Koyaanisqatsi - Life Out of Balance (1982)

koyaanisqatsi

This film was way ahead of it's time. Coppola had amazing insight as to where we are headed on a global scale. September 15, 2008

One of My Favorite Films

Film buffs frequently create lists of their 10 favorite movies. My answer changes from day to day, but there are three films always on the list: Koyannisqatsi, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Fantasia. A new age documentary, a science-fiction drama, anda cartoon; three completely different films.

Koyannisqatsi is the newest and least known of these three films. It is a 1982 documentary with ads that said "Until now, you've never really seen the world you live in.". Director Godfrey Reggio combines stock footage (rocket launches, landscape vistas, building demolitions, munitions tests) with spectacular new footage by cinematographer Ron Fricke (cityscapes, commuter crowds, clouds and waves, traffic jams, assembly lines). He creates a mosaic of life in the modern industrial world and how it has become disconnected from the natural world and is now a `life out of balance', which is a translation of the title. Although the film has no characters, dialogue or narration, the dramatic editing and stirring score by Philip Glass create a great emotional, and even physical impact. I once talked my mother into seeing it with me. While she liked it very much and still comments on it, at the end of one particularly frenetic sequence she said, with a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness that's over".

2001 is an imaginative look at how man's evolution might have been affected by outside influences. Much of the film has no dialogue whatever. The rest has occasional patches of dialogue, with most having nothing to do with the plot. There is the TV interview, a father's phone call on his daughter's birthday, proud parents radio message on their distant son's birthday, a computer's seeming random questions while working up the crew psychology report, the rambling song of a computer having its memory erased. None of this has anything to do with the search for the source of the strange artifact first found by prehistoric apes, then later by explorers on the moon and how it may affect man's future. More important than dialogue are the amazing visuals and music. The spaceship ballets, technical hardware, and the ending star gate dance of lights, combined with magnificent music evoke the sense of wonder and awe that the vastness of space and the possibilities of the future should inspire.

Walt Disney's Fantasia is a groundbreaking film creating a painted ballet to accompany several pieces of well-known music. The only dialogue is short introductions to each piece by renowned musicologist Deems Taylor. He briefly comments on the composer, if the music tells a specific story, and whether Disney's animation follows that story. Music can evoke strong emotions in the listener with or without a story. Fantasia frequently creates new stories for the music, but the power of the music to arouse the listener remains. The mouse king is gone from the Nutcracker Suite, but a circle of dancing mushrooms, and bouquet of waltzing flowers is no less charming and whimsical. The primitive dances of the Rite of Spring have been changed to the struggles of prehistoric life, but the music is still powerfully thrilling. The rage and fury of demons in Night on Bald Mountain end at dawn as the serene beauty of Ave Maria accompanies the glory of a sunrise. Image and music again stir the viewer's soul.

A science-fiction drama, a cartoon, and a new age documentary; three completely different films thematically that each show the power of image and music to reach the viewer emotionally. September 9, 2008

Excellent Film

Very different and artistic film. This film is an excellent example of telling a story through other means than those used in conventional cinema today. August 4, 2008

Impressive film/unimpressive DVD

I love this film. One of the most moving works of art ever created, however the DVD transfer is underwhelming. DVD can use up to 10 MBPS. When surround sound is used up to about 9 MBPS. I work preofessionally with video (shooting/editing) and spend a fair amount of time authoring DVDs. Why they chose to stick to 3 - 5 MBPS is appalling. For those of you who do not know MBPS = Mega Bits Per Second. MBPS is similar to Megapixels (when speaking about a digital camera). The higher the Mega Bits used per second the more information used to store thie picture and thus the higher the quality the picture will be and the better it will look. I would still recommend this DVD...only because this is as of now the best way to see the film (outside the off chance it will be shown in some art house theatre). Beware,however, it will not look great...good maybe. I can't wait until Kayaanisqatsi is remastered for Blu-ray. June 30, 2008

What have we done?

I first encountered Koyaanisqatsi in 1984,and was awed by the photography used to create the images that I saw. As time went on and I watched it several more times, I slowly began to understand the story this film was telling:We are slowly destroying the very planet we live on,our only home in this vast universe. When I've shown this movie to family and friends the first thing they do when watching it is recognize some of the locations that were used and they get a kick out of that.It's not until they see it again that they start to understand what it's about, and it's very touching to see the looks on their faces as they realize what is happening.
The music used is very mesmerizing, but there are a couple of places where it goes on and on and it makes you feel like "enough already!" Give it a chance,as it helps make the movie what it is.
June 11, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...