Rating: 
Summary: The Irony Of The Subtitle: Life Out Of Balance
Review: People who think this film is boring are suffering from the out of balance nature of modern life. Okay, that's just my opinion, but there it is.You don't have to enjoy the film -- if you dislike the music, that's going to be a major turnoff for you. But boring? My gosh, if a viewer is impatient, just jump ahead to the scenes of New York City... how could anyone find that boring? This film is an aquired taste. I couldn't watch it through the first time without taking a break. However, I've had the priviledge of seeing a "live performance" of this film -- that is, the film was projected with the sound turned off, while Phillip Glass and a handful of other musicians performed the soundtrack live, totally in sync with the film. I didn't have any problem watching it through without taking a break! This is one of the most significant pieces of filmmaking ever made. At least check it out. Otherwise you're missing out. I've been waiting literally years for this film to be released on DVD. Finally, it's available to all, and preserved for all time.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow bad
Review: I went in thinking it was gonna be something cool like gangsta ewoks. I came out feeling violated like that kid in clockwork orange forced to watch snuff films for weeks. The only thing I learned about people in the third world is they have bad teeth, and it took 2 hours for this movie to tell me that. Dont watch this move, and surely dont buy this movie, cause it doesnt just steal your money it steals 2 hours of your life that would be better spent picking the lint out of your bodily orfices...
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: This had all the promise and excitement that a recommended experimental type film can deliver. One problem. It didnt deliver. I couldnt even watch all of it. Too wierd? No. Too controversial? No. Too experimental? No. Too damn BORING!!!! Yes.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely
Review: I've bought this double pack and I've just seen Powaqqatsi, the second part. I'm still astonished of it. I love it.
It shows planet earth the way it is. The "usual" films are false and this is a better picture.
[...]
Rating: 
Summary: I waited for years for this DVD
Review: Koyaanisqatsi is one of those movies that changes your life. Set to the rythmic music of Philip Glass we see images of empty spaces and the natural environment highlighted beautifully with time lapse photography. The images of man start to be included and increased over time until we see life in cities flashing past - the people become like ants. We also see images of mans destruction of the earth. Powaqqatsi follows with more images from around the world although I think that it is lesser in its ability to move the watcher. Watching these DVD's will make you re think your life and your place in it and I can highly recommend them.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic waste
Review: The idea is great and there is a lot that could have been done with it. Many praise it because it looks so different -- and unique. But the result is essentially bad. Simply repetitive and boring from start to end. After a few minutes it is enough. ... many [individuals] do not rate reviews of "great works" on what is said, but on what they think it should be said.
And that is the point of this review for the uninformed reader: read with an inquiring mind what the other guys and I myself say here.
Rating:
Summary: What's all the fuss about?
Review: The first time I saw Baraka, I fell in love with it. Mesmerising, haunting, beautifully filmed and a great soundtrack. I thought it was a one of a kind till I heard about Koyaanisqatsi. Reading all the reviews I purchased this together with Powaqqatsi. What a dissapointment! both these films fall drastically short of Baraka. I found the music nausiating and the photography irritating. I really don't know what all the other reviewers are on about. I guess it proves that we are all so different
Rating:
Summary: Koyaanisqatsi, Confronting western civilazition
Review: It is a remarkable achievment to create a film without any actors and without a storyline.. however, it tells the story of a beautifull planet which is rudely interrupted by a certain species known as Men. The message of this film is not very positive, destroying nature, life with stressy hasty people who enjoy to be amused, not to amuse themselves, yes, Life out of Balance! The title covers the subject. The film confronts us with the way we live. For example Scenes of rushing people interchanged with scenes taken in (foot processing) factories Also the and of the film (Prophecies) is in its way very catchy, the black side of our sociaty with the almost sacred music from Profecies supporting it. The message behind Koyaanisqatsi is perfectly symbolised by the exploding space rocket at the end of the film.
The film is a hypnotic and impressive symphony of music and images. In my opinion, Philip Glass composed is first symphony in 1982 and not in 1987.
Last but not least a few words on the DVD quality. of course the picture and sound quality is much better then the VHS copy I already had. However in my opinion it could be better; the music is sometimes slightly out of tone especially at the end, a church organ sound is very sensitive to variaty in tape speed. The pictures are a bit reddish. That's the only reason to rate this film 4 instead of 5 stars. Geffry Reggio, Philip Glass and Ron Fricke did a outstanding job!
Rating:
Summary: distructively uses the eroticism of the unknown
Review: This movie tries to bind many ethinicities into images that are altered by mtv generation cliched visual effects. Images of technology are trust together with images of poverty. I find it frightening that by looking at the world in a way that is obviously altered by western thoughts, notions of what exsists in the world are biased and lead to harmful judgements. Of course, someone who doesn't live in that foreign world can never truely understand what life means to a person who does live that forgien life. But there are two many western thoughts and generalizatons for me to trust this movie as an expression of cultures. This selling power is playing on that fact that these unknown images are presented as erotic (something that our culture looks upon as almost trendy). The music increses this idea of eroticism. While the music might be a beautiful piece, it is western in origin and add no truth to the images seen (except for mabey the images of western life, which there are some). However, when you view images of india, the reality is is that most likely those are not the sound being heard.
In conclusion: this movie tries to present truths that are purely visual. They are devoid of sounds, smellls, and other senses. Yes, film can only give you sight and sounds, but the sounds in this film are fruadulant to the truth that the film attempts to present. As for the visuals, there is great power of juxtapostions. However, showing starvation in the streets followed by a large pepsi sign on a busy street are strong allegation of the western world versus the rest of the world that go unexplorated and unproven in this film because there is never a clear idea of the truth of either world. As a member of western civilization, I not only understand that culture, i live that culture. I do not live the life of the many other cultures presented in this movie and how these cultures are presented lead me to not recommend this movie.
Rating:
Summary: THE MOST IMPORTANT FILM EVER MADE
Review: too many people seem caught up in the imagery and soundtrack to this film. both are first rate. that isn't what the film is really about. i read one review here where the person didn't like the message! that really unnerved me a great deal. this movie is important precisely because of it's message. you don't like the message? too bad. don't go whining when you have no air to breathe, water costs $5 a gallon because all the chemicals we pump into the earth make fresh water a valuable commodity, don't go whining about how your children are born with birth defects because the govenrment is open to bribes from polluters. don't complain that you can't get a decent job because you have to compete with other humans who breed like rats and like you, prefer to bury their heads in the sand and chant the "lalala this isn't happening" mantra. koyaanisqatsi should be required viewing in every school. it isn't mere preaching, it FACTUALLY shows you what we're doing to the planet that wants to give us life. we humans aren't nearly as smart as we give ourselves credit for. the fact is we are more ruled by our selfishness and shortsightedness. things haven't gotten any better since it was made. they have gotten significantly worse. i can remember when winter was really winter. last year, it hit 80 degrees in february! that isn't right. with higher temperatures caused by MORONS IN SUVs who see nothing wrong with breeding 5-10 more morons to continue their "traditions", the earth will retaliate with increases in bacterial infections as has already been ducumented and killer bee swarms (that shouldn't even be here to begin with) will move further north. the signs are here... we're just too ignorant to stop what we're doing. some people's answer... ignore the problem and kill the messenger. entire areas of coral reef that have lived for millions of years have died almost overnight because we have raised the temperature only 2 degrees in less than 100 years. things will get worse before they get better. destroy enough links in the chain of life... and there will be huge consequences down the road. koyaanisqatsi is a film WAY AHEAD OF IT'S TIME. there was really no talk of global warming back then, and there really still isn't even now. i agree with my DVD's caption: "until now, you've never really seen the world you live in" the problem is, flawed human nature prevents anyone from seeing anything that they don't want to see, especially if it makes a person question themselves. humans are very resistant to introspection, and are always looking for someone else to blame. everybody wants to pretend they're perfect, but none of us are. regardless... we really do need to start doing things differently and stop hiding from the truth because it's unpleasant. the truth really can hurt you, especially when you refuse to confront it. that is what koyaanisqatsi does and why it's so important, not the terrific soundtrack... and not the sensory overloading visuals... it's the message "this is what YOU are doing to the world you live in" this film has inspired me to give up on automobile ownership for good. i now commute by bicycle or mass transit. i'm actually surprised that i get resistance from cashiers for wanting to re-use old shopping bags. i get annoyed by whiners who complain that tree huggers are robbing them of their cushy jobs destroying the planet.... to bad! get another job... preferebly in recycling or farming. koyaanisqatsi is a film about the unstoppable momentum of human apathy and devotion to ignorance. it's the only series that i know of that's brave enough to slap people in the face with their own shortsightedness with something even more powereful than words that can be debated by reactionary circular logic. it confronts us with images that can't be explained away by anyone claiming to be a rational person. the ONLY things wrong on this planet, are the direct result of humans. it's too bad that as a person... this fact might hurt your feelings. animals are actually much smarter than us... because they know enough to play by "god's" rules. we humans are so full of ourselves that we think we have a better way... we don't. ironically enough... the simple life really is better. faster living creates new sources of stress. fact: on average... hunter gatherer societies need only work 3-4 hours a day... think about that when you're stressed out at your second job so that you can pay for the SUV that you can't really use to run over those little japanese cars that dare to get in your way making you road rage. you can take the man out of the cave... but you can't take the cave out of the man.
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