Koyaanisqatsi

[firecat]

I'd forgotten how good the movie Koyaanisqatsi is.

Also: Philip Glass knock-knock jokes

Comments

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Years ago, I told that Philip Glass knock-knock joke to my mother.

Sort of.

It went something like this:

IAN: Knock knock
MOM: Who's there?
IAN: Philip Glass
IAN: Knock knock
MOM: Who's there?
IAN: Philip Glass
MOM: Philip Glass who?
IAN: Knock knock
MOM: Who's there?
IAN: Philip Glass
MOM: Who's there?
IAN: Philip Glass
MOM: Knock knock
IAN: Philip Glass
MOM: Who's there?
IAN: Philp Glass who?

. . . we went on like that for about three minutes.

[firecat]

That's a great variant!

[wordweaverlynn.livejournal.com]

It's amazing.

And it's ironic that so much of its imagery and technique reappeared in TV commercials.

[firecat]

Ironic indeed. But there's a very cool interview with the director, on the DVD, and he basically says it's inevitable.

[kmd.livejournal.com]

Ooh! You should check out Baraka. Same filmmakers, many years later. Stunning.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

I actually don't find Baraka anywhere near as good. I think part of it is the lack of Philip Glass, but also, it is of the various films like that the one that I find the most "let's just show pretty things and mostly screw the art." (Although saying that it's the *most* like that of those is not to say that it's very much like that compared to other things.) I think Powaqqatsi is my favourite, followed by Koyaanisqatsi, then Baraka. I thought Naqoyqatsi was terrible, and I haven't yet seen Chronos.

[kmd.livejournal.com]

I found the three acts in Baraka to be very moving. Alternately devastating and uplifting.

[firecat]

I'm inordinately fond of time-lapse photography, so I suspect I'd like Baraka OK, despite the absence of Philip Glass, as much as I love P.G.

I looked briefly at the previews for Powaqqatsi and Naqoyaqtsi (neither of which I've seen). I suspect I'll agree with you about Naqoyaqtsi. I'll give it a try, though.

[firecat]

Thanks, I will.

[opus119.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen the movie, but I loved the jokes.

A few months ago a friend brought over the sheet music of some of his "Metamorphosis" pieces, and we tried playing bits of them. They were actually quite pleasant and moody when played very slowly. Somehow that made the repetition easier to enjoy.

[firecat]

The repetition totally works for me (I call it "music for obsessives"), but I haven't tried playing any of it myself.

[genomekelly.livejournal.com]

The repetition totally works for me

Spend some time inside an MRI being scanned and your perception of Glassian repetition will... change.

[firecat]

Heh. I haven't been inside one, but I sat in the same room while the OH was inside one. The earplugs didn't help very much. I still like Philip Glass.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

I love it. :) (I do like Powaqqatsi better.) I keep meaning to sit down and re-watch them, but I also want to wait for the Blu-Ray editions.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

Once in a film community they had a profile you were supposed to fill out and it asked you for your ten favourite films. I used an entry to put Powaqqatsi and think I also mentioned Koyaanisqatsi as an alternate. Someone in the comments said that they called bullshit because nobody actually likes those movies -- people just reference them to seem pretentious.

[firecat]

HAHAHAHA

What is it with people who can't just say "I don't like X" and need to disbelieve or diss people who do like X?

[tedesson.livejournal.com]

I love the K movie, liked the P movie and don't remember the N movie enough to remark on it.

Have you heard Philip Glass's Aguas da Amazonia with Uakti? It's a set of pieces on the theme of the rivers of the Amazon basin. As each of the major tributaries join, the main theme becomes the combination of all of the rivers. Beautiful.

[firecat]

Ooh!

[pure-agnostic.livejournal.com]

I watched all 3 movies, and also found the last element of that trilogy the least memorable. The computer-manufactured scenes depicting abstract concepts showed how much the last movie departed from the mood of the first two.

Anyhow, I loved both of the first two, and Baraka as well. Just stunningly beautiful photography.

[pure-agnostic.livejournal.com]

Y'know, my favorite quote about minimalism is: "The less said about minimalism as an art form, the better." All joking aside, I do find Philip Glass's music quite relaxing and enchanting.