Rating: 
Summary: Intense, abstract filmmaking
Review: I watch "Chronos" on a fairly regular basis. Purely a concept film (no dialogue, characters, plot, etc.), the deft editing, combined with one of Michael Stearns' most powerful musical efforts, results in an almost psychedelic experience. The film is an engaging experiment in the documentation of and toying with the passage of time, both in the historical sense (progression from "barbarism" to civilisation) and in the chronological sense, alternately slowing down and speeding up the sequences to varying degrees. The final "scene" (as it were) is magnificent, bringing the acceleration of time to its logical conclusion. Purely an audio-visual experience, it is best seen on as large a screen as one can afford and with an equally powerful sound system.
Rating: 
Summary: DVD is a disgrace to IMAX!
Review: IMAX is the final word when it comes to image quality - so maybe I was expecting too much when I bought this DVD.It just looks awful on my 9 ft screen. Image is SO soft, I first thought there was something wrong with my Video Projector! The colors are also faded and washed out, and edge artifacts are also visible. I'm sending this back. I popped in my "5th Element" DVD, just to get a dose of vibrant colors and sharp detail again! Simitar is trying to pass off an awful product to consumers, NOTE to other 16x9 widescreen system owners: this DVD is 1.33 aspect ration (like IMAX), so you'll have black bars on the left & right of the image.
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning
Review: In a word, this film is stunning. In many ways, this film truly shows how incredible the IMAX format can be. Beautiful cinematography and a haunting and powerful score by Micheal Stearns make for a truly memorable film experience. This film was directed shot by Ron Frick, the cinematographer behind the legendary, Koyaanisqatsi. With a theme that more celebrates man's achievements rather than condems them (as was the the case in Koyaanisquatsi), Frick and Stearns take you for a real ride. When I saw this was on DVD, I jumped! I rushed home, threw it into my brand new DVD player and component, Sony monitor and sat back in anticipation of being mesmerized all over again. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Why! Primarily because the DVD transfer is just awful. It was apparently taken from an old video tape telecine. The print is dirty and floats in the film gate, the video tape format was apparently composite - possibly an old 1" video transfer (dot crawl and all) and, the compression is poor - nasty blockies and "mosquitoes." Even the 16 bit, 48kHz audio is mediochre as it seems to have come off of the same old video master. Considering the potential of DVD, it is a real shame such a great film received such poor treatment. To be fair, this appears to have been a "first generation" DVD release where such things as direct, digital transfers and 24p encoding may not have been available yet. Hopefully, this as well as Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqatsi and Buraka will all be released on DVD using state-of-the-art transfer and encoding techniques. I am eagerly awaiting (probably foolishly). Ah well... --JK--
Rating:
Summary: A rare masterpiece!
Review: It's not for them who listen to the typical pop-r'n'b' music soundtrack, but for the New Age music fans!
Michael Stearns have created a dynamic and mysterious New Age soundtrack for this movie I have'nt seen, its a hard to find CD soundtrack , so I had to write about the soundtrack:Stearns' music have changed a little on this CD, and if you sit and relaxing deep to this album, you will get on a inner time and space travel.
Rating:
Summary: History, Time & Music stunningly put together for all time.
Review: Just saw this on a Movie CD. (a dying format) As is the case for most of the moviecd 's I buy, I usually get them to see if I like em or not and viewed this in it's entirety. So I'd been hoping & praying that this one would be on dvd. Oh thank the maker it is. Next time that small paycheck comes, I'm getting this. Especially at this price. Imagine, a Movie CD is pretty low quality. For me to like it through all that, it must be something good. So imagine what it's like on DVD. :)
edit- Small addition it's 4/27/02 and I own the dvd now. Unfortunately it's now out of print. :( The dvd is a very good transfer, but a rather poor layout design will give anyone a good headache before they get to film. Still a must buy if you can find it.
Rating:
Summary: A visual and aural treat!
Review: Originally released as an IMAX film in the mid-80s, Chronos on DVD unfortunately can not match the power of the IMAX experience. But really; what TV can compete with a 5-story-high screen? I saw the film three times in IMAX and each time I saw something new and amazing. I couldn't wait to get this film on DVD. Any shortcomings the Chronos DVD has are related to the size and clarity of the image as displayed on a television, not the film's content. The images of earthly constructions both natural and man-made are drop-dead-gorgeous, and the music -- a nonstop electronic instrumental score -- is mesmerizing. At roughly 45 minutes in length, you'll not want it to end. The disc has a spare and clunky interface and no special features, but who cares? Chronos is a wonder that I find myself watching again and again.
Rating:
Summary: From Some of The Fathers of Wordless Narrative Film
Review: Released in 1985, "Chronos" is a forty-minute long "visual-music journey". It is a Presentation of the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater of San Diego, California and S.E.M. Lagode, Paris, France. "Chronos" was filmed on location at over sixty sites around the globe. Images of significant natural beauty, architectural complexity, iconic historical sculpture and various panoramic cityscapes were captured on 70mm film using mostly slow motion and time lapse cinematography. The wordless narrative structure of the work primarily attempts to convey feelings of reverence and appreciation for the breath-taking subject matter. In addition, it also suggests states of significant anxiety experienced as a consequence of the pace and complexity of modern urban life. Electronic music, composed and performed by Michael Stearns, is thoroughly integrated with the considered, slowly paced editing of Alton Walpole and Ron Fricke. Image and sound interpenetrate one another to suggest and convey the eloquent wordless scenario, which was conceived by both Constantine and Genevieve Nicholas. Having begun as cinematographer for director Godfrey Reggio's film "Koyaanisqatsi", we see with "Chronos" that Ron Fricke helped to sow the visual and conceptual seeds of wordless narrative film. This medium finally bore satisfying fruit with 1992's feature length work "Baraka". "Chronos", however, remains as essential viewing. By this passionate evidence of Mr. Fricke's ongoing struggle, we see that their is, at last, some sign of harmonious life beyond the scenario of Godfrey Reggio's dire trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: From Some of The Fathers of Wordless Narrative Film
Review: Released in 1985, "Chronos" is a forty-minute long "visual-music journey". It is a Presentation of the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater of San Diego, California and S.E.M. Lagode, Paris, France. "Chronos" was filmed on location at over sixty sites around the globe. Images of significant natural beauty, architectural complexity, iconic historical sculpture and various panoramic cityscapes were captured on 70mm film using mostly slow motion and time lapse cinematography. The wordless narrative structure of the work primarily attempts to convey feelings of reverence and appreciation for the breath-taking subject matter. In addition, it also suggests states of significant anxiety experienced as a consequence of the pace and complexity of modern urban life. Electronic music, composed and performed by Michael Stearns, is thoroughly integrated with the considered, slowly paced editing of Alton Walpole and Ron Fricke. Image and sound interpenetrate one another to suggest and convey the eloquent wordless scenario, which was conceived by both Constantine and Genevieve Nicholas. Having begun as cinematographer for director Godfrey Reggio's film "Koyaanisqatsi", we see with "Chronos" that Ron Fricke helped to sow the visual and conceptual seeds of wordless narrative film. This medium finally bore satisfying fruit with 1992's feature length work "Baraka". "Chronos", however, remains as essential viewing. By this passionate evidence of Mr. Fricke's ongoing struggle, we see that their is, at last, some sign of harmonious life beyond the scenario of Godfrey Reggio's dire trilogy.
Rating: 
Summary: Land & Time Forgotten
Review: Ron Fricke's sensitivity and awareness of the beauty of the Earth's landscapes and structures, both natural and man made, along with Michael Sterns' moving soundtrack make this a truly mesmerizing film. The DVD is readily worth the price as it will be enjoyed again and again.
Rating:
Summary: A journey in time.
Review: The cinematography was spectacular. The time lapse was unique and mesmerizing. I couldn't really catch the connection between the southwest desert scenes moving into European and Egyptian ruins. Also, the film seemed a little Euro-centric. There are many ruins that are just as spectacular in South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East to which this film ignored entirely. The sound track contained the equivalent of the musical content of Spam, consisting mainly of singular synthesizer lines weaving in and out of one another. It sounded entirely canned, with little interest to the musical ear.
| 
