“He was born, he suffered, he died.” (1974)

Overview

"The quote is Joseph Conrad answering a critic who found his books too long. Conrad replied that he could write a novel on the inside of a match-book cover, thus (as above), but that he "preferred to elaborate." The "Life" of the film is scratched on black leader. The "elaboration" of color tonalities is as the mind's eye responds to hieroglyph." - S.B. (Note: it seems possible that Brakhage misattributed this quote, which appears to be from William Faulkner and/or W. Somerset Maugham). Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2006.