Andy Warhol once made a
movie with the title "Sleep",
that lasted 5 hours and the only thing that was shown was
a sleeping (naked) man (Andy's Lover by the way).
The movie was launched in 1963, gave the people plenty to talk about
for a while
(which is exactly what artists want)
and has never been seen again since 1972.
Then, in 1982, Godfrey Reggio
came up with "Koyaanisqatsi".
This movie lasted 86 minutes, containing neither dialogs nor a real
plot.
Again narcissistic bullshit?
No way!
Koyaanisqatsi is a work of art in a positive sense.
Koyaanisqatsi comes from the language of the HOPI Indians and means:
"Life out of balance"
The movie is a collage of breathtaking pictures of nature and the human
civilization,
with a certain apocalyptic mood.
Example:
Clouds, that pass the Grand
Canyon in quick motion.
Storm clouds
brewing over New York.
Time-lapse of Manhattan at day and at night.
Time-lapse of floods of people, moving on electric stairways and at supermarket
counters.
Supertele shot of a jumbo jet turning on the runway.
The first scene of the movie
is the start of an Apollo rocket.
The strong telephoto lens follows the rocket on and on ...
At the end of the movie
we return to this scene -
The rocket explodes and the parts are falling back, staggering back,
spinning back to earth.
Philip Glass provides the
background music.
Without the pictures you could hardly stand 86 minutes of it,
but this way it makes the movie a psychedelic experience.
Godfrey
Reggio: "Koyaanisqatsi is not so much about something"
As I said, the movie doesn't
have a discernible plot. No clear message. No sense in itself.
The sense of the movie is what the audience makes of it in their minds.
A real work of art. Food
for thought.
Everything that mankind
makes of this world, on this world,
can be considered in a positive or a negative way: The thousands of
lights of Manhattan at night could
be proof of the incredible achievements of human intelligence.
Just as well it could be proof of the seizure of nature by mankind.
Whatever you want to see,
you just have to keep your eyes open.
This movie opens them.
Koyaanisqatsi
Official site: www.koyaanisqatsi.com
Internet movie data base: www.imdb.com/Title?0085809
(rating: 7.5/10)
Pictures by courtesy of www.koyaanisqatsi.com