Godfrey Reggio

Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi

An unconventional work in every way, Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi was nevertheless a sensation when it was released in 1983. This first work of The Qatsi Trilogy wordlessly surveys the rapidly changing environments of the Northern Hemisphere, in an astonishing collage created by the director, cinematographer Ron Fricke, and composer Philip Glass. It shuttles viewers from one jaw-dropping vision to the next, moving from images of untouched nature to others depicting human beings’ increasing dependence on technology Koyaanisqatsi’s heterodox methods (including hypnotic time-lapse photography) make it a look at our world from a truly unique angle.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1983
  • 86 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • Spine #640

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

  • New, restored digital transfer, approved by director Godfrey Reggio, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • Essence of Life, an interview program with Reggio and composer Philip Glass on Koyaanisqatsi
  • New interview with cinematographer Ron Fricke
  • Television spots and a new interview with Reggio relating to his 1970s multimedia privacy campaign in New Mexico
  • Early demo version of Koyaanisqatsi with a partial scratch soundtrack featuring poet Allen Ginsberg, along with a new introduction by Reggio
  • New interview with Reggio about the film’s original visual concept, with behind-the-scenes footage
  • Trailer

Available In

Collector's Set

The Qatsi Trilogy

The Qatsi Trilogy

Blu-ray Box Set

3 Discs

$63.96

Collector's Set

The Qatsi Trilogy

The Qatsi Trilogy

DVD Box Set

3 Discs

$63.96

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

  • New, restored digital transfer, approved by director Godfrey Reggio, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • Essence of Life, an interview program with Reggio and composer Philip Glass on Koyaanisqatsi
  • New interview with cinematographer Ron Fricke
  • Television spots and a new interview with Reggio relating to his 1970s multimedia privacy campaign in New Mexico
  • Early demo version of Koyaanisqatsi with a partial scratch soundtrack featuring poet Allen Ginsberg, along with a new introduction by Reggio
  • New interview with Reggio about the film’s original visual concept, with behind-the-scenes footage
  • Trailer
Koyaanisqatsi
Credits
Presented by
Francis Ford Coppola
Director
Godfrey Reggio
Produced by
Godfrey Reggio
Director of photography
Ron Fricke
Music
Philip Glass
Executive producer
Dan Noyes
Music produced and recorded by
Kurt Munkacsi
Music conducted by
Michael Riesman
Music director and additional music by
Michael Hoenig
Edited by
Alton Walpole
Edited by
Ron Fricke
Associate producers
Lawrence Taub
Associate producers
T. Michael Powers
Associate producers
Alton Walpole
Associate producers
Roger McNew
Associate producers
Mel Lawrence

Current

The Qatsi Trilogy: Geologic Scale and Human Scale
The Qatsi Trilogy: Geologic Scale and Human Scale

The climate change expert discusses how Godfrey Reggio’s films presaged widespread concern about global warming and warned about the dangers of consumerism.

By Bill McKibben

The Qatsi Trilogy: Counterpoint and Harmony
The Qatsi Trilogy: Counterpoint and Harmony

Philip Glass’s experimental operas and symphonic works of the 1960s and ’70s laid the groundwork for his hypnotic Qatsi scores.

By John Rockwell

The Qatsi Trilogy: Celebration and Warning
The Qatsi Trilogy: Celebration and Warning

Cinema is both an educational tool and a vessel for kinetic, avant-garde expression for filmmaker and activist Godfrey Reggio.

By Scott MacDonald

How The Qatsi Trilogy Gave RaMell Ross a New Way of Seeing

Under the Influence

How The Qatsi Trilogy Gave RaMell Ross a New Way of Seeing

The Oscar-nominated director of Hale County This Morning, This Evening finds an expansive political vision in the mind-altering work of Godfrey Reggio.

Ty Segall’s Top 10
Ty Segall’s Top 10

The Los Angeles–based musician’s list of favorite films celebrates the kooky, the trippy, and the dystopian.

Jeremy Workman’s Top 10
Jeremy Workman’s Top 10

A frequent Criterion collaborator who has edited many of our trailers, the director of The World Before Your Feet charts the evolution of his movie love through multiple formats and new technologies.

A World Gone Mad in Minneapolis

Repertory Picks

A World Gone Mad in Minneapolis

Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi, a fiercely experimental look at the excesses of modernity, screens tonight at the Trylon cinema in Minneapolis.