Miramax Home Entertainment and Oscar(R)-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (Best Director, TRAFFIC, 2000) present NAQOYQATSI ("Life As War"), from filmmaker Godfrey Reggio, in collaboration with composer Phillip Glass, wh... more »ose original score features renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. In this cinematic concert -- the concluding film of the Qatsi Trilogy preceded by the critically acclaimed KOYAANISQATSI ("Life Out Of Balance"), and POWAQQATSI ("Life In Transformation") -- mesmerizing images reanimated from everyday reality, then visually altered with state-of-the-art digital techniques, chronicle the shift from a world organized by the principles of nature to one dominated by technology, the synthetic, and the virtual. Extremes of intimacy and spectacle, tragedy and hope, fuse in a tidal wave of visuals and music, giving rise to a unique artistic experience that reflects Reggio's visions of a brave new globalized world.« less
Joseph S. from BOCA RATON, FL Reviewed on 3/29/2010...
OK But not of the caliber of the 1st 2 movies in the series
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
Good, but not quite up to its predecessors...
Wing J. Flanagan | Orlando, Florida United States | 03/14/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The first two films of the Qatsi trilogy were made up of organic images accompanied by the music of Philip Glass. Astonishing achievements, they are, mostly because of this. The use of "found" images to tell a story - without dialog or a three-act screenplay - is quite an accomplishment.So, in the third installment, what was left to achieve? The opposite: to tell a story with synthetic images, but also without reliance on dialog, characters, or formal dramatic structure. A purely abstract film, in other words, where every image could be controlled precisely. The result is Godfrey Reggio's Naqoyqatsi, which, in my opinion, is not quite abstract enough.When relying on "real" images (i.e., representational) exclusively, you have to find metaphors and make connections indirectly. Koyaanisqatsi's most powerful example of this is a shot toward the end where we see an elderly person's hand emerge from an endless row of hospital beds seen obliquely so that they are nothing more than diagonal lines of metal and plastic. It's a haunting moment - humanity reaching out from the suffocating cocoon of technology it has woven about itself; reaching out for contact with something real. But the computer-enhanced (and often computer generated) work in Naqoyqatsi goes for the obvious most of the time. Instead of oblique metaphors, we get transliterations: actual ones and zeros flying around the screen to represent information overload; corporate logos in 3-D zooming at us to tell us how pervasive they are - complete with the obvious Cheap Shot at Corporate Greed: the dreaded Enron logo; dollar signs raining on stock traders at the NYSE. And so on. It's mostly clumsy. We even have a double-image of Dolly the cloned sheep intercut with shots of human eggs being artificially fertilized, followed by a big digital pull-back of lots and lots of naked babies, who are really the same four or five babies repeated endlessly. There is a certain aesthetic beauty in the work - the patterns are reminiscent of Salvador Dali's lattices of insects becoming clock hands; the periodic morphs, of his penchant for landscapes becoming faces. But as a whole, these images lack the elegance that marked the first two Qatsis. They're just too obvious.That being said, Philip Glass' score is sublime. It's among his better works, eschewing strict minimalist formalism, while maintaining a minimalist kind of simplicity. It features some of the best Neo-Romantic orchestral writing I have heard in some time - a great counterpoint to the cold, industrial images of the film.For the Completist, I recommend Naqoyqatsi. It's by no means a bad film. But for someone unfamiliar with the Qatsi aesthetic, I wouldn't start with this one. You need a grounding in the artistic sensibilities of the first two films to appreciate what does - and does not - work in this one."
The final spin in a bizarre trilogy
Joshua P. Mueller | Brooklyn, NY | 06/19/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I just saw a preview screening of this in NYC tonight. It incoperates the same techniques of the previous films in the series (Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi) which although may seem unconventional or strange in comparison to what we see see these days, is altogether enjoyable. In my opinion the visual narrative fails this time around but the soundtrack absolutely surpasses the others due to the contribution of Yo Yo Ma and another unflawed outing from the masterful Philip Glass. Naqoyqatsi intends to muse on our planet's war culture but get often mixed up with an ulterior commentary on technology (Although what I saw may not have been a final cut). Still worth seeing if you can find it come October. Also glad to see that the 3 will be making to DVD- a tremendous thank-you to those responsible for that!"
By far the best of the trilogy
Graham V. Foy | Santa Fe, NM United States | 03/28/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Okay. I saw this movie in November of last year, and even had the good fortune to meet Mr. reggio himself (I told him to watch "Dancer in the Dark", he said he loved Von Trier and I almost collapsed right there). Anyway, the movie. Of all the opening scenes in the history of cinema, I'd say the opening scene of "Naqoyqatsi" ranks in the top ten most beautiful of all time. The first image you see is an MRI image (made 3-D) of "The Tower of Babel", a painting by a famous Italian painter. It zooms in to show the incredible detail of the painting as the quite frankly INSANE music playing starts building up. Then begins a flawless, completely fluid transition from this amazing image to one even more amazing and, in my opinion, the most powerful in the film - the countless broken windows of an abandoned white building in Detroit. Now, when I saw this the first time, I had no idea where this building was or what type of building it was (someone here said it was a railroad station, though it looked to me like an apartment building). I believe the POINT is the anonymity, or better yet, the universality of the destruction and decay present in this image. It could be anywhere in the world. As Yo-Yo Ma's cello strikes out some of the most unforgettable music you'll ever hear, the camera sweeps to show the face of the ruined building in its entirety and believe me, it's one of the most haunting and beautiful images in the history of film. That's the BEGINNING of this movie! For the next 90 minutes, you're shown a panoply of images that define our times in all their confusion and strife, and all I can say is you probably won't get them out of your head for at least a week after seeing it. How can people call this a disappointment? What MAKES this film so beautiful is the integration of the real and the unreal, of the reality behind the image and the artificiality of the image itself. I believe this film is the synthesis of the trilogy, and that the filmaker's message is that life out of balance ultimately BECOMES life as war. Now, let's just hope it gets out on DVD soon."
Great End to A Great Trilogy
M. Gonya | WI United States | 10/18/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I bought the Naqoyqatsi DVD yesterday and have watched it two times since. My first impression was that this third in the Qatsi Trilogy was a lot like the first film only more hectic. I watched it a second time and it seemed a lot slower and not just a jumble of flashy digital images. On first viewing, I found the ending a bit disappointing but on the second viewing I was allowed to look more into the images. The film is great piece of art but still isn't as coheisive as Koyaanisqatsi. The music is probably what holds Naqoyqatsi together so well. The marriage of image and music is perfect.
The DVD has a extremely short clip of Steven Soderburg and Godfrey Reggio talking about the film which isn't all that important. There is a conversation with Yo-yo Ma and Phillip Glass which is nice to have on the DVD but really doesn't give that much insight on the movie. Probably the best extra of the DVD is the NYU Panel Discussion with Godfrey Reggio, Phillip Glass, and Visual Designer Jon Kane.
Some could call this just one long MTV video but I think it holds more substance than that. The message of the film could definitely be different for everyone but, I find that the message of the movie is that life is a stuggle, a struggle against technology, society, religion, and the future. Personally this is my second favorite "qatsi" film, second only to the first film. This is a great conclusion to a wonderful trilogy and should not be missed by fans of the Qatsi trilogy."
Eye Candy & Great Music
marblexyz@hotmail.com | Bellevue, WA United States | 11/03/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This afternoon I saw Naqoyqatsi.Koyaanisqatsi totally amazed me, when I saw it in the mid 80s. Because I hadn't seen the kind of imagery- the amazing visions that movie has - and hadn't heard Phillip Glass before. None of us had seen the kind of images now common in tv commercials. The time-lapse photography. The infinite depth of focus shots over crowds, freeways and landscapes. I suspect someone seeing Koyaanisqatsi for the first time now wouldn't be as impressed, because the camera techniques are now commonplace.Making Naqoyqatsi, they faced a big challenge to deliver visions we've never seen before. Ive absorbed lots of images & video and musical genres since the mid 80s. Could they create a movie that was a commentary on war, technology & modern life without it being familiar? Tough order. Could they do it without being preachy or blunt? Answer: they did a great job.And for you who are tired of Phillip Glass music, don't let what you've heard from him before discourage you from seeing this movie. His style has completely evolved, and is no longer a repetitive, familiar and derivative. (Don't get me wrong, after Koyaanisqatsi, I obsessively listened to PG for years, but eventually it wore me out.) For me, the music was the most impressive part of the movie. Now, _I want the soundtrack to Naqoyqatsi._ I was super-impressed. It was totally fresh and wonderful."