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Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi are two films put together in one boxset which, respectively translate from the Hopi language as “Life Out Of Balance” and “Life in Transformation”.
In addition, the two films also look at the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively, telling a story through a seemingly random set of images, set to the music of Philip Glass.
To me, Koyaanisqatsi was the more powerful of the two, as while it featured some modern (for the era) cityscapes, it spent more time showing large sections of uninhabited land, and showed war taking creation and blowing it away. It left me wanting longer shots of the deserted landscapes because it makes you realise how insignificant we are compared to everything else going on in the world and I imagined myself walking around those places, wondering how long it’d take me to, say, get from the bottom of the screen to the very top.
Powaqqatsi continues in the same vein and also has many commanding shots that you just want to leap into, albeit not as many as Koyaanisqatsi and so it didn’t impress me as much. Okay, so the follow-up was all about building things and community, rather than destruction and isolation, and so it’s not the fault of the premise, but such are my thoughts about them. And when it comes to what’s onscreen, it’s a very difficult thing to quantify, but if you like the idea of visually-arresting images set to music then you owe it to yourself to get this. And do as I do – stand right in front of your TV while it plays out (mine’s 50″ in size, and is set 4ft off the ground). Don’t try and enjoy it while slumped in your armchair – you just won’t feel the benefit.
They’re a hell of a lot to take in on first viewing, hence why I had to watch them both again, and I can imagine that they would benefit from repeated viewings, leading to witnessing and experiencing new things on each subsequent viewing, since I certainly did so second time around.
Given that there’s no dialogue in these films, I think it would’ve been nice if, when the film was originally released on DVD, the distributors had arranged a subtitle track to state the names of the locations we see, since in most cases I haven’t the first idea. Obviously, this is not something that Arrow can be held to account for since they weren’t the original distributor, but I’m surprised that it wasn’t thought about on its original release.
A couple of questions, though. Firstly, there’s a third film in the series, which was included in the American boxset, but why hasn’t it been included here?
Also, in Powaqqatsi, why is everyone storing sand on their rooftops, at just before the 30-minute mark?
And note that when the deep voice at the start sings ‘Koyaanisqatsi‘, it’s the same number of syllables as ‘DVDfever‘, so try singing that next time you watch it 🙂
Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi are available in a box-set on Blu-ray and DVD, although the DVD isn’t a new release so you won’t get all the same extras and, quite frankly, if you’re going to watch these films, you need Blu-ray and a big TV!
Go to page 2 for the presentation and the extras.
The films are presented in the original 1.78:1 widescreen ratio and in 1080p high defintion and the picture on this 2K transfer can be very good indeed at times, but you have to bear in mind that the footage used was not all filmed in the 80s, and some of it isn’t exactly in sharp-as-a-tack defintion, so that explains any disparity in the images onscreen. However, the contrast between the different qualities of footage are exactly as they were on these films original cinema releases.
For the record, I’m watching on a Panasonic 50″ Plasma TV with a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player.
Sound-wise, both films are presented in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio and, as without any dialogue, you get the music of Philip Glass filling your senses. The main themes are powerful enough, and are frequently used, but all the incidental music also plays an important part in telling the story.
The extras on these discs are as follows. Sadly, none are chaptered, which is a shame given how long some of them go on for:
- Introduction by filmmaker and composer Gary Tarn (3:39): Positioned as an optional extra before Koyaanisqatsi, Tarn takes us through his thoughts on the film and certain moments within.
- Essence of Life (25:08) and Impact of Progress (19:56): Presented on the two discs respectively, director Godfrey Reggio and composer Philip Glass give their thoughts on making the film and its influences, and how, also respectively, the two films look at the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and what you get out of them is down to your own point of view.
- Anima Mundi (29:05): A shorter film from 1992, with Reggio and Glass working together for a third time, produced to celebrate the World Wildlife Fund’s Biological Diversity Campaign and it combines images of nature with pulsing rhythms.
The film was restored by MIR Cinematografica and Cineteca di Bologna in September 2010.
- Trailers: One apiece for Koyaanisqatsi (presented in 1.85:1, running 2:23) and Powaqqatsi (presented in 4:3, running 2:05).
The former concludes: “Until now, you’ve never really seen the world you live in.” Indeed.
- Booklet: Also included in the package is a 70-page booklet featuring a piece about the director from Anton Bitel, then some contemporary reviews, Ron Gold then looks at the first film in detail, Michael Brooke deals with the films of Philip Glass, Peter Cowie discusses executive producer Francis Ford Coppola, and finally, Jean-Baptiste Gouyon takes a look at the aforementioned short film, Anima Mundi. And, of course, there are a number of still images from the films.
As you put the disc in, the menu bursts into life with clips from the film and a piece of the main theme. There are subtitles in English, but when it comes to the chaptering, I feel one should come every five minutes on average. Arrow, like many other distributors, go for a low 12 however long the film. I would like them to increase that number.
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Koyaanisqatsi Powaqqatsi PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
8 6 9 10 6 |
| OVERALL | 8 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 86 and 100 minutes
Year: 1982 and 1988
Distributor: Arrow Films
Released: May 12th 2014
Chapters: 12 each
Cat.no: FCD920
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
Languages: English
Subtitles: None
Widescreen: 1.85:1
Disc Format: 2*BD50
Koyaanisqatsi:
Director: Godfrey Reggio
Producer: Godfrey Reggio
Writing credits: Ron Fricke, Michael Hoenig, Godfrey Reggio and Alton Walpole
Music: Philip Glass
Cinematography: Ron Fricke
Powaqqatsi:
Director: Godfrey Reggio
Producers: Mel Lawrence, Kurt Munkacsi, Godfrey Reggio and Lawrence Taub
Writing credits: Godfrey Reggio and Ken Richards
Music: Philip Glass
Cinematography: Graham Berry and Leonidas Zourdoumis
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.
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