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Koyaanisqatsi + Powaqqatsi



ko●yaa●nis●qatsi (from the Hopi language)
n., 1. crazy life 2. life in turmoil 3. life out of balance 4. life disintegrating 5. a state of life that calls for another way of living

po●waq●qa●tsi (from the Hopi language, powaq sorcerer + qatsi life)

n., an entity, a way of life, that consumes the life forces of other beings in order to further its own life

Told without dialogue, narration, cast or characters, Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi are dizzying, hypnotic examples of cinema set to extraordinary scores by Philip Glass. The first instalment concentrates on the United States, contrasting its natural beauty with a population ever more dependent on modern technology. The second switches to the Southern hemisphere and focuses on cultures and traditions that are slowly eroding away as the modern world takes over.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
- New, restored digital transfers of Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi, approved by director Godfrey Reggio, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
- Introduction by filmmaker and composer Gary Tarn (Black Sun, The Prophet)
- Interviews with Reggio and composer Philip Glass on the making of Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi
- Anima Mundi (1992): Reggio’s 28-minute montage of over seventy animal species, scored by Philip Glass
- Original theatrical trailers for Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Anton Bitel, Michael Brooke, Peter Cowie and Jean-Baptiste Gouyon.

It may be a shame that they couldn't get the third film Naqoyqatsi as well, but at least it is available in the UK from Studio Canal. Won't feel as comprehensive as the Criterion box, but at least you get the better 2 films in this Arrow set.

I hope these get split up at some point, although it's not as big a sting as the Criterion set.

manicsounds wrote:It may be a shame that they couldn't get the third film Naqoyqatsi as well, but at least it is available in the UK from Studio Canal. Won't feel as comprehensive as the Criterion box, but at least you get the better 2 films in this Arrow set.

As you rightly say, including Naqoyqatsi wasn't an option, at least not in the UK.

But, looking on the bright side, the Arrow is considerably cheaper than the Criterion, especially if you're based in the UK and don't fancy playing the Customs lottery.

Incidentally, both Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi will be in 1.85:1. There's no doubt whatsoever that these are the correct, director-approved ratios, and the circumstances that led Godfrey Reggio to authorise alternative 1.33:1 framings (to fill the screen of old-fashioned CRT televisions and maximise visual impact) are no longer relevant. Can you even plug a Blu-ray player into an old 4:3 CRT set?

Can you even plug a Blu-ray player into an old 4:3 CRT set?

Yes you can, if you're so inclined!

I do know of a handful of people in North America who have their BD players connected to their high-def CRT TVs.

David M. wrote:

Can you even plug a Blu-ray player into an old 4:3 CRT set?

Yes you can, if you're so inclined!

I do know of a handful of people in North America who have their BD players connected to their high-def CRT TVs.

Wow, you know Jeffrey Wells??

David M. wrote:

Can you even plug a Blu-ray player into an old 4:3 CRT set?

Yes you can, if you're so inclined!

I do know of a handful of people in North America who have their BD players connected to their high-def CRT TVs.

Yes it is definitely possible, though I guess it depends on what connectors there are on the player (I think that the second Blu-ray player I bought only has the HDMI slot). For a few years before I got a HDTV I busied myself with picking up a multi-region player and discs, and found it a great bonus to be able to run it on a CRT TV so I could upgrade in increments. I still only have the one HDTV, so I have a secondary Blu-ray player in a spare room attached to a CRT set through the component cables, which is great for quickly reviewing material either on Blu or DVD rather than having to move across to the dedicated Blu-ray HDMI set up (I also like having a spare multi-region Blu player hooked up just in case one or the other runs into problems, but also like the idea of keeping the secondary one in, albeit limited, use rather than just gathering dust!)

CONTENTS:

- New, restored digital transfers of Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi, approved by director Godfrey Reggio, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
- Introduction by filmmaker and composer Gary Tarn (Black Sun, The Prophet)
- Interviews with Reggio and composer Philip Glass on the making of Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi
- Anima Mundi (1992): Reggio’s 28-minute montage of over seventy animal species, scored by Philip Glass
- Original theatrical trailers for Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Anton Bitel, Michael Brooke, Peter Cowie and Jean-Baptiste Gouyon

I reckon they should promote "Does not contain Naqoyqatsi!" as a selling point.

zedz wrote:I reckon they should promote "Does not contain Naqoyqatsi!" as a selling point.

I'm genuinely shocked that it took this long for this joke to be made.

Will "Anima Mundi" be in HD? It's a really gorgeous short film. I still have the laserdisc version:).

A sneak preview of a few pages of the horizontal-format booklet has just been published on Arrow's blog.

asmodeux17 wrote:Will "Anima Mundi" be in HD? It's a really gorgeous short film. I still have the laserdisc version:).

Yes, it's 1080p.

Finished copies of this have come into the office and we're very proud of it. Here's a little peek at what it looks like:

https://vine.co/v/MvEud9lav1u

A lengthy rave review from Cine Outsider.

Any chance of Arrow picking up Reggio's latest film "Visitors"? The US home video release has been announced, but I don't see any UK listings for the distributor yet.

manicsounds wrote:Any chance of Arrow picking up Reggio's latest film "Visitors"? The US home video release has been announced, but I don't see any UK listings for the distributor yet.

Metrodome have it.

Reading the contemporary reviews in the fabulous booklet, it's clear that Vincent Canby was the most imperceptive of all the heavyweight critics. 'As non-narrative films go, it is remarkably seductive, but so are colour photographs in the National Geographic' is just crass. Surely the films are to be taken as a visual and musical experience in tandem?

I recall reading more than once that he has been made to apologise to the likes of Kubrick & Scorsese after viewing their films again. That said, I have an 'Il Conformista' canvas proudly hanging on my wall with praise from Canby emblazoned along the bottom...so he got something right.

I always try to include negative reviews in the 'Contemporary Reviews' section - sometimes this is a fairly major challenge (Ashes and Diamonds, The Naked City and Salvatore Giuliano were all greeted ecstatically, at least in Britain), but at other times it's all too easy (The Long Goodbye and especially The Night of the Hunter, where finding a vaguely positive review from 1955 was much more of a challenge).

The Daily Mirror's dismissal of Borowczyk's The Beast with a curt "You don't need subtitles to tell you what's going on - anyway, this film is not for people who can read" still makes me giggle to this day.

These look much better than the Criterion releases at almost exactly the same bitrate.

I watched both of these films via the Arrow discs today and I came across a very noticeable digital hiccup in Powaqqatsi's 5.1 soundtrack around the 55:44 mark. The skip occurred at the same spot in my other player, but the 2.0 track and Criterion's 5.1 track are both fine. I'm sure it's just my copy but can someone else confirm with theirs?