Koyaanisqatsi

1983 "Life out of balance"
8.2| 1h26m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 27 April 1983 Released
Producted By: American Zoetrope
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: https://www.koyaanisqatsi.org/
Info

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

Genre

Documentary

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Cast

Director

Godfrey Reggio

Production Companies

American Zoetrope

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Koyaanisqatsi Audience Reviews

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting
Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.
Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Michael Kolesidis Koyaanisqatsi, life out of balance.Everything you might have heard about this film is probably wrong. How can they say that it has no characters, plot or narrative structure? The main character is life itself, delivering an outstanding performance, supported by characters such as the earth, the works of nature, the works of humans, destruction and humans themselves. The plot is simple and ingenious, juxtaposing nature, to humanity. Humanity as part of nature but mainly humanity cut off the nature, cut off its human elements, unveiling beautifully in a narrative structure that leads to a satisfying end, the final realisation of what live on this planet as an anatomically modern homo sapiens has come to. ''The smartest mammal on earth'' alienated from nature, from society, deprived of its most fundamental right, the right to be human. n short, this film is the most subtle critique of the modern way of living.It delivers its message without using any dialogues. No words whatsoever. Beautifully shot by Ron Fricke, pioneering techniques, such as time lapses and breath-taking points of view, exposing life like it has never seen before.And the music. Mystic. Magnificent. Setting the tone of the whole film and inviting you to become part of the whole experience .An excellent documentary from all aspects. A future Voyager space mission should definitely contain a copy of this film. This is our planet. This is our life.
caddainmoe While it is not a movie to be enjoyed by everyone, or in all situations, Godfrey Reggio's "Koyaanisqati" is a unique, vast, and exhilarating experience. It has no direct narrative and has many different meanings depending on who you ask, and achieves this through brilliant scenery and long shots, as well as a spectacularly done soundtrack. The soundtrack, performed by the Philip Glass Ensemble, compliments the visuals in such a way that the film would feel incomplete and less meaningful without it. Its use of repetition, crescendos, and silence overwhelms the film with intensity and serenity. It stands out to me as one of Koyaanisqatsi's greatest highlights.It can take a certain mindset or amount of patience to appreciate the effect that Reggio sets out to achieve, which is not a complaint but something to take note of. It has its own style that defies what a majority of popular films possess, and by doing so it seems that the film has a message that could be conveyed in no other way; it is designed in a way where it can't necessarily be defined only by words. That, to me, is the true beauty of the film.Overall, Koyaanisqatsi is a fantastic experience that is, while not extremely accessible, quite moving and beautiful in a very particular way. It provides a unique experience and message that proves the film to be well done and worthwhile for anyone to watch.
Petter P A very beautiful flow of clips, even though some of them should frighten more than intrigue.The tempo is also part of what makes is so captivating. The clips slowly builds up and creates an alarming story. At the same time every sequence stands on its own. The lack of words gives it an almost alien view of earth and man's relationship to the planet. Together with the score by Philip Glass it sucked me in and I have rarely been so focused on every frame throughout an entire movie. It must have been quite amazing to see this in a movie theater back in the 80's with the big screen, speakers and also i guess in a time when similar creations were more scarce than now. It's by far the most visual movie I have seen and the fact that it only relies on images and music to tell a story made it bypass my rational filters and made me fully present in the moment for 86 minutes straight.
flodecros This movie is surely the best achievement of the time lapse technology. First movie of the Qatsi trilogy, Koyaanisqatsi is a beautiful and prophetic movie. Some segments are beautifuls (the trip in the Monument Valley), uglies (the factories beside the beach, the tractor destroying the fields, the destruction of Pruitt Igoe...) and propheticals (the time lapse shots of the city). This movie is one of my favorite picture of all time. Another important point of the movie : the music. The soundtrack composed by Philip Glass is one of the best OST never written (The Grid and Prophecies are awesome). Briefly, this film is a must watch. Some people will find it boring, some people will find it awesome. I'm the 2nd kind of people.