[DrPablo]

Paul how old were you in 1983 ?

I turned 9 that year. My film world was all about Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones.

I was a little disapointed by Powaqatsi and a bit more by Naqoyqatsi.

Powaqatsi is really striking to me -- there is so much humanity in it.

Baraka was nothing like the other ones. Interesting, but a bit too "catchy" (I hope I got the right word for it). The images were nice, but they didn't really make sense.

I think it's about beauty, and all the myriad forms it can take. It's a bit less polemical than the qatsi movies (if that's possible for something with no words). The images and cinematography in Baraka are jaw-dropping. Chronos is another Ron Fricke one, only about 45 minutes. It's a bit more frenetic and there are clearly some sequences made from the cutting room floor of the qatsi movies, but some of the scenes, especially in cathedrals, are memorable.

PS some advice to the young (and old, dear Roger) who have never watched the films in question: don't rent and watch them on a TV screen. You won't get the whole image. It'll be like watching fine prints on a PC monitor...

I've had the DVDs for all 5 of these for a few years, but I didn't watch them until now -- now that we have a 50 inch plasma TV with surround sound. That was good enough.

I think Koyaanisqatsi is the most singularly successful, organic blend of music and film I've ever seen. It was also my introduction to minimalism and the music of Philip Glass. I soon learned to appreciate Steve Reich and John Adams as well.

Yes, I agree. In one of the bonus features Philip Glass talks about how in TV commercials music is perfectly timed with events in the commercial -- and that perfect unity prevents the viewer from disengaging, from inserting themselves.

Glass' arpeggios can sometimes get a little repetitive for me, but in the qatsi movies they're masterful. His operas are amazing (esp Akhnaten), and his CD Aguas da Amazonia (scored for the Brazilian group Uakti) is brilliant.

What it doesn't do is inform the way I see as a still photographer.

I see some commonality with how I try to visualize and present certain subjects in still photography. These are my two best examples.