THE MOVIE

From the final frames of the film, the definition of ‘Powaqqatsi’ is given: “An entity, a way of life, that consumes the life forces of other beings in order to further its own life”. Powaqqatsi is a visual splendour, sweeping across villages and continents, exotic locations that I only dream about. With a very documentary feel, and a powerful score by Phillip Glass, (which I remembered fondly from its use in “The Truman Show’!) Powaqqatsi effectively shows the impact that progression has had on society, from the mud huts of tiny African villages, to the intricately designed and detailed sky scrapers that surround us. At its core, Powaqqatsi is a visually stunning image, but if you want to go deeper, there is enough substance invoked to ask many questions of our modern day society. Do we need to progress? Why do we progress? Is that necessarily good? Where exactly are we headed from here?

THE TRANSFER

Video:

Offered in 16x9 enhanced 1.85:1 picture, Powaqqatsi has been given a nicely clean, and very ‘film-like’ transfer. Although it has been compressed onto a single layer, the image is relatively free from compression artefacts. A slight level of grain is visible, but does not interfere, instead helping to cement the transfer as being a film element, and not a digital to digital one. Detail level is high and at many times in the duration, it looks incredibly three-dimensional. Overall, the disc is free from any glaring issues and is very nice to look at. As a side note, I would hate to have seen Powaqqatsi for the first time on VHS, the level of enjoyment that would have been derived from the film would have been halved. This is a film that demands to be seen in its original aspect ratio and in a technology that is adequate to show the visions it has to offer.

Audio:

There is only one audio track on the DVD, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 effort, at the higher 448 kb/s bitrate. Being mainly Phillip Glass’ score and general ambience, the track is very enveloping, and nicely transports you to an open-air concert in the exotic locations of the film. Due to the nature of the film, there are no dialogue issues or audio sync problems to plague the film, but it would have been very difficult to spot regardless. The score is nicely bottomed out with adequate bass, as are the ambient sounds of the film.

THE EXTRAS

With barely serviceable menus that don’t really befit the status of the film, Powaqqatsi offers a few items that are very welcome to the disc. First up, and the only meaty extra on hand, is the 19-minute documentary “Impact of progress”. Throughout its running length, the featurette shows interview clips with the director Godfrey Reggio and Phillip Glass (although there are no titles). Reggio gives some nice detail on their working relationship and how they collaborate to make these very visual movies, culminating in a few details on the upcoming “Naqoyqatsi”. Next up is the films original theatrical trailer presented in 1.33:1 with a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack. And finally, a trailer for Koyaanisqatsi, the first movie in the ‘qatsi’ trilogy, shown in 16x9 widescreen with a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack

SUMMARY

Powaqqatsi is very nicely presented on DVD, with a very good video and audio and transfer, and with at least one good featurette on the making of the movie, and the original trailer, makes a pretty good package. If you are a fan of the movie, then this is a no-brainer, but I have no doubt that the DVD incarnation will introduce many to the ‘qatsi’ trilogy, especially the younger generation, myself included. Reccommended.