Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

Directed by

Godfrey Reggio

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 27m

Rated

NR

Rating

7.9 of 10 from 777 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This film uses a montage of slow motion and time-lapse images to show scenes of nature and cities across the United States. It has no dialogue or story. The music and pictures together create an impression about modern life being out of balance with the natural world.

meditativehypnoticunsettlingvisually strikingslow-pacedcontemplativeawe-inspiringatmosphericdisorienting

What happens

Koyaanisqatsi is a 1982 American non-narrative documentary film directed and produced by Godfrey Reggio, featuring music by Philip Glass and cinematography by Ron Fricke. Described as an "essay in images and sound on the state of American civilization", the film comprises a montage of stock footage, slow motion, and time-lapse visuals of natural and urban environments across the United States. Following its premieres at the Telluride and New York Film Festivals in 1982, it began a limited theatrical release the next year. Produced on a budget of $2.5 million, the film grossed $3.2 million at the box office, and was one of the highest-grossing documentaries of the 1980s. The title comes from the Hopi word koyaanisqatsi, meaning "life out of balance". It is the first film in the Qatsi trilogy, which was followed by Powaqqatsi (1988) and Naqoyqatsi (2002). The trilogy depicts different aspects of the relationship between humans, nature and technology. Koyaanisqatsi is the best known of the trilogy and is considered a cult film. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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