Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

A collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on nature, humanity and the relationship between them.

Director:

Godfrey Reggio

Writers:

Ron Fricke (scenario), Godfrey Reggio (scenario)

Stars:

Edward Asner, Pat Benatar, Jerry Brown

6 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Edward Asner	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pat Benatar	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jerry Brown	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Johnny Carson	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dick Cavett	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Marilyn Chambers	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Lou Dobbs	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Thomas Dolby	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Linda Ellerbee	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jerry Falwell	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mark J. Goodman	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ted Koppel	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Peter Sellers	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bill Tush	...	Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)

Storyline

This experimental film looks at the world and more specifically the effect man has had on the landscape and the environment. Without narration, the film shows the world in a pristine condition and untouched: blue skies, beautiful landscapes and endless vistas. The man-made world is much less appealing. Essentially a montage using a variety of film techniques to provide a visually stunning montage of images.

---

Plot Keywords:

time lapse photography | experimental film | television | demolition | building | 

---

Taglines:

Until now, you've never really seen the world you live in.

---

Genres:

Documentary | Music

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

It took almost 6 years to make the film.

---

Goofs

About an hour into the movie, the camera operator is reflected in the elevator's glass window as the elevator passes "between" floors while shooting the escalators.

---

Quotes

[last lines]
title card: Translation of the Hopi Prophecies sung in the film: "If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster." - "Near the Day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky." - "A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

---

Crazy Credits

End credits go over mashed voice recordings in English ranging from call operator answers to television news.

---

Connections

Referenced in The 11th Hour (2007)

---

Soundtracks

Microchip
Written by Philip Glass

User Reviews

Utterly, completely, blown away

I first went to see this film almost by accident. Some friends were going, & it happened that Philip Glass was due to be in the cinema for an after-screening interview. I wasn't a huge fan of Philip Glass, I'd never heard of Koyaanisqatsi or Godfrey Reggio: but what the hell, I went along, expecting some sort of nicely-filmed but vaguely-boring worthy documentary.

An hour & a half later, I was - and I'm having to try very hard to find adjectives here - in fact I'm failing. It was The-Thing-That-You-Can't-Even-Tell-Someone-What-It-Is. Completely transfixed, transported, for 90 minutes of my life.

This film has no dialogue. It has no actors, apart from everyone & everything that Ron Fricke's camera touches. It has no plot, apart from just the simple, complex, unfolding story of the world.

The truth is, of all the films that people feel have really made an impact on their lives - and you only need to read through this lengthy thread to see how many of those people there are - this is one of the hardest to communicate to someone who hasn't actually seen it. You can compare it, perhaps, to things they might have seen - but there aren't that many to compare to. It has a kind of poetry on a whole different level from, for example, Man with a Movie Camera. The only things that spring to mind for me are Orphee or Last Year at Marienbad, but these are completely different kinds of movie, and even people who don't like them might be totally taken apart by Koyaanisqatsi.

Sure you could - rightly - use phrases like "breathtaking cinematography" or "unforgettable images". You could praise the music (which really opened my ears to Philip Glass). You could point out, as many have done, how the film made you look again at the world, & at your own place in it. Or you could try to relay its "environmental" message - and there are people, especially those who take any implied criticism of our species' waste and cruelty as a kind of personal insult, who will not like that message.

But none of these things would come close to capturing what makes this film so special. Like trying to explain "red" to someone who's never seen colours. You have to experience it. If possible in a cinema, sitting right down at the front, completely immersed in the screen and its images.

I know I'll never forget the first time I saw it. You might not either.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Qatsi Trilogy site

Country:

USA

Language:

None Hopi English

Release Date:

24 August 1983 (France)

Also Known As:

Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance

Filming Locations:

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,723,872

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,723,872

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Zoetrope, IRE Productions, Santa Fe Institute for Regional Education

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1