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40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

thecurb.com.au

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Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

#71

Post by julienchastang »

eigenvalue wrote: post #5

If you like this then I can’t recommend Baraka highly enough, by the cinematographer of Koyaanisqatsi: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_(film) No narration at all, just amazing visuals and music/sounds. Review by Ebert: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-baraka-1992

Thanks for sharing. Baraka is one of my favorite movies and one the the very few Bluray disks I actually own. It was one of the last movies to be shot entirely in 70mm[0]. At the time Ebert declared it the finest video disk ever made[1]. There was a recent 8K reissue of Baraka, but I have not seen it.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_70_mm_films

[1] https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=1941

Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

#72

Post by nologic01 »

I first watched this film back at a time when sustainability was not discussed widely as an emerging crisis. It resonated deeply yet it was somehow disconnected from the day-to-day struggle of living a life.

As the years passed and more and more we have come around to see the dead-ends of our ways, that original disconnect has been finally resolved: the movie was just way ahead of its time.

Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

#73

Post by cduzz »

pgreenwood wrote: post #68

I can recommend watching the entire film run backwards. The music sounds approximately the same, and it turns it into a feel-good story showing assembly lines pulling cars apart, pollution being sucked into factories and mining vehicles burying ores. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6-K-arVl-U

I've tried a couple times to coerce my kids into watching Koyaanisqatsi (one of them really likes watching "the way things go" so it isn't an absurd reach).

I keep landing on that video rather than the "proper" one and it's disconcerting.

Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

#74

Post by mherdeg »

CalRobert wrote: post #25

My kids (age 3 and 5) wanted to watch a movie and I didn't really want them watching one so I bluffed and put on Koyaanisqatsi. They (and I, for the first time in ~15 years) were enthralled. Ended up talking about poverty, etc.

This is really special - glad to hear it went well.

Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

#75

Post by foobar1962 »

I used to watch Koyaanisqatsi in the Valhalla, an "encore" cinema in Glebe (Sydney, Australia). This, and Spinal Tap, and 2001. Oh, and A Clockwork Orange. This is back when VHS players were a luxury item, and seeing old movies was difficult or impossible. The Valhalla also ran controversial new movies, which usually meant gay themed like My Beautiful Laundrette, which mainstream cinemas would not touch.

The Valhalla published 3 month (or 6 month, I don't remember now) calendars that were about the size of a tabloid double-page spread. They were a common sight on fridge doors.

Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

#76

Post by kodisha »

Strange how with all modern advancements and crazy resolution cameras those movies still look stunning and incredibly beautiful.

No RED or similar camera had came close to this.

Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

#77

Post by oogali »

pgreenwood wrote: post #68

I can recommend watching the entire film run backwards. The music sounds approximately the same, and it turns it into a feel-good story showing assembly lines pulling cars apart, pollution being sucked into factories and mining vehicles burying ores. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6-K-arVl-U

I didn't realize that was the source video for this other video I periodically watch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY8ENJK0hvM).

TIL.

Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

#78

Post by sien »

foobar1962 wrote: post #75

I used to watch Koyaanisqatsi in the Valhalla, an "encore" cinema in Glebe (Sydney, Australia). This, and Spinal Tap, and 2001. Oh, and A Clockwork Orange. This is back when VHS players were a luxury item, and seeing old movies was difficult or impossible. The Valhalla also ran controversial new movies, which usually meant gay themed like My Beautiful Laundrette, which mainstream cinemas would not touch. The Valhalla…

In Canberra there was Electric Shadows and the ANU film club that did the same thing.

In Melbourne the Astor did that as well.

Possibly there was one in each Australian capital city.

Now much more is easily available but it was good to go to those places.

Re: 40 Years of Koyaanisqatsi

#79

Post by bscphil »

eigenvalue wrote: post #5

If you like this then I can’t recommend Baraka highly enough, by the cinematographer of Koyaanisqatsi: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_(film) No narration at all, just amazing visuals and music/sounds. Review by Ebert: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-baraka-1992

In addition to Baraka and especially Samsara (the best known film in this genre), I'd suggest the films of Nikolaus Geyrhalter. "Our Daily Bread" is a really good film looking at food production specifically.
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