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Powaqqatsi

  • 19881988
  • GG
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
8.3K
YOUR RATING
Powaqqatsi (1988)
  • Documentary
  • Music
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
8.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Godfrey Reggio
  • Writers
    • Godfrey Reggio
    • Ken Richards
  • Stars
    • Christie Brinkley(archive footage)
    • David Brinkley(archive footage)
    • Patrick Disanto
Top credits
  • Director
    • Godfrey Reggio
  • Writers
    • Godfrey Reggio
    • Ken Richards
  • Stars
    • Christie Brinkley(archive footage)
    • David Brinkley(archive footage)
    • Patrick Disanto
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 43User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos77

    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)
    Powaqqatsi (1988)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Christie Brinkley
    Christie Brinkley
      David Brinkley
      David Brinkley
        Patrick Disanto
        Patrick Disanto
        • Selfas Self
        Pope John Paul II
        Pope John Paul II
          Dan Rather
          Dan Rather
            Cheryl Tiegs
            Cheryl Tiegs
              • Director
                • Godfrey Reggio
              • Writers
                • Godfrey Reggio
                • Ken Richards
              • All cast & crew
              • See more cast details at IMDbPro

              More like this

              Naqoyqatsi
              6.4
              Naqoyqatsi
              Koyaanisqatsi
              8.2
              Koyaanisqatsi
              Anima Mundi
              7.5
              Anima Mundi
              Chronos
              7.7
              Chronos
              Baraka
              8.5
              Baraka
              Samsara
              8.4
              Samsara
              Visitors
              6.2
              Visitors
              Evidence
              6.8
              Evidence
              Samsara
              7.7
              Samsara
              Powaqqatsi: Impact of Progress
              6.5
              Powaqqatsi: Impact of Progress
              Sacred Site
              8.2
              Sacred Site
              Journey of Hanuman
              8.0
              Journey of Hanuman

              Storyline

              Edit

              Did you know

              Edit
              • Trivia
                The shot of the truck driving past the Indian boy as he walks along the road is the only staged shot in the film.
              • Connections
                Featured in At the Movies: Willow/Jack's Back/Assault of the Killer Bimbos/Powaqqatsi/Da (1988)
              • Soundtracks
                Opus
                Written by Patrick Disanto

                Performed by 9

                Courtesy of number9ine Records, USA, A Division of Polydor Records

                Under License from number9ine Special Markets

                all rights reserved IDP, BMI publishing, 1986.

              User reviews43

              Review
              Top review
              Difficult Second Album
              After hearing so much about Koyaanisqatsi, I bought the DVD and its sequel in a double pack. When I watched them for the first time it was back to back, and I'm sorry to conclude that the naïve, ethnic romanticism of Powaqqatsi is unfit to bear such close commercial relation to the masterpiece, Koyaanisqatsi.

              Horribly reminiscent of National Geographic trailers, it's doubtful anyone but the most backwardly PC tree-hugger, or perhaps the Weekly World News-reading American, will find Powaqqatsi revelatory or profound. None of the chilling self-awareness or mathematical beauty the original evoked is even approached; there is mostly a tinted assembly of stereotypes, very much concieved from a Northern/Western perspective.

              The objective, alien assault on the familiar that was so shocking when trying to absorb Koyaanisqatsi is eerily missing from the mix, and the presentation of the decaying "old way" of life is little more than a light confection of slums, old people, children and temples, stitched into a jarring quilt of assorted Asian, African and South American agricultural and urban vignettes. The slightly patronising notion the title suggests - the corruption of innocence by technology, or the consumption of life by an unsubtle metaphorical demon - is barely present and makes its welcome entry into the fray at a rather late stage, ultimately failing to look like anything but natural progression. The staged shot of the child being clouded by dust from the truck in Luxor was a desperate artistic measure, and too little too late.

              It would be fair play to argue that this is not assessing the movie on its own merits, but to be honest, if it weren't part of this trilogy, it would be discarded as a clumsy, undergraduate-standard montage of dry Third World clichés, which if not filmed at super-romantic frame rates would probably come in at around 30 minutes.

              As a huge Philip Glass fan, I would comment here upon the music if I weren't so bitterly wounded by the dismal score, which succeeded only in making a chore of an already slightly tedious venture.
              helpful•5
              5
              • basicaudio
              • Jan 28, 2003

              FAQ1

              • What does Powaqqatsi mean?

              Details

              Edit
              • Release date
                • June 2, 1988 (West Germany)
              • Country of origin
                • United States
              • Official site
                • Official Site
              • Languages
                • Hopi
                • English
                • Spanish
              • Also known as
                • Northsouth: Life on the Edge
              • Filming locations
                • Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
              • Production companies
                • Golan-Globus Productions
                • NorthSouth
                • Santa Fe Institute for Regional Education
              • See more company credits at IMDbPro

              Box office

              Edit
              • Budget
                • $2,500,000 (estimated)
              • Gross US & Canada
                • $589,244
              • Opening weekend US & Canada
                • $27,899
                • May 1, 1988
              • Gross worldwide
                • $589,244
              See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

              Technical specs

              Edit
              • Runtime
                1 hour 39 minutes
              • Color
                • Color
              • Sound mix
                • Dolby SR
                • 12-Track Digital Sound
              • Aspect ratio
                • 1.85 : 1

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