Koyaanisqatsi has been OOP for years, even on video, until yesterday when FINALLY it was released on DVD. After checking four different stores, I finally found one that bothered to have a copy for sale on the release day, so I snapped it up and watched it in the dead of night.
First, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in the print quality of the DVD version - quite a few scenes show evident wear and tear on the print used. I have to keep reminding myself though, that this movie was made TWENTY years ago... the negative and master prints have certainly had quite an adventure during the past 2 decades. (If ever there was a perfect argument for film protection and preservation, Koyaanisqatsi is IT.)
I'm also wondering about the aspect ratio. It seems incorrect at 1.85:1 - I could've sworn I've seen a version that was 2.35:1, but since it's been so long since I've actually seen the film, perhaps I'm mistaken. If however, this is not the full aspect ratio, then that's a ridiculous choice by the DVD makers - I mean, fans of a movie like this are the LAST people on earth who would be "scared off" by wide letterboxing, something the studios still seem to think consumers are terrified of.
Ok, so how about the movie itself? Koyaanisqatsi came out the year I graduated from high school, and it was an extreme influence on me (and others - it's become quite legendary and has been name checked countless times everywhere from MST3K to The Simpsons). But after not seeing it for well over 10 years, how did it affect me last night?
Hmm. Maybe for the very reason it's become such an icon, it was just a bit of a letdown. On a superficial level, I am AMAZED at how much has changed in just 20 years. Many things in the film are downright quaint now - the cars, the hairdos, the fashions, the huge old mainframe computers, Ms Pac-Man, billboard ads for Betamax players! And MAN, Times Square really was totally squalorous, wasn't it!?
On a deeper level, one of the inadvertent profundities of Koyaanisqatsi is that, in watching it now, the relentless march of time is all too apparent. When compared to the mountains of Arizona or the layers of the Grand Canyon, everything we do as a civilization seems thoroughly disposable. 5000 years - big whoop.
One thing that hasn't changed is our relentless consumption of the planet's natural resources, and that's only accelerated since the early 80's. We were all well aware of the risks we were taking with the environment back then and we knew we had some difficult choices to make. The decision of the majority since 1983? Buy a 12 mpg SUV, build a McMansion and participate in adding another billion people to the world's population. Good going.
OK, I'll get off my soapbox and back on the subject at hand :-) Koyaanisqatsi is still quite marvelous to behold - one thing that I've built an appreciation for over the years is how important EDITING is, and Koyaanisqatsi is BRILLIANTLY edited. And last but certainly not least is the absolutely astonishing music by Philip Glass - it can stand alone from the film as a separate work of art. "The Grid" portion of the soundtrack is, in my mind, one of the towering achievements of 20th century music. (I can highly recommend the 1998 recording of the soundtrack which is even better than the version made for the film.)
First, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in the print quality of the DVD version - quite a few scenes show evident wear and tear on the print used. I have to keep reminding myself though, that this movie was made TWENTY years ago... the negative and master prints have certainly had quite an adventure during the past 2 decades. (If ever there was a perfect argument for film protection and preservation, Koyaanisqatsi is IT.)
I'm also wondering about the aspect ratio. It seems incorrect at 1.85:1 - I could've sworn I've seen a version that was 2.35:1, but since it's been so long since I've actually seen the film, perhaps I'm mistaken. If however, this is not the full aspect ratio, then that's a ridiculous choice by the DVD makers - I mean, fans of a movie like this are the LAST people on earth who would be "scared off" by wide letterboxing, something the studios still seem to think consumers are terrified of.
Ok, so how about the movie itself? Koyaanisqatsi came out the year I graduated from high school, and it was an extreme influence on me (and others - it's become quite legendary and has been name checked countless times everywhere from MST3K to The Simpsons). But after not seeing it for well over 10 years, how did it affect me last night?
Hmm. Maybe for the very reason it's become such an icon, it was just a bit of a letdown. On a superficial level, I am AMAZED at how much has changed in just 20 years. Many things in the film are downright quaint now - the cars, the hairdos, the fashions, the huge old mainframe computers, Ms Pac-Man, billboard ads for Betamax players! And MAN, Times Square really was totally squalorous, wasn't it!?
On a deeper level, one of the inadvertent profundities of Koyaanisqatsi is that, in watching it now, the relentless march of time is all too apparent. When compared to the mountains of Arizona or the layers of the Grand Canyon, everything we do as a civilization seems thoroughly disposable. 5000 years - big whoop.
One thing that hasn't changed is our relentless consumption of the planet's natural resources, and that's only accelerated since the early 80's. We were all well aware of the risks we were taking with the environment back then and we knew we had some difficult choices to make. The decision of the majority since 1983? Buy a 12 mpg SUV, build a McMansion and participate in adding another billion people to the world's population. Good going.
OK, I'll get off my soapbox and back on the subject at hand :-) Koyaanisqatsi is still quite marvelous to behold - one thing that I've built an appreciation for over the years is how important EDITING is, and Koyaanisqatsi is BRILLIANTLY edited. And last but certainly not least is the absolutely astonishing music by Philip Glass - it can stand alone from the film as a separate work of art. "The Grid" portion of the soundtrack is, in my mind, one of the towering achievements of 20th century music. (I can highly recommend the 1998 recording of the soundtrack which is even better than the version made for the film.)