# Naqoyqatsi \*spoilers\* **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naqoyqatsi-spoilers/155597 "2003-02-17T07:41:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naqoyqatsi-spoilers/155597/1 "2003-02-17T07:41:36Z")
Just saw the movie tonight! For those of you not familiar with the [Qatsi Trilogy](http://www.koyaanisqatsi.org/index.php), take a look at the home page for films or [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=136028), [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=105167), [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=112964) or [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91752). Non-spoiler review: Not as good as _ **Koyaanisqatsi** _, but better than _ **Powaqqatsi** _. The rest of this post is going to contain spoilers, so back out now, you weenies! The first shot is of a painting entitled _The Tower of Babel_, don’t remember who the artist was. The film lingers over the image for a few moments and then cuts to an abandoned railway terminal in Detroit. The first few shots are classic Reggio, and are also the last shots in the film which have no visible traces visual effects. The rest of the film is made up of shots that are either entirely CG or heavily retouched by CG effects. This film has a much more “internal” feel than the others, with no large sweeping vistas for the most part. The effects are amazing however. One of the most dramatic is slow-motion over exposed black and white footage of a group of people having a conversation. The final shot of that sequence ends with a man kissing a woman on the nose, but because of the slow speed of the film, you’re unable to tell if he’s going to bite her nose off or not, until he plants the kiss. I’ll admit that I’ve generally had to watch the other films multiple times before I got much of the symbolism behind them, but this film is easier to grasp in many parts without being heavy handed. In fact, much of the symbolism is so disturbing (as Reggio no doubt intended) without being heavy handed. The clips which reference Dolly the clone are particularly unsettling, even for a fan of cloning like myself. (They also reminded me of the cover art for a copy of _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_ I saw once.) A few of the shots are heavily FXed shots from the other movies in the Qatsi trilogy, which I think were used to tie the three films together. There are shots which are _stylistically_ similar to some of the shots in the first movie, but their subject matter is different. This is also the first of the films to use shots taken on the Moon and in Earth orbit. (The one showing the view of the nose of the shuttle in Earth orbit is particularly stunning.) One of the theme’s that the film seems to push is that modern devices help us to know more about humans, but the way they render the information makes it seem that you’re viewing something mechanical and not human at all. I can’t see this film having the kind of impact that the first film has had, but it certainly will have _some_ impact on the filmmaking community. If for no other reason than the Feng Shui director got a listing in the credits! As for Glass’s soundtrack, I enjoyed this one much more than his _Powaqqatsi_ one. This one had a much more martial feel to it. (Though I would have liked for the theater to have had the volume up a bit louder. I _like_ feeling my internal organs rattling about when the “Qatsi” voice comes on. 🆒 ) Finally, the end credits give you a bit more information as to where some of the footage was shot, which is nice. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naqoyqatsi-spoilers/155597/2 "2003-02-18T06:05:26Z")
Oh yeah, there’s some nudity in the film, which I don’t recall there being any in the others. There’s even a quick shot from what is obviously a porno (Just a head and shoulders shot of a woman from the rear, who’s obviously going, “Oh! Oh! Oh!”). ---
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naqoyqatsi-spoilers/155597/3 "2003-02-18T07:03:55Z")
Wow! There are three of them? I saw the first one when it came out. What an experience. I had heard about film number two, but not film number three. Neato. Where does one see this film? “Art house” type theaters I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naqoyqatsi-spoilers/155597/4 "2003-02-18T07:09:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Forbin \* > \*\*Wow! > There are three of them? > I saw the first one when it came out. What an experience. > I had heard about film number two, but not film number three. > Neato. > Where does one see this film? “Art house” type theaters I suppose. \*\* You can see some of the theater listings [here.](http://www.naqoy.com/) They’re not wholly accurate, but it’s a place to start. ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naqoyqatsi-spoilers/155597/5 "2003-02-18T07:23:27Z")
The movie opened on Oct. 18 last year; [Qatsi.org](http://www.qatsi.org) has a rolling list of upcoming theater releases and dates. I don’t know if there is a similar list of where is has already been shown. You can also see the trailer on Apple’s [Quicktime](http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/naqoyqatsi/) website. Ya know, I actually thought this was the weakest one of the trilogy, with the main reason being the heavy CG use. I realize that this fits into the movie’s theme of “there is no more nature; there is only technology,” but I can’t help but think how using current CG methods can quickly make it dated. Oh, the _Tower of Babel_ is by Peter Bruegel the Elder. ---
**Author:** ![jesseboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/90ced4/32.png) [@jesseboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesseboy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naqoyqatsi-spoilers/155597/6 "2003-02-18T07:34:34Z")
i saw this movie when it first came out in nyc, and i must say i was very disappointed. these guys let the computer effects ruin their vision. the first movie had a clear flow and direction. No image was superfluous and it was made to be fun and crazy at the same time. Naqoyqatsi had way too many images that i don’t think had anything to do with the theme, ‘life as war’. i remember sitting there thinking, ‘why the hell are we being shown this?!?’ alot of the effects were purely for show, cg designs that basically mean nothing, like rows of colored tiles and shit. as for the music i will only say it is some of the most awesome mind-bending shit i have ever heard(i have the soundtrack). ‘Primacy of Number’ is the techno-anthem for the 21st century! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naqoyqatsi-spoilers/155597/7 "2003-02-18T17:24:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Earthling \* > \*\*The movie opened on Oct. 18 last year; [Qatsi.org](http://www.qatsi.org) has a rolling list of upcoming theater releases and dates. I don’t know if there is a similar list of where is has already been shown. You can also see the trailer on Apple’s [Quicktime](http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/naqoyqatsi/) website. > > Ya know, I actually thought this was the weakest one of the trilogy, with the main reason being the heavy CG use. I realize that this fits into the movie’s theme of “there is no more nature; there is only technology,” but I can’t help but think how using current CG methods can quickly make it dated. > > Oh, the _Tower of Babel_ is by Peter Bruegel the Elder. \*\* I don’t know if the CG will make the film appear dated in years hence or not. I know that when I saw _Natural Born Killers_, I looked at my friends after the movie was over and said, “We’ve just seen the future of film making. Nearly every film that’s made 20 years from now will owe a great deal to this movie.” More and more, I’m seeing touches of _NBK_ in movies. So if that trend continues, then I think that _ **Naqoyqatsi** _ won’t seem dated at all, since _every_ film out there will be heavily laden with CG. Of course, if a director with the visionary ability of Orson Welles comes along who spuns CG entirely, then I think that _ **Naqoyqatsi** _ _will_ seem dated.