BEGOTTEN (1989) Remastered trailer

Footage processed by kozaburoy Edited by rusemode Notes on this custom: - Video content is sourced from the 2001 DVD which, along with a prior VHS, remains the only commercially available copy of Begotten. Different scenes of the film were subjected to different processing models in Topaz Video Enhance AI in the hopes of addressing each shot’s specific needs, outputting the entire film as a set of 2160p PNGs. Select portions were then batch-edited in InfanView to make scene-specific contrast adjustments. The PNGs were reassembled in Adobe Premiere, a light HLS Auto Grain was applied to help lock in detail and exported in 4K, then reencoded to HD in Handbrake (with grayscale filter on to save space) using Karagarga’s preferred best-practice specs. - The audio content is sourced from a rip of a limited edition cassette release of the Begotten soundtrack containing the film’s complete audio in significantly higher fidelity (and with considerably more volume) than the DVD was adjusted in speed (and, slightly, pitch) to match the video at 24fps and muxed in as the audio track. The result is an upscale that favors high contrast and enhanced detail wherever possible with a clearer separation of black and white and less muddy grays. While this is no substitute for a proper restoration, and there is no certainty about whether this comes closer to Merhige’s intent, this solution offers clarity where possible -- still noisy, of course but noisy with something more closely resembling film grain than digital artifacts -- while maintaining the film’s singular look. Some shots are more revelatory than others, but nearly all improve in some fashion. Begotten is a 1989 American experimental horror film written, produced, edited and directed by Edmund Elias Merhige. It stars Brian Salsburg, Donna Dempsy, Stephen Charles Barry, and members of Merhige’s theatre company Theatreofmaterial. The film contains no dialogue and mimics the style of aged black-and-white films. Its enigmatic plot, drawn from elements of various creation myths, opens with the suicide of a Godlike figure and the births of Mother Earth and the Son of Earth, who set out on a journey of death and rebirth through a barren landscape. Begotten was first conceived as an experimental theater piece with dance and live musical accompaniment, but Merhige switched to film after deciding that his vision would be too expensive to achieve as a production for live audiences. Principal photography took place in the mid-to-late 1980s, over a period of three-and-a-half months in several different locations. Merhige filled multiple roles in the film’s production, including work on cinematography, and special effects, Before and during the film’s shooting, Merhige had experimented with the reel to give it an old, withered look. In one such experiment, he ran the unexposed negative against sandpaper to scratch its surface before shooting. Unsatisfied with the results, Merhige decided to use an optical printer for further processing. The “rephotography“ removed almost all of the gray midtones from the footage’s visible spectrum, leaving only extreme contrasts of black and white. He was unable to find an optical printer priced within his budget, so he built one himself. He constructed the printer over a period of eight months with spare parts from camera stores and special effects houses where he had worked before. Following its debut at the Montreal World Film Festival, it was screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival, where it was seen by film critics Tom Luddy and Peter Scarlet. They brought it to the attention of fellow critic Susan Sontag, whose enthusiastic praise and private screenings of the film in her own home were instrumental to its eventual release. Begotten was reportedly banned in Singapore due to its violent content. As the first part of a planned series, Begotten was followed in 2006 by Din of Celestial Birds, a short sequel with the theory of evolution as its dominant theme.