try to beat each other's ricidulously exaggerated Forrest Gump impressions.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 8 April 2005 02:02 (twenty years ago)

Of course, if you drink enough you will do a Begotten impression by shitting your pants.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 8 April 2005 02:02 (twenty years ago)

ARGH YOU ARE MAKING ME THINK ABOUT IT WHICH I VOWED NEVER AGAIN TO DO! The ENTIRE fucking movie seems to be of some guy sitting in one place producing substances from his body.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 8 April 2005 02:05 (twenty years ago)

Of course, if you drink enough you will do a Begotten impression by shitting your pants.

BAHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 8 April 2005 02:07 (twenty years ago)

or maybe it's just that the first 10 minutes seem to last forever. I remember holding down the fast forward button first for a couple seconds, then for a half minute, then I just turned the fucker off.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 8 April 2005 02:10 (twenty years ago)

Dude, I fucking paid to SIT IN A THEATRE to watch it. You don't KNOW the suffering.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 8 April 2005 02:11 (twenty years ago)

Haha, sucker.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 8 April 2005 02:14 (twenty years ago)

One of the things that bugs me to this day about Begotten (y'know, beyond it being basically unwatchable....seriously, it makes Eraserhead look like a Hanna-Barbera cartoon) is the purple prose it garnered in the press. Yet, did it make one Year End Best of Poll that year (`91)? Nope.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 8 April 2005 05:18 (twenty years ago)

I have never, ever heard of this Begotten before. Am I lucky?

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 8 April 2005 10:35 (twenty years ago)

Rent it.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 8 April 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

Then you become one of our club. The club of SUFFERING

― Dan I., Friday, 8 April 2005 16:57 (twenty years ago)

These are two terrible movies.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:01 (twenty years ago)

i never saw begotten, but merhige's transition from that to shadow of the vampire to suspect zero has to be one of the biggest arthouse to grindhouse moves since lee tamahori

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:06 (twenty years ago)

Is Suspect Zero any good? Shadow of the Vampire was total wank.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:07 (twenty years ago)

I've never seen Begotten. It has to be better than Forrest Gump. Unless its also about the glory of obedience.

― miccio (miccio), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

Yeah Begotten is probably better, but only cuz Forrest Gump is probably one of the most upsetting films I've ever seen.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

suspect zero is even worse than shadow of the vampire

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

BTW Once Were Warriors >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Begotten

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:11 (twenty years ago)

the edge >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> most of the '90s!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

ANYTHING is better than Forrest Gump. Only remotely redeemable thing about FG = "I got shot in the butt tock."

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

but most of the '90s >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mulholland falls

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

jury still out on xXx: state of the union!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

Well Mulholland Falls >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Begotten

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)

I liked the James Bond movie Tamahori did.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

Was that the one w/ the ice hotel?

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:16 (twenty years ago)

Yes it was.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:17 (twenty years ago)

begotten is awful, forrest gump is quite good, so forrest gump.

this akward comparison says more about alex's preconceptions about film than anything else.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:20 (twenty years ago)

Ah. Punt on that spunk, Miranda Frost notwithstanding. (Note: I'm not much of a Bond fan.)

[xpost]

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:21 (twenty years ago)

ts: carmen jones vs. window water baby moving

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:21 (twenty years ago)

I'm waiting for a knockdown drag-out fite between TMNT & Batman.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:21 (twenty years ago)

ts: the three caballeros vs. ritual in transfigured time

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:23 (twenty years ago)

TS: The Hairdresser's Husband vs. Canadian Bacon

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 April 2005 17:29 (twenty years ago)

begotten is awful, forrest gump is quite good, so forrest gump.

this akward comparison says more about alex's preconceptions about film than anything else.

Honestly, I just wanted to pit Begotten against something, as it struck such a chord with me when I saw it (not a good chord, but a lasting one). I couldn't think of another film like it to adequately compare it to, so I simply chose a film from the 90's that I had nothing but palpable disdain for, and Forrest Gump was that lucky winner....although it could just as well have ended up being Eyes Wide Shut

Once Were Warriors was hard to stomach given all the domestic abuse. Cool tattoos on the Maori gang members, though.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 8 April 2005 18:26 (twenty years ago)

I also liked the juxtaposition of images between God Killing Himself and Forrest sitting on the bus stop bench.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 8 April 2005 18:27 (twenty years ago)

amateurist i still can't believe you like forrest gump.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 8 April 2005 22:55 (twenty years ago)

seven years pass...

I Had no idea others had suffered through Begotten. It is one that I Had to wait to see because I was Working in Singapore in 1990-1992 and the flick is actually banned there!!!

Forrest Gump though is like biting into what you think is going to be a chocolate Cake and finding out its a sponge with beetles crawling on it

― NINO CARTER, Wednesday, 28 November 2012 02:14 (thirteen years ago)

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