Director Godfrey Reggio has directed a trilogy of documentary films with Hopi titles: Koyaanisqatsi (1983; lit. "life out of balance"), Powaqqatsi (1988; lit. "life in transformation"), and Naqoyqatsi (2002; lit. "life as war"). The first film, Koyaanisqatsi, focuses on the effects that the industrialized world is having on the environment and relies primarily on time-lapse and slow-motion photography.[1] The second film, Powaqqatsi, focuses on the effects of industrialization on third-world countries and focuses more on people.[2] The final film, Naqoyqatsi, focuses on the effects that technology has on people and relies more heavily on computer-generated imagery and special effects than the previous two films.
My verdict: I first became interested in watching these films when I found out that the score for these films, composed by the minimalist, Philip Glass, was sampled for the soundtrack of The Truman Show [3], and when I found out that George Lucas helped finance the first two films.[4] Like the previous two films, Naqoyqatsi relied heavily upon the juxtaposition of images and the relentless, repetitive musical score by Philip Glass. All three films were a bit obscure and lacking in cohesion, but particularly this one. Despite the director's objection that these are not art films, I don't see any other conclusion that can be reached. Most people will find these documentaries confusing and unwatchable.[5]
Notes:
[1] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koyaanisqatsi.
[2] In fact, unlike Koyaanisqatsi, this film actually features human voices. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powaqqatsi.
[3] The Truman Show also sampled music from Philip Glass' score for Anima Mundi, a nature documentary also filmed by Godfrey Reggio.
[4] A fellow by the name of Steven Soderberg (director of the new Ocean's 11) financed this last one.
[5] Thus it is appropriate that the film opens with the camera zooming in on Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Tower of Babel kept in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam (see here). You can save yourself the trouble of figuring out what they mean by letting the director tell you here.
My verdict: I first became interested in watching these films when I found out that the score for these films, composed by the minimalist, Philip Glass, was sampled for the soundtrack of The Truman Show [3], and when I found out that George Lucas helped finance the first two films.[4] Like the previous two films, Naqoyqatsi relied heavily upon the juxtaposition of images and the relentless, repetitive musical score by Philip Glass. All three films were a bit obscure and lacking in cohesion, but particularly this one. Despite the director's objection that these are not art films, I don't see any other conclusion that can be reached. Most people will find these documentaries confusing and unwatchable.[5]
Notes:
[1] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koyaanisqatsi.
[2] In fact, unlike Koyaanisqatsi, this film actually features human voices. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powaqqatsi.
[3] The Truman Show also sampled music from Philip Glass' score for Anima Mundi, a nature documentary also filmed by Godfrey Reggio.
[4] A fellow by the name of Steven Soderberg (director of the new Ocean's 11) financed this last one.
[5] Thus it is appropriate that the film opens with the camera zooming in on Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Tower of Babel kept in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam (see here). You can save yourself the trouble of figuring out what they mean by letting the director tell you here.
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