As close as it gets to a good feature length music video.
And a direct inspiration upon music videos, too, particularly Madonna's Ray of Light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ov9USxVxY
40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
51–60 of 122 posts
Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
#52Under-seen and under-appreciated film.
Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
#53Koyaanisqatsi is just one of those Magic films that you can start watching and think yeah whatever - and then as it goes on and on you just get more and more blown away by incredible intensity of the soundtrack and visuals. A really transcendental experience. The backstory that Philip Glass originally didn’t want to score it is also amazing, as is the reason for Francis Ford Coppola’s name being on the artwork even t…
> Francis Ford Coppola’s name being on the artwork even though he had nothing to do with the film.
Sounds like a strange take. From [1]:
> Koyaanisqatsi opens with the words “Presented by Francis Ford Coppola.” This simple endorsement by one of cinema’s most renowned directors solidified the film’s reputation and propelled it into movie theaters around the world.
Not sure if FFC gave them money (I guess yes since he's credited as executive producer), even without money, his name would've been enough to open a lot of doors.
Reminds of how Werner Herzog got involved in "The Act of Killing" [2], watching an 8-minute excerpt at breakfast was enough.
[1] https://culturacolectiva.com/en/movies/francis-ford-coppolas...
Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
#54Can't count how many times I've played The Grid on loop.
This piece resonates so much with what the movie and soundtrack evoked in me.
I discovered Glass' works from it and love his discography.
Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
#55Does anyone have any information on the Hopi prophecies quoted in the article and in the film? Are they documented elsewhere? It seems a little suspicious to me that the Hopi text so closely matches 1970s American environmentalism/anxiety about nuclear weapons. I suspect there has been some creative translation. I actually wrote to the linguist listed in the Koyaanisqatsi credits for the original text in Hopi and he…
Thanks for the rabbit hole! If the wikipedia citations are reliable, you might check all three of:
Christopher Vecsey. The Emergence of the Hopi People, in American Indian Quarterly, vol. 7, no. 3, American Indian Religions, 70 (Summer 1983).
Harold Courlander. The Fourth World of the Hopis: The Epic Story of the Hopi Indians as Preserved in their Legends and Traditions, 201 University of New Mexico Press, 1987
Susan E. James. "Some Aspects of the Aztec Religion in the Hopi Kachina Cult", Journal of the Southwest (2000)
In particular, the wiki article [1] cites the first to claim, “Hopi mythology is not always told consistently and each Hopi mesa, or even each village, may have its own version of a particular story” which would presumably provide ample opportunities to walk in the gray area between quoting and creative translation you mention.
In addition to that angle, the Palo Verde nuclear plant broke ground in 1976 [2] so it’s not ridiculous to think that the public might have been concerned and discussing it around 1972 when some of the first film was taken. No citation there but not would be another avenue to investigate.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopi_mythology
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Verde_Nuclear_Generating_...
Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
#56If you haven't seen the movie yet: https://watchdocumentaries.com/koyaanisqatsi/
Seeing this post/thread brings back some good memories!
Am happy to see Phillip Glass is on Bandcamp. I found an old cassette copy of Koyaanisqatsi kicking around but also just got a digital copy of the soundtrack there; happy to support a living artist.
Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ron Fricke is person who made Koyaanisqatsi the beautiful visual journey that it is. I would recommend watching any of his other works. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Fricke (FWIW, Powaqqatsi is also pretty good, but I would strongly suggest avoiding Naqoyqatsi which is just not very good).
I have seen all three and don't recall ever making qualitative comparisons with anyone regarding the 3.
Despite that, I agree with their conclusions.
Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
#58I have smoked a lot of pot watching this.
Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
#59I was a teenager riding a bicycle through a neighborhood, when I came across a yard sale. Heard that someone had died. Among their things was a tape of the Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack composed by Philip Glass. Bought it for a couple of bucks, and later that night was blown away by the music. I had heard nothing like it before - it made me shiver with awe and fear. It felt like the dead was reaching out through the sound…
About 15 years ago I saw the film while a band played the soundtrack live. Philip Glass himself was playing some instruments.
Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi
#60[flagged]
[Spider Crab] Silence, GPT!