I’m going on memory from college days 15 years back on this one but there was a movie we saw on PBS and recorded one evening called Koyanasquatsi that was, at the time, about as unique a show as I’d seen to date.
I’d play it for friends from time to time over the years but the tape quality and the advent of DVD eventually allowed my copy to become buried. I no longer know where it is now but still remember the show pretty vividly.
If I’m not mistaken, it was described as “A non-narritative pictoral essay sweeping across the US in search of natural and man-made vistas” or something close to that. Strong on time lapse photography, it began with beautiful movie shorts of nature, then man’s dominance and eventual screwing up of the planet.
Anybody else catch ever this show and develop a fondness for it?
In the beginning, there was Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of balance in 1983. Great flick, IMHO, but none of my friends can stay awake through the thing.
Followed in 1988 by Powwaqatsi: Life in Transformation. Not as good, but I still have the soundtrack. Quite a bit of this music was also used in The Truman Show in 1998.
And now, the IMDb has Naqoyqatsi listed for release in 2002. (Mind you, I looked up Philip Glass for this information). Naqoyqatsi is listed as in development, and as a War Movie. I’m guessing it will probably end up as an ANTI war movie, but that remains to be seen.
I’ve posted about this before, but I’m too lazy to look up the links. I actually own the DVD and it’s excellent! For more info, try http://www.koyaanisqatsi.org .
I loved this movie.I would love to see it again too.One of my favorite scenes is the long zoom shot of the airplane taking off.The heat currents in the air make the pinstriping move in a serpantine fashion.At the same time the soundtrack provides a pulsating,and suitable accompanyment!
Eutychus55, your link was the biggest surprise. It seriously takes $180.00 to get a DVD copy that’s not the original??? Is that what you have and, if so, is it close enough to the original to warrant that price?
Think I’ve posted this before, but here goes.
While in grad school, around 85, Ms. D and I lived next door to some guys who showed some of the movies on campus. When they got the next week’s film in, they would preview them on the white rear wall of their garage. We would hangout on the lawn between the garage and my neighbor’s - ahem - herb garden, with a bunch of our dogs and with plenty of refreshments.
Watching k__ in that manner, on a lovely summer’s evening, is one of my fondest film-watching memories.
I saw it when it first came out. I was living in Salt Lake City at the time, and this movie played at the mainstream movie houses in SLC for a Long time. To me this shows that either a.) Kopyaanisqatsi is not just an “artsy” flick – it has broad popular appeal. or b.) SLC movie goers are a sophisticated bunch.(Probably a bit of both)
After its long run at Trolley Cinemas in SLC, Koyaanisqatsi became a regular at art mopvie houses, like the late lamented Blue Mouse.
I picked up a used copy a few years ago, and still watch it occasionally. The long, continuous shot of a missile being launched, then exploding, then the debris tumbling slowly to earth (all in a single unbroken take) has an odd beauty to it. (It occurs very close to the end of the film.) I often show this to other people.
To me, though, the film’s premise – that it shows how modern life is so completely out-of-balance with nature – doesn’t come through. I find the time-lapse shots of, say, the crowds at Grand Central Station to be as fascinating and engaging as the time-lapse shots of clouds over redrock canyons.
BTW, Pepper Mill doesn’t share my enthusiasm for this film. It either plugs into your twisted mind to begin with, or else it’s an acquired taste.
I’m a land use planner by profession and I brought a copy in to work one day and played it at lunch - my fellow planners that had never seen it enjoyed it.
A slight hijack (and a tip of the hat to my muscian friends who have a hard time getting their minds around Phillip Glass’s music):
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Philip Glass.
Philip Glass who?
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Philip Glass.
Philip Glass who?
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Philip Glass.
Philip Glass who?
ad infinitum (or, ad nauseum depending upon your way of thinking)
And here I have thought for all these years that the only people who were down with Koyanas. were my goofy pothead buddies and me. When I was in college, this was a favorite of ours. Get high, watch Koyanas., and talk about some crazy ecological/psuedo-philosophical/faux-intellectual bullsh*t!
What a great movie - especially the scenes in the city with the masses walking to work in the morning which is eventully morphed into a computer chip. That usually helped the buzz kick-in.
I wasn’t going to admit it but since it seems to be a theme here… yes, the first time we ever did Xactly what you think we did was also the night we first recorded this movie. Come to think of it, it was when VanHalen’s 1984 had come out, so 17 years ago.
What a fantastic film! I remember watching it when I was in university…we turned down the volume on the TV & turned on a classical music radio station. I’ll be damned if the music wasn’t in exact sync with the film. I wonder if that had something to do with the funny cigarettes we were smoking…
I bought the CD just a couple weeks ago- absolutely love that music! It’s not the original soundtrack, as this version includes almost all the movie (except the silent stretches). Apparently the original soundtrack was substantially cut to fit the pre-CD album length.
The store from which I bought it had the DVD as well. I assume it’s the actual movie, but I don’t know for sure; however, it wasn’t that expensive.
I suppose this may have been the inspiration for the thread, but Glass and his ensemble are touring with the film as part of “Philip on Film” (yes, they do the music live!). They’re in Seattle Friday doing Koyaan, Saturday doing Powaq. Their tour schedule is on his website.
Put me down as a huge huge huge Koyaanisqatsi fan. It’s one of my favorite pieces of art in any discipline. (I’m also a huge fan of minimal music in general). I had the pleasure of seeing this performed by Philip Glass and his ensemble live last year at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as well as Powaaqatsi, Anima Mundi, and an interesting little short film called Evidence (all by Godfrey Reggio) which <<<SPOILER ALERT>>> shows a group of children mindless staring in the same direction, looking like zombies with eerily emotionless expressions on their faces. After about 5-10 minutes of panning back and forth from face to face, with their expressions remaining constant, while we listen to Glass’ meditative minimal music, we learn that these kids are simply watching TV (OUCH - I couldn’t watch TV for, well… hours after that). Very effective.
I very much doubt they had the DVD. It had come out on VHS video a while back, but was discontinued. The rights are currently in dispute and the IRE that I linked to in my previous post is currently trying to purchase the rights to it so they can release it.
Geez, the first time I saw Koyaanisqatsi was when I came home from the Laurie Anderson concert with a head full of acid and found my roommate at the time stuck to the front of the TV watching it. I soon joined in. Had a copy on VHS, loaned it to a friend and never got it back. Finally broke down and bought the DVD (copies of the tape were going for about the same price on eBay) and love it. Hope that the general release version comes out soon as more people need to see this film. Oh, one of the guys who worked on Koyaanisqatsi also worked on Baraka, but from the way that’s shot it looks to me like they just didn’t get what Koyaanisqatsi was all about.
and found my roommate at the time stuck to the front of the TV watching it. I soon joined in. Had a copy on VHS, loaned it to a friend and never got it back. Finally broke down and bought the DVD (copies of the tape were going for about the same price on eBay) and love it. Hope that the general release version comes out soon as more people need to see this film. Oh, one of the guys who worked on Koyaanisqatsi also worked on Baraka, but from the way that’s shot it looks to me like they just didn’t get what Koyaanisqatsi was all about.