Rating: 
Summary: bad, bad image quality
Review: Unbelievable movie, unbelievably poor encoding. It's like they recorded it off a dodgy reel... stratches, dust, desaturated colours. Ill, ill, ill, shame, shame, shame, ill.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: Having seen this film twice I am increasingly amazed at the subtlety here. Yes, when showing it to my college students the usual groans occur at the incubation & handling of chickens but the impact of this contrasted with urban frenzy and rural tranquility are stunning. I was all set to purchase the DVD version when I was scared off by the London reviewer. I do hope the 70mm negative is not lost (1993-94 production date?). Please give us a quality transfer worth the money. jkcooney, ocala, florida
Rating: 
Summary: The image quality sucks!
Review: I didn't listen to the other guy and bought it anyways, I just love this movie. But images suck really bad... I'm not sure if I'll keep it or return it to HMV... Ron Fricke should really do something about that... Motion International will lose lots of it's credibility with me at least... DVD is such a great format... it's really a waste!
Rating:
Summary: Setting is very important when watching Baraka.
Review: This is one of those films that makes me wish I could erase my memory and then watch it again. The first time I saw it was at a noisy party and it still had me mesmerised for the entire ninety minutes. Every subsequent viewing is amazing but nothing compares to the first time. If you are one of the lucky ones who hasn't seen it yet, get the DVD, turn off the lights, crank up the volume and let this film take you on a voyage around the world. One of the true masterpieces of film making to come out in the past decade.
Rating:
Summary: MAGNIFICENT..... Truly a work of art
Review: I was totally enthralled by this work, stayed up way past my bedtime. Like a great book, could not put it down. Had to purchase the video for my library.
Rating:
Summary: Accomplishes what others meekly aspired to
Review: The stark contrast between the professional film critic review and the consumers worshipful praise may tell you that this experience is unbound by convention but breaks no conventions , is political in the eye of some without a single political comment, immense in scope but at the infintesimal center of each heart that beats. I have been to but a few of the regions of this film and feel I have been to the unknown places by the sights ,music and enviormentals that transports the omnicient eye of my soul. A critic sees only a travelogue. An American will see how much resolution their machines will render while watching the 1 1/2 hour film. A human being will be released from the shackles of time.
Rating:
Summary: Good movie, poor encode
Review: This movie is incredible. It put me in a totally different state of mind after seeing it. However kepping in mind that the movie has no diolouge or characters, and that the only thing in the movie is scenery, image quality becomes pretty important. Unfortunately, 70mm film on an IMXAX screen doesn't translate very well to poorly encoded 640x480 video. I'm trying to find a theater that has it playing anytime in the next few months, and recommend you do the same, but the quality is poor enough to recommend against a purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, stunning, mesmerizing
Review: This is a stunning transfer to DVD; don't believe some of the people below... the picture is flawless. The audio is just right. It is very hard to take your eyes off the screen. Though it might seem a cliche, this film (DVD) might change your outlook on life. So many times, reviewers write, "this might change your life," about mundane pieces of media (CD, DVD, films); here it is true. If you give Baraka your time and patience, you should be rewarded. I was. Rent it first, if you are worried about the transfer; but again, it is stunning!
Rating:
Summary: Ritual
Review: My first viewing of Baraka was on the big screen, and has left a lasting impression on me. Though some refer to the film's raison d'etre as depicting the relation between humans and their environment, what they fail to mention is the primacy of ritual in this film. Lest we reserve the term ritual to some sort of "primitive" culture, contemporary American culture is represented in its most circumscribed moments. Indeed the movie is about human- environment interaction, but its focus is on the meanings of habit, ritual and symbol as uniting the two. Baraka simultaneously points to the broad range of rituals across diverse cultures, while uniting us as creatures of magic and habit, with an eternal drive to understand our world.
Rating:
Summary: A gentle and profound film.
Review: Writing comments about Baraka is hard. After viewing it, I reverently handled the video cassette like a sacred object (with a new depth of mystical feeling I never knew in church). 50,000 dormant brain cells were lit up by this landmark of cinematic art. A priceless epic poem, this film will be treasured for centuries to come. The awesome meanings of Baraka are best discovered by individual viewers, so I will simply mention some technical matters to help interested buyers.I have the VHS version. It is not letterboxed. It looks perfectly clear on a 30" and 13" tv screen, even in wide-angle shots. The original print was very clean. Sound was excellent, but there was some distortion in a few places (sudden drumbeats and one choral crescendo). Some have raised concerns about the "new agey" music, but I found it excellent. The music, images, and editing achieved stunning unity.
|
