639-642 The Qatsi Trilogy

[daniel p]

I have Baraka and Chronos on Blu, yes Baraka is an incredible experience with HD picture and sound. Chronos wasn't in nearly as good shape, no 4k resolution restorations...

I would hope the qatsi films might look somewhere in-between - older prints (except Naqoy) and all 3 shot on 35mm.

[bugsy_pal]

man, nice memory. that discussion actually started on the page before, FWIW.

anyway, yeah, just never been a Glass fan, but used to really love Koyaanisqatsi (the last time or two I tried, I found it had lost most of its punch for me. I think this may be because it's been so influential in the interim, not sure.) however, the time I saw it in the theater, the Glass soundtrack made me want to kill everyone around me, I found the whole experience much more enjoyable at home playing entirely different music, no matter how formative Glass was in making the film, and thought I'd pass that on, FWIW.

Hmm, I might be tempted to try this film with alternate music. I saw Koyaanisqatsi at the cinema many years ago - I loved the images but the music gave me a headache, and I've never liked Glass's music much since.

[Tribe]

Hmm, I might be tempted to try this film with alternate music. I saw Koyaanisqatsi at the cinema many years ago - I loved the images but the music gave me a headache, and I've never liked Glass's music much since.

I'm not dissing you for not enjoying the movie (that music can indeed get to you after twenty minutes), but wanting to see this with a different soundtrack is like wanting to see Touch of Evil in color. Glass' music is an essential part of this movie.

[bugsy_pal]

Hmm, I might be tempted to try this film with alternate music. I saw Koyaanisqatsi at the cinema many years ago - I loved the images but the music gave me a headache, and I've never liked Glass's music much since.

I'm not dissing you for not enjoying the movie (that music can indeed get to you after twenty minutes), but wanting to see this with a different soundtrack is like wanting to see Touch of Evil in color. Glass' music is an essential part of this movie.

Fair enough... you are of course absolutely right. It would not be the same without that music. The thing is that I did find the images in the film quite stunning and captivating, and to be honest, I probably would not ever actually bother to watch it with different music. I might just turn the music down.

[Svevan]

Hmm, I might be tempted to try this film with alternate music. I saw Koyaanisqatsi at the cinema many years ago - I loved the images but the music gave me a headache, and I've never liked Glass's music much since.

I'm not dissing you for not enjoying the movie (that music can indeed get to you after twenty minutes), but wanting to see this with a different soundtrack is like wanting to see Touch of Evil in color. Glass' music is an essential part of this movie.

I'm with Tribe on this; this isn't Brakhage-style silent experiments that can be played with any soundtrack. The music provides the structure and the tone of the film, and sometimes adds a layer of ambiguity to the film by contrasting with the images instead of complementing them.

Also, and this may have been mentioned earlier, Glass's music for the films follows the evolution of his music as a whole. His early Einstein on the Beach style minimalism is what you're hearing in Koyaanisqatsi, while his later emphasis on indigenous instruments and rhythm structures (example: the opera Akhnaten) is heard in Powaqqatsi. Very different than either of those two modes is the neo-romantic, string-heavy flavor of his current stuff, like all his symphonies from the last decade and a half and his more conservative modern film scores. This is what you hear in Naqoyqatsi. So although Koyaanis is arguably the best (I love them all pretty equally), you should certainly see if the others and their music are more palatable, especially if the concept of the films is in any way intriguing to you.

[Flike]

Have we had any info on this supposed release aside from a post on the often-awful Something Awful forums? I watched Koyaanisqatsi today and it occurred to me this was "coming" but I don't remember even a non-commital FB shrug or anything of that nature.

[stereo]

Koyaanisqatsi was screened in SF with a score by The Zag Men:

http://www.atasite.org/calendar/?x=2800" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tribe]

Have we had any info on this supposed release aside from a post on the often-awful Something Awful forums? I watched Koyaanisqatsi today and it occurred to me this was "coming" but I don't remember even a non-commital FB shrug or anything of that nature.

I think this was confirmed in a newsletter, if I recall correctly.

[swo17]

The first I ever heard of it was someone posting here on the forum, saying Reggio had presented his films somewhere and had mentioned in passing that he was working with Criterion.

[solaris72]

I would hope the qatsi films might look somewhere in-between - older prints (except Naqoy) and all 3 shot on 35mm.

Naqoy was digital video, (a mix of SD and HD) but printed and exhibited in 35mm.

[atcolomb]

Saw Koyaanisqatsi on MGM-HD and was disapointed with the print they were broadcasting. The colors looked weak and the picture jumped up and down alot like a earthquake and the image itself was soft...not much better than my dvd. There will be a German blu-ray release by Koch Media on January 22 so i will wait for some reviews before i buy it.

[Volta]

I caught Koyaanisqatsi this morning, as well. I was shocked that it was on, but the print underwhelmed me. Still, I was absolutely hypnotized by the images and score despite the relatively poor quality of both. (Maybe my volume was turned low?) I wouldn't be surprised if Criterion uses this print, and I guess that wouldn't incredibly bother me so long as the box is supplement heavy.

[Cinephrenic]

Any update on a possible Criterion release?

[zedz]

BluRay box set to be announced next month. It's called Artsy-Fartsy Qatsi and comes with a free themed game of Yahtzee.

[Jeff]

The Qatsi Trilogy



A singular artist and activist, Godfrey Reggio is best known for his galvanizing trio of films The Qatsi Trilogy. Astonishingly photographed, and featuring unforgettable, cascading scores by Philip Glass, these are immersive sensory experiences that meditate on the havoc humankind’s fascination with technology has wreaked on our world. From 1983’s Koyaanisqatsi (the title is a Hopi word that means “life out of balance”) to 1988’s Powaqqatsi (“life in transformation) to 2002’s Naqoyqatsi (“life as war”), Reggio takes us on an edifying journey from the ancient to the contemporary, from nature to industry and back again, all the while keeping our eyes wide with wonder.

Koyaanisqatsi



An unorthodox work in every way, Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi was nevertheless a sensation when it was released in 1983. The film wordlessly surveys the rapidly changing environments of the northern hemisphere. The director, cinematographer Ron Fricke, and composer Philip Glass created an astonishing collage; the film shuttles the viewer from one jaw-dropping vision to the next, moving from images of untouched nature to others depicting human beings’ increasing reliance on technology. Often using hypnotic time-lapse photography, Koyaanisqatsi looks at our world from an angle unlike any other.


Powaqqatsi



Five years after Godfrey Reggio stunned audiences with Koyaanisqatsi,, he joined forces again with composer Philip Glass and other collaborators for a second chapter. Here, Reggio turns his sights on third world nations in the southern hemisphere. Forgoing the sped-up aesthetic of the first film, Powaqqatsi employs a meditative slow motion in order to reveal the everyday beauty of the traditional ways of life of native people in Africa, Asia, and South America, and to show how those cultures are being eroded as their environment is gradually taken over by industry. This is the most intensely spiritual segment of Reggio’s philosophical and visually remarkable Qatsi Trilogy.


Naqoyqatsi



Godfrey Reggio takes on the digital revolution in the final chapter of his Qatsi Trilogy, Naqoyqatsi. With a variety of cinematic techniques, including slow motion, time-lapse, and computer-generated imagery, the film tells of a world that has completely transitioned from a natural environment to a human-made one. Globalization is complete, all of our interactions are technologically mediated, and all images are manipulated. From this (virtual) reality, Reggio sculpts a frenetic yet ruminative cinematic portrait of a world that has become officially postlanguage.


DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTOR’S SET:

- New, restored high-definition digital transfers of all three films, approved by director Godfrey Reggio, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks on the Blu-ray editions
- Essence of Life, an interview program with Reggio and composer Philip Glass on Koyaanisqatsi
- New interview with cinematographer Ron Fricke about Koyaanisqatsi
- Early forty-minute demo version of Koyaanisqatsi with a scratch soundtrack by Allen Ginsberg, along with a new introduction by Reggio
- New interview with Reggio about Koyaanisqatsi’s original visual concept, with behind-the-scenes footage
- Impact of Progress, an interview program with Reggio and Glass on their collaboration
- Inspiration and Ideas, an interview with Reggio about his greatest influences and teachers
- Anima Mundi (1992), Reggio’s twenty-eight-minute montage of images of over seventy animal species, scored by Glass
- Video afterword by Reggio on the trilogy
- The Making of “Naqoyqatsi,” a brief documentary featuring interviews with the production crew
- Panel discussion on Naqoyqatsi from 2003, with Reggio, Glass, editor Jon Kane, and music critic John Rockwell
- Music of “Naqoyqatsi,” an interview with Glass and cellist Yo-Yo Ma
- Television spots and an interview with Reggio relating to his 1970s multimedia privacy campaign in New Mexico
- Trailers
- PLUS: A booklet featuring essays on the trilogy by film scholar Scott MacDonald, Rockwell, and author and environmentalist Bill McKibben

[The Narrator Returns]

Come on guys, this and Trilogy of Life in back-to-back months? You're not playing fair.

[jsteffe]

Very exiting! In the meantime, I have a question about the proper aspect ratio of KOYAANISQATSI. What was finally determined about that? The special edition DVD released by the IRE - is 1.33:1 open-matte, whereas the MGM/UA DVD is 1.78:1. DVD Beaver offers a comparison of the two DVDs.

The new Criterion edition is announced as 1.85:1, which is even narrower but is obviously a common theatrical exhibition format for open-matte films released in the U.S. I'm not necessarily questioning Criterion's (or Reggio's) decision, just looking for more information about how the film was presented historically.

[R0lf]

Open or closed matte?

[jsteffe]

What I meant to say was that films shot open matte are commonly matted off to 1.85:1 in projection.

How was KOYAANISQATSI shown at its premiere in Radio City Music Hall?

[zedz]

Back in the 80s when I saw it a few times, it was always projected in widescreen. Considering the film was all about visual impact, I can't imagine it was ever intended to be seen in academy - it's not like it was shot in IMAX. In conventional projection, open matte would mean shrinking the size of the image, not opening it up.

[jsteffe]

Back in the 80s when I saw it a few times, it was always projected in widescreen. Considering the film was all about visual impact, I can't imagine it was ever intended to be seen in academy - it's not like it was shot in IMAX. In conventional projection, open matte would mean shrinking the size of the image, not opening it up.

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know. You have a good point re: visual impact. One of my friends who knows the film well feels that the compositions are better balanced in the open matte version, as does Gary Tooze in his review. I'm an agnostic on that issue, but the fact that the new Criterion transfer is approved by Reggio lends more weight to the widescreen presentation.

[warren oates]

I'm kind of excited to see Anima Mundi on here as an extra. Hopefully in 1080p like everything else. I've never seen it, though, so to those who have, what's it like? A minor curiosity, a short in the style and on the same level as the features, or something else?

[flyonthewall2983]

I'm very interested in this release, mostly hearing about these movies but not seeing them yet. It appears Naqoyqatsi is on Netflix streaming, so I hope to catch that soon.

[Matt]

I'm kind of excited to see Anima Mundi on here as an extra. Hopefully in 1080p like everything else. I've never seen it, though, so to those who have, what's it like? A minor curiosity, a short in the style and on the same level as the features, or something else?

It's like this.

[Kirkinson]

I was really, really hoping for an alternate audio track of one of the recent live performances of Koyaanisqatsi, but I'm so excited this is finally happening that I can't really complain about anything. It's very cool that Anima Mundi and some of the IRE television spots made it onto the set, the forty-minute demo version sounds fascinating, and I'm sure the Ron Fricke interview will be interesting, too.