IMDb > Powaqqatsi (1988)
Powaqqatsi
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Powaqqatsi (1988) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   2,708 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 40% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Godfrey Reggio
Writers:
Godfrey Reggio (writer)
Ken Richards (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Powaqqatsi on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 February 1989 (Australia) more
Genre:
Documentary more
Tagline:
Life in Transformation
Plot:
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them. | add synopsis
User Comments:
rebuttal of other viewers comments more (27 total)

Cast

 

Christie Brinkley ... (archive footage)
David Brinkley ... (archive footage)
Pope John Paul II ... (archive footage)
Dan Rather ... (archive footage)
Cheryl Tiegs ... (archive footage)

Directed by
Godfrey Reggio 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Godfrey Reggio  writer
Ken Richards  writer

Produced by
Shyam Benegal .... international producer: India
Francis Ford Coppola .... executive producer
Yoram Globus .... executive producer
Menahem Golan .... executive producer
Marcel Kahn .... associate producer
Mandeep Kakkar .... international producer: India
Mel Lawrence .... producer
George Lucas .... executive producer
Tom Luddy .... associate producer
Kurt Munkacsi .... producer
Godfrey Reggio .... producer
Lawrence Taub .... producer
 
Original Music by
Philip Glass 
 
Cinematography by
Graham Berry 
Leonidas Zourdoumis 
 
Film Editing by
Iris Cahn 
Miroslav Janek 
Alton Walpole 
 
Sound Department
Jeff Rona .... sound effects editor (as Jeffrey Rona)
Greg Smith .... assistant sound recordist
Gary Summers .... sound re-recording mixer
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Edward A. Gutentag .... assistant camera
Murray Van Dyke .... assistant camera
 
Editorial Department
Gay Browning .... first assistant editor
 
Music Department
Seymour Barab .... musician: cello
John Moses .... musician
Kurt Munkacsi .... music production
Michael Riesman .... musical director
Jeff Rona .... musician: keyboards and synthesiser (as Jeffrey Rona)
 
Other crew
Philip Glass .... script consultant
Ray Hemenez .... research director
Juliusz Kossakowski .... unit coordinator
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Northsouth: Life on the Edge (USA) (working title)
Powwaqatsi: Life in Transformation (USA) (poster title)
more
Runtime:
99 min
Country:
USA
Language:
Hopi | English | Spanish
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby SR
Filming Locations:
Berlin, Germany more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
As this film is more international in flavor than its predecessor, "Koyaanisqatsi", the music by Philip Glass reflects this and draws its themes from other cultures. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Powaqqatsi: Impact of Progress (2002) (V) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
rebuttal of other viewers comments, 23 March 2002
10/10
Author: atheisticmystic from California

Indeed! I do not agree that Powaqqatsi is a cheap imitation or second to Koyaanisqatsi. In fact, when I first viewed it, I was overcome with the feeling that this would be the film I would show to an invading Alien strike-force to convince them that humanity is a truly beautiful thing and must be spared. Philip Glass' soundtrack is again an immaculate one, and the marriage of Reggio/Glass devastatingly effective. There are images and transitions in this film that will stay with me forever. Haunting, beautiful, hypnotic, ecstatic. I challenge anyone claiming dissastisfaction with this film to explain how the "cover" sequence of the boy being devoured by smoke leaves the viewer so ( or the reflection of city lights in the rear window of the moving car, or the grain threshing sequence...). This film is another masterpiece, period.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (27 total)

Message Boards

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