Koyaanisqatsi

Ok Boomer

A masterpiece of abstract visual storytelling, this film had a tremendous impact on me when I first saw it. And I still feel that awe when I watch it today. The striking and often revelatory images are combined with possibly the greatest musical score of Philip Glass' career, a powerful visual and sonic mixture that repeatedly reinforces Godfrey Reggio's "life out of balance" theme. Ron Fricke's cinematography was a breakthrough for its time and still is marvelous to behold. It's a brilliant and unmatched cinematic connect-the-dots game where all the images have meaning and lead you forward to the inevitable conclusion.

What the hell was this I took chance & rolled snake eyes🎲👎

I'll admit that I - undoubtedly like many others - was skeptical about spending money on this movie after hearing about its basis; however, upon watching it myself, I cannot have regretted it any less. This movie consists of two components that make for a stunning combination: incredibly detailed time-lapse shots of various locations and events, backed by an enticing soundtrack produced by none other than Philip Glass. As foreign (and boring) as this movie concept may sound, if you have an appreciation for art of any kind, then I urge you to watch this unforgettable movie. Without any dialogue it leaves you to decide its message; however, at the same time, the use of intimidating shots of machinery and a sudden, dark change in the tone of the music help you to get the idea of Reggio's intent, which is to iterate that we humans have had a detrimental effect on our environment. In my opinion, it's a shame that this movie did not gain any more publicity than it did, as it is certainly the result of the collaboration of many masters of the arts. Despite this, many television shows have employed similar filming concepts, and one of Glass's songs ("Pruitt Igoe") has made it to the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto IV. Everyone should at least consider watching the preview. I cannot wait to buy the other two films in the Qatsi trilogy! My only regret is not discovering this movie sooner. This is a must-see!

And warning at the same time. I was a child when this had been produced an even though I haven't seen it back then, this is exactly the educational atmosphere I have grown up in. Human being to be responsible to save its environment and nature and not just to exploit it. Message is still valid nowadays, I guess ... .

I love the music and the clips were awesome with the people going quickly. I don't really like the other two that much, just this one. For you people who say that it's bad, that's fine, it's your opinions, and this is mine. However, why was there a guy shaving in public!? And with no shaving cream?? Lol, crazy hobo... XD

For those of you that say this film is pointless and boring, clearly you are not capable of grasping the true beauty and message of this documentary. I, as an 8th grader currently (and not a hippie or stop pollution rioter sort of gal) can grasp that the depictions of earth being destroyed for the sake of progress should speak to us!!! We should understand that the earth was made in balance and with the use of technology and abuse of our resources, we have altered, not completely destroyed it (hence the title which means life out of balance in Hopi). With all this progression and development of technology, we have tried to mimic natural patterns in nature, but have failed causing destruction. The time lapses in this film should show that we are always moving forward not trying to understand how earth works, but to change it for the sake of progress. We never question the constant need for technology but should. We as humans will never understand how perfect nature is but I urge you to open your mind and think both intelligently and artistically about patterns, nature, and the march or progress. Understand that as humans, we react impulsively and with the selfish thought of ourselves in mind but we should instead consider that there is a greater force than man that created the trees and sun in order for us to learn about and enjoy nature, not entertain ourselves with technology. The sloppy patterns of parking lots and broken down cars can not compare to the perfect balance of nature such as a perfectly even seashell or a silky spider web. Even patterns show that only the earth was made perfectly and that life was perfect along with it before. Now that technology has taken over the world, nature is out of balance, and in turn, so are our lives. The constant need for progress will destroy us if we do not consider trusting earth to keep the balance to avoid turmoil. Watching the film will give you deep insights to how comparably perfect the earth and the one who created it is compared to humans and technology. Keep the world natural and stop to notice things that are uneven or wrong. If we blindly trust "the system" and technology each of our lives will be out of balance.

The title is Hopi for life out of balance. .

I've never written a review before and I've never regretted a purchase (no matter how poorly it fit or how impulsively purchased) to the point I felt like I was really owed a refund; accordingly, I've never sought one. (Disclosure: I only watched the first 30 minutes of this but that's over ⅓ of the entire movie) Admittedly, I have a short attention span but I was compelled to BUY (b/c rent wasn't option) b/c of this other user reviews in the documentary section. The movie opened with some sort of foreboding chanting (if I knew what Gregorian chanting was, I'd say that's what it was) and some shots of what looked like the Grand Canyon-type landscapes. I THINK I noticed a progression from the arid desert shots to crashing oceans and eventually farmland being cultivated by some sort of tractor (the first indication of human intervention into the otherwise unspoiled vistas - unless you count the video camera and helicopters that likely enabled the capture of the shots). What am I missing here? If this was supposed to be abstract or thought-provoking, I couldn't tell to what end. It seemed like a composition of mixed nature metaphors conveyed through stock footage from other endeavors. It reminded me of the posters you can buy in Skymall with definitions of "perseverance" and "success" underneath a photo that some Hallmark-sentiment specialist felt captured those terms in the most inspirations/aspirational way except this movie seemed less thoughtful. I feel dumb for being so polemical about this but i felt like it was a huge ripoff and I'm usually accepting of bad movie picks. Can someone explain the reasoning behind why iTunes offers some movies with rent/buy option and other only buy, like this one. The cynic in me is jumping to conclusions.

Wasted an hour and a half of my life. If I wanted to know that humans were on planet earth, I could have looked out my window. While the music was good, every time I hear Philip Glass's music I throw up a little bit just because I am reminded of this 90 minute clip show. Don't try to say I'm not "deep enough" or whatever. I just see no plausible justification for spending over a million dollars on something Al Gore could have said in under a minute.