Shipper.ES@PARC-MAXC.ARPA (06/20/83)
see this movie! it is probably very different from anything you have seen. no plot, no dialogue. it consists of subtle, dynamic music by philip glass and scenes of earth's natural beauty mixed with scenes of the overwhelming power of urban decadence, technological progress, the comic complacency of mass-production, and interesting time-lapse photography views depicting instances of cultural lag. "koyaanisqatsi" is hopi indian for "life out of balance."
Breisacher.ES@PARC-MAXC.ARPA (06/20/83)
I loved the visual effect of the film, but the music was awful. Definitely worth seeing! FYI: It is playing this week only at the Plitt in Century City.
Morrill.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA (06/20/83)
Anybody know if this is showing in the SF bay area?
Morrill.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (09/26/83)
Ko-yaa-nis-qatsi: life out of balance I was so impressed, almost obsessed, with this film after seeing it Friday night, that I saw it again on Saturday, and then again on Sunday. The film has no dialog to speak of, just 87 minutes of incredibly beautiful cinematograghy, lots of time lapse photograghy, and a hauntingly dramatic sound track. One warning however, the pacing is guaranteed to raise your blood pressure a notch or two. If you consider yourself a movie/film lover, then this film is a very definite must.
riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (09/29/83)
A couple of questions -- -- In what language does "Ko-yaa-nis-qatsi" mean "life out of balance?" -- What are the "87 minutes of incredibly beautiful cinematography" OF? -- In short, where is this film from and what is it about?
riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (09/29/83)
References: <12000@sri-arpa.UUCP> A couple of questions -- -- In what language does "Ko-yaa-nis-qatsi" mean "life out of balance?" -- What are the "87 minutes of incredibly beautiful cinematography" OF? -- In short, where is this film from and what is it about?
tef@linus.UUCP (Thomas E. Fawcett) (09/30/83)
I had a different opinion of Koyaanisqatsi than Morrill.PA. Although I agree that the photography was exceptional in general and the sound track was fairly good, I didn't think that the movie had much "personality". For those who haven't seen the film yet, it is formatted with roughly the first half devoted to scenes of nature and wilderness (mostly of the American Southwest or California) and roughly the second half devoted to scenes of modern society, frenetic city life and human activities, with a fairly graceful transition between the first and second halves. There were several problems with the movie for me. I found the camerawork somewhat laborious and unimaginative, and some of the scenes were dwelled upon too long; the scenes of nature would have made excellent still photographs but a few were too protracted. When the film shifted its focus I found myself fascinated and visually relieved by the scenes of humans and cars scurrying about - I don't think this is the effect Coppola intended! I think the main flaw, however, is that the film isn't "personal" enough - the camera is always a detached observer, and the events and scenes have no emotion to them at all. The effect is like that of watching an ant farm - it's interesting for awhile but in the end you don't really care. I've seen films with less impeccable photography which successfully make the point that Koyaanisqatsi tries to make, because they manage to get the viewer involved. One could argue that Coppola was merely trying to examine rather than judge, but that seems unlikely given the meaning of the title alone. My bottom-line single-figure monetary artistic judgement: It's worth about $2 to $3 to see; probably not the $4.25 asked by most 'art' theaters around Boston. Tom Fawcett MITRE Corp.
neff@ihuxf.UUCP (M. Steffen) (09/30/83)
One review on the net seemed to indicate that Koyaanisqatsi is a film made by Francis Ford Coppola and he accused him of certain failures in the movie. Now I haven't seen the movie so I can't gauge its merits, but if you don't like it you should at least blame the right person. Koyaanisqatsi was produced and directed by Godfrey Reggio. Coppola saw the movie after it was made and was so impressed that he decided he wanted to be involved in its distribution. From what I have seen and read Coppola had no part in the making of the movie.
keller@uicsl.UUCP (04/28/84)
#N:uicsl:7600049:000:1809 uicsl!keller Apr 28 14:44:00 1984 I didn't know what to expect and was a little surprised that (ko-ya-ni-scatsi) wasn't your normal movie. The movie is a well edited collection of scenes from both the natural beauty of our world and our modern technological society with a complimentary sound track by Philip Glass. I think most people into computers would like it because of the incredible patterns in nearly every frame. The movie begins with what seems to be a long series of back country views. You watch sand dunes, flowing rivers, and vast expanses of water with their gentle shapes and inherent tranquillity. The movie soon switches to big cities where you watch as millions of people move in individually random but collectively ordered ways among the huge angular reflecting skyscrapers and busy roads. The pace in this part is almost blindingly fast with time lapse photography accelerating every motion and a frantic sound track. It would drive you out of the theater if your attention wasn't riveted on the patterns that the time lapse photograph lets you follow. It's a rush of people, machines, and lights. This movie wants you to view the contrast between the majesty of nature and the manic pace of society as "life out of balance" but I see it as an illusion caused by comparing things that work on completely different time scales. One of the comparisons made is between a photomicrograph of an IC and a city. Are we regimenting our lives? Pushing ourselves into a framework that better fits machines? These are the questions I would ask and I'd bet that the creators of this movie wanted me to ask. Still, without thinking too deeply about the meaning of our lives you can get a thrill from this movie just by observing the complex and recurring patterns mankind creates. Honeybees never had so eloquent a dance. -Shaun
flinn@seismo.UUCP (E. A. Flinn) (04/30/84)
The music is great, too.
wombat@uicsl.UUCP (05/02/84)
#R:uicsl:7600049:uicsl:7600050:000:450 uicsl!wombat May 2 13:35:00 1984 I thought Koyanisqatsi was very good, but some of the people I went with didn't agree. People who don't like watching neat patterns and scenery probably will be bored quickly. Some of the "life out of balance" propaganda can get heavy-handed, but if you can ignore it and just watch, it's great. Even better than the superposition of the city onto the IC, I thought, was the superposition of the IC onto the pattern of an Indian blanket. Wombat