Rating: 
Summary: Transferred to DVD from an 8mm print, apparently.
Review: I never got a chance to see Baraka in a theater. Then I got to see it on video. My friends and I in college must've put this on once a week for three months running until every credit card and telco ad started ripping it off to sell us stuff. Then finally I hear a DVD is coming... I find it! Sure is expensive, but it's BARAKA, one of the most visually stunning movies of all time! Get it home... Oh man that soundfield is great. OH GOD. WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY EYES? DID I FORGET TO PUT IN MY CONTACTS? That's what happens when you get this DVD. As a proud owner of many Hong Kong DVDs, I've been witness to the most grevious film to DVD transfers of all time. I've seen ones that have made VCD look like a superior format. Then I saw Baraka. The fact that the film was sourced on 65mm and exhibited as a 70mm print makes it all the more disturbing. This DVD should be pulled off shelves, remastered, and released anamorphic pronto, or Ron Fricke should blind himself like Oedipus knowing that this is the example of his work that's available.
Rating: 
Summary: Nonjudgmental Blessings Made Visible
Review: Baraka means blessing, and this film shows us scenes both of nature and humanity, where a blessing is indeed evident. The scope of the subjects that are covered is astonishing, as is the music chosen to accompany the footage. Again, as in the film Koyaanisqatsi, the director also focuses on the less graceful features of human life. Here we also see the influences and the contrasts that unbalanced ways present to the blessed peoples and places. The dispassionate view of the cinematographer Ron Fricke combined with the music chosen to show the unbalanced or 'specialized' aspects of human influence is refreshing, compared to Koyaanisqatsi, where you have a sense that the director sits in a type of judgment of the unbalanced way. That the 'blessing spirit' can be gracious towards those that have been less blessed seems to be part of the message. Or at least I hope that it is.
Rating: 
Summary: baraka
Review: Baraka has been one of the biggest disappointments in all of my experiences of watching film. Mind you, the film itself is wonderful, full of brilliant colors and dazzling images. The problem has been the film quality. The first time I saw Baraka, the film itself was badly damaged. The other time I saw it in the theater, it was badly out of focus. I wouldn't be so picky about this except that the movie has no plot and is a purely aesthetic film. At any rate, I was looking forward to seeing Baraka on DVD. Sadly, what I found was the worst transfer to DVD I have ever seen. What should have been clear and smooth was blocky and choppy. It was obvious that the producers lacked the technology to transfer the film directly to DVD and had instead chosen to transfer a projected image. There are points where you can see imperfections not only on the film, but also on the screen itself. Make no mistake, Baraka is a wonderful film, full of some of the most powerful images ever assembled on film. The effect is ruined by the fact that the transfer was so shoddily done. With any luck a remastered version may someday be released .
Rating:
Summary: Great Cinema BAD VIDEO TRANSFER
Review: Baraka as can be seen in the other reviews is a cinematic masterpiece. Unfortunately it appears that MPI Media for the DVD release has merely retransferred the original video transfers that were made a number of years ago for the Laserdisc and VHS release. My DVD copy has the same dust specks that were visible on the Laserdisc release from a few years back. As an owner of a 16:9 widescreen television it is really sad to give up nearly 1/3 of the resolution on the widescreen version to letter boxing. MPI should have gone to the expense of retransferring the original negative anamorphically to achieve the highest quality possible for the future. I am dissapointed and await a "videophile" re-release some day hopefully in the near future.
Rating:
Summary: Baraka = Awe Inspiring
Review: My business partner gave me this disc for XMas, and I can't thank him enough. Baraka is an incredible journey around our beautiful, fragile and often horrific world. Although there is not one spoken word of narration or acting (a relieving experience) - Baraka guides you through a unique view of mankind's relationships with nature, animals, himself and the spiritual plane. This DVD is a gem!
Rating:
Summary: A hidden jewel
Review: The world of Baraka on DVD is one you might never want to come back from. It blends the poetry of the earth, volcanos, mountains, clouds, with the raw, destructive beat of the human world, factories, cities, garbage dumps, in a way that will leave you breathless and astonished. The pictures are so clear and unmistakable, the vision is given a taste of what the world should be like, and still is, far beyond the easy reach of human ambition. Baraka is less of a movie and more of an experience, where intensity moves at the pace of the clock. "All redness turned into blood, all water into tears." -Pater
Rating:
Summary: This movie will change your life!
Review: Unless you are either in a coma or are dead this movie will move you. It brought me to tears the first time I saw it. It shows you a side of civilization that is so beautiful and a side that is so rancid. This movie is a must see for people of all ages.
Rating:
Summary: Wow, just wow
Review: This has to be in the DVD collection of every DVD lover. I have not seen a more visually spectacular DVD. The audio composition played back in 5.1 is also a delight, blending seamlessly into a real feast for the senses.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Stunning In Everyway!
Review: Baraka is one of the rare films that really captures the beauty and essence of our worlds many landscapes and cultures. The cinematography(originaly shot in 70mm)is by far the best of any movie ever made. The soundtrack (Michael Stearns, Dead Can Dance...) is equally impressive , creating a visual and audio experience like no other. One leaves the theater truly inspired and euphoric. I own the video, the soundtrack and can't say enough positive things about this movie. Buy it and set aside 2 hours with no phone calls, no bills, no interuptions...and truly take in what this movie has to offer.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the Best Movie I've ever seen
Review: Yes, you can not get the full impact if you didn't see it in the theatre, but it is still worth owning. Show it to your classroom, friends, get the word out: this video is a significant, optimistic, crucial view of civilization, mankind and humanity.
| 
