Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
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A non-narrative documentary exploring the state of American civilization through a montage of striking visuals and a minimalist score.
The story
Koyaanisqatsi is a non-narrative documentary film that functions as an essay in images and sound on the state of American civilization. The film features a montage of stock footage, slow motion, and time-lapse visuals of both natural and urban environments across the United States. Structured into 13 passages marked by dramatic musical shifts, the film contains no narration, dialogue, or intertitles. It opens with ancient pictographs and a rocket launch before moving into landscapes of the American Southwest, industrial resources, and urban centers like New York City, creating a visual meditation on the relationship between humans, nature, and technology.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film is a non-narrative documentary structured into 13 passages marked by dramatic musical shifts. It begins with pictographs from the Great Gallery of Horseshoe Canyon and a rocket launch, transitioning into time-lapse footage of the American Southwest, including desert landscapes, moving shadows, and clouds. This is followed by a sequence of industrial resources like power plants, oil drilling, and a nuclear weapons test. The narrative then shifts to urban environments, showing skyscrapers, urban decay, and infrastructure demolition. A high-energy sequence features fast-paced time-lapse footage of city life, including crowds, shopping centers, and factories. The final segments feature close-ups of microchips, satellite imagery of city grids, and a series of portraits of individuals from various social classes. The film concludes with a final rocket launch and a return to the opening pictograph image, all set to a minimalist score by Philip Glass and Hopi chants.
- First release year
- 1982
- Runtime (minutes)
- 86
- Production countries
- United States
- Directors
- Godfrey Reggio
- Writers
- Ron Fricke · writer; Michael Hoenig · writer; Godfrey Reggio · writer; Alton Walpole · writer
- Genres
- non-narrative documentary; avant-garde and experimental films; independent films; documentary films about environmental issues; documentary films about technology; Existentialist films; Non-narrative films; City symphony
- Themes
- Relationship between humans, nature, and technology; State of American civilization; Life out of balance
- Tone and mood
- Atmospheric; Experimental; Symphonic
- Premise and plot tags
- Non-narrative; Experimental; Documentary; Visual Poetry
- Franchise connections
- Qatsi trilogy
- Reception
- The film was a success, becoming one of the highest-grossing documentaries of the 1980s and earning a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is considered a cult film and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
- Production trivia
- The title 'Koyaanisqatsi' means 'life out of balance' in the Hopi language.; The film was produced on a budget of $2.5 million and grossed $3.2 million.; The film's score was composed by Philip Glass and is a notable example of minimalist composition.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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