Powaqqatsi (1988)

An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.

Director:

Godfrey Reggio

Writers:

Godfrey Reggio, Ken Richards

Stars:

Christie Brinkley, David Brinkley, Pope John Paul II

Cast

Credited cast:
Christie Brinkley	...	(archive footage)
David Brinkley	...	(archive footage)
Pope John Paul II	...	(archive footage)
Dan Rather	...	(archive footage)
Cheryl Tiegs	...	(archive footage)

Storyline

An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.

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Plot Keywords:

industrialization | nature | poverty | experimental film | second part | 

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Taglines:

Life in Transformation

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Godfrey Reggio was uncomfortable using the latest film-making technology considering that his theme was back-to-basics living. However, he countered this by realizing that technology is unavoidably ingrained into our way of life.

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Connections

Featured in Powaqqatsi: Impact of Progress (2002)

User Reviews

Educational

Koyannisqatsi wasn't a copy of anything, so why would anyone expect Powaqqatsi to be a copy of it? Fortunately, I saw this film on the big screen without seeing its predecessor, and I was delighted. The movie begins with a shot of an African diamond mine. You see a miner ascending a ladder in slow-motion, carrying a bag of mud on shoulders, accompanied by a heavy, pounding music. The effects and the music work together to highlight the miner's tiredness and strain. Other images follow, most of them from the "third world." In each case the focus is not a thing, but a quality.

Powaqqatsi revolutionized my concept of the world -- Go ahead and laugh! The film shows a vastness and variety and energy in the world that was beyond anything I could have imagined when I went into the theater. Everything is presented for what it is; there's no Western narrator to reassure you and tell you what everything means. There is perhaps no higher praise for a film than saying it changed the way I think, and Powaqqatsi deserves that praise.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

Hopi English Spanish

Release Date:

8 September 1988 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Northsouth: Life on the Edge

Filming Locations:

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,899, 1 May 1988

Gross USA:

$589,244

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$589,244

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golan-Globus Productions, NorthSouth, Santa Fe Institute for Regional Education

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1