Naqoyqatsi
Encyclopedia
Naqoyqatsi also known as Naqoyqatsi: Life as War, is a 2002 documentary film
directed by Godfrey Reggio
and edited by Jon Kane
, with music composed by Philip Glass
. It is the third and final film in the Qatsi trilogy
.
Naqoyqatsi is a Hopi
word (more correctly written naqö̀yqatsi) meaning "life as war". While Koyaanisqatsi
and Powaqqatsi
examine modern life in industrial countries and the conflict between encroaching industrialization and traditional ways of life, using slow motion and time-lapse footage of cities and natural landscapes, about eighty percent of Naqoyqatsi uses archive footage and stock images manipulated and processed digitally on non-linear editing (non-sequential) workstations and intercut with specially-produced computer generated imagery to demonstrate society's transition from a natural environment to a technology-based one. Reggio described the process as "virtual
cinema".
) with different themes::
took place very close to the film's production studio, impacting the content of the film and further convincing the crew of the importance of its subject.
l tradition than much of Glass's work as a familiar doorway to images so disconnected from the familiar world. One instrument
, the cello
played by Yo-Yo Ma
, plays a single line running through the entire piece. Some unconventional instruments are used in addition to traditional ones, including a didgeridoo
and an electronically-created
jaw harp.
. Since most of the archive and stock footage used in the film were shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio
, most of the film was horizontally stretched to accommodate the wider aspect ratio used in the cinema and in the DVD transfer.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Godfrey Reggio
Godfrey Reggio
Godfrey Reggio is an American director of experimental documentary films.-Life:Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Reggio co-founded La Clinica de la Gente, a facility that provided medical care to 12,000 community members in Santa Fe, and La Gente, a community-organizing project in...
and edited by Jon Kane
Jon Kane
-Career:Kane was the editor of Naqoyqatsi, the third film in the Qatsi Trilogy directed by Godfrey Reggio and scored by Philip Glass.Kane has also done notable work as a commercial director and editor...
, with music composed by Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
. It is the third and final film in the Qatsi trilogy
Qatsi trilogy
The Qatsi trilogy is the informal name given to a series of three films produced by Godfrey Reggio and scored by Philip Glass:* Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of balance * Powaqqatsi: Life in transformation * Naqoyqatsi: Life as war...
.
Naqoyqatsi is a Hopi
Hopi language
Hopi is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people of northeastern Arizona, USA, although today some Hopi are monolingual English speakers.The use of the language has gradually declined over the course of the 20th century...
word (more correctly written naqö̀yqatsi) meaning "life as war". While Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi also known as Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, is a 1982 film directed by Godfrey Reggio with music composed by Philip Glass and cinematography by Ron Fricke....
and Powaqqatsi
Powaqqatsi
Powaqqatsi , or Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation, is the 1988 sequel to the experimental 1982 documentary film Koyaanisqatsi, by Godfrey Reggio. It is the second film in the Qatsi trilogy....
examine modern life in industrial countries and the conflict between encroaching industrialization and traditional ways of life, using slow motion and time-lapse footage of cities and natural landscapes, about eighty percent of Naqoyqatsi uses archive footage and stock images manipulated and processed digitally on non-linear editing (non-sequential) workstations and intercut with specially-produced computer generated imagery to demonstrate society's transition from a natural environment to a technology-based one. Reggio described the process as "virtual
Virtual
The term virtual is a concept applied in many fields with somewhat differing connotations, and also, differing denotations.The term has been defined in philosophy as "that which is not real" but may display the salient qualities of the real....
cinema".
Synopsis
According to Reggio, the film has no screenplay per se, but three movements (like those of a symphonyMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
) with different themes::
- Numerica.com: Language and place gives way to numerical code and virtual reality.
- Circus maximus: Competition, winning, records, fame, “fair play” and the love of money are elevated to the prime values of life. Life becomes a game.
- Rocketship twentieth century: A world that language can no longer describe. The resulting explosive tempo of technology is war, civilized violence.
Production
The September 11 attacks against the World Trade CenterWorld Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
took place very close to the film's production studio, impacting the content of the film and further convincing the crew of the importance of its subject.
Music
The music is more in the traditional orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l tradition than much of Glass's work as a familiar doorway to images so disconnected from the familiar world. One instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
, the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
played by Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
, plays a single line running through the entire piece. Some unconventional instruments are used in addition to traditional ones, including a didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
and an electronically-created
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
jaw harp.
Release
There was some controversy over the production process after the film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. Since most of the archive and stock footage used in the film were shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
, most of the film was horizontally stretched to accommodate the wider aspect ratio used in the cinema and in the DVD transfer.