Customer Reviews

Baraka: 2-Disc Special Edition

5 star:		(389)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

I will not attempt to extol the virtues film itself (what more can I say than has already been said?), but of the new collector's edition: I too have the original DVD release, and the VHS release. This new transfer is AMAZING, and is exactly what the first DVD release should have been... PRISTINE video (very few artifacts, little or no pixelation), and IMMACULATE audio (crisp, clean, and great presence without sounding "over-processed"). If you have both versions and can't tell the difference, then it's time to watch it on a large screen TV, and clean yer ears out! The improvements are painfully obvious. This is a truly incredible film, and finally justice has been done with the fantastic quality of the consumer version. Like someone else said, give your old copy away, and BUY THIS VERSION now! I'm glad I picked it up, and you will be too.

The words mesmerizing, beautiful and astounding cannot begin to describe this wonderful DVD. Ron Fricke is to be commended highly for this moving work of art. I have a wide-screen HDTV and found the DVD to be much more moving than the VHS version I had seen on old TV in the past. If you have a choice--definitely go to the widescreen DVD version. The Dolby sound also was much enhanced over the previous version.

I firmly believe ALL PEOPLE should view this film at least once in their lifetime--free from all external encumbrances--this film requires your undivided attention.

All of a sudden, the world becomes a much smaller planet--one in which we all live in our own way and one in which every living being is important.

If you are prone to cry at beauty--have a box of tissues handy. If you are not prone to cry at films, have a box of tissues handy anyway. You will probably need them. This is a very moving film.

I was particularly impressed with the burning oil field scene because of the intense feeling the film created.

Viewing this film should be a requirement for living on the planet.

This is an incredible, serious, and beautiful film. The imagery is astounding and often thought-provoking. The music is also great and matches the film very well -- if you like Peter Gabriel's "Passion" (the instrumental soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ), you will like the score for Baraka.

I disagree with the reviewer who said that Baraka is just an imitation of Koyaanisqatsi. If you'd bother to read the credits, Ron Fricke (the creator of Baraka) was also responsible for ALL of the filming for the -qatsi trilogy (which includes Koyaanisqatsi). Baraka is a different kind of movie, with a different, more subtly communicated message.

Baraka was shot in the (very expensive) 70mm format, which yields a very high quality picture, especially when transferred to DVD. Ron Fricke is a master of the 70mm format, and he actually designed many of the camera rigs used in Baraka (including the very high quality time lapse footage). Give Fricke some credit for having learned something in the almost 10 years since Koyaanisqatsi was filmed.

If you are expecting vapid, New Age eye candy, this is not the movie for you. If you want a beautiful film that will change you, a film that you can watch again every 6 months without getting tired of it, then buy this DVD. I have the original DVD (very hapy with it), so I can't say whether the film transfer quality in the Collector's Edition is on par. Maybe one of these days I'll buy the Collector's Edition and see which one I like best.

Baraka is a profound statement about humanity and our relationship with this world, both disturbing and enlightening. The film contrasts the havoc that we wreck in modern day against the peaceful existence of more primitive times. No other film has ever conveyed the diversity of our world as well as Baraka. Ron Fricke masterfully frames each and every sequence to create suspense and tell a story with no dialogue. I can only imagine he has put his heart and soul into the film in order to achieve the fantastic images. Combined with a soundtrack that is painstakingly constructed to match the film's mood, I was amazed that a wordless film could evoke such emotion in the viewer. One of my favourite movies -- I was deep in thought for many days after having seen it. It is unfortunate to see this movie on video -- it belongs definitively on the 70 mm screen.

This is not some new-age ambient music video, it's an extremely intense video essay for those who are susceptible to the visual/audible language of the filmmakers. However, if you want to see a film once and know what it was about and what it all meant this probably isn't a film you'll like. I've seen this film probably seven times at a local repertory theater, in 70mm (the last surviving copy) and each time I thought I understood more, but walked away with more questions, about the film as well as the world it depicts. I'm tempted to mention some of the sequences that are especially vivid in my mind but I think you should see it without preconceptions. What stands out for my friends is different from what I came away with. Rest assured that the filmmakers went all over the world, into all manner of urban and rural environments, to get the footage for this film. I haven't seen the video (as opposed to the film) yet -- I would say if you get it, try to watch it on a very big screen at least the first time. In the dark. Without interruption.

And crank down the bass a little (if you have a subwoofer).

This movie gives the person with their DVD players, SUV and well- paying job to see something in this world that the viewer most likely has not seen, which is an intimate look at cultures, environments and nature the world over. With no concern of SARS or an expensive plane ticket, you feel afterwards that you truly experienced a global tour.

Baraka begins at a rather cautious pace, and as each scene passes by your vision, the intensity and depth slowly but steadily increases. It's a bit hard to describe, but I feel in a way that it causes the viewer to look inward at his/her own view of what the world is about and what life means. In a way, it compells you to ask yourself some deep questions. Make sure to keep your attention on watching the movie with NO interruptions to get the full effect. Pausing for phone calls, snacks or bathroom breaks is verboten, so get everything done first!

Baraka unfolds in the early morning and as the film passes through the first 10 minutes or so, you see examples of different beliefs and religions mixed with clips of nature. Eventually the two collide. And by the end, you're amazed at the solar eclipse and lunar starfields. Yet Ron Fricke's intent wasn't to make any statement at all.

There are elements of almost every type mixed into the film from peaceful co- existance to conflict (no graphic footage, don't worry), faith, technology, beauty and struggle. In some ways you may feel helpless after watching the slow decay/destruction of the world at the hands of mankind, yet Fricke also inserts visions which somehow reassure that nature ultimately holds the key to the fate of human beings since she is infinitely more powerful (and is much more patient).

If you get the chance, sample Baraka (a national video rental place has it on stock in special interest, so you can take a peek at it), and you'll more than likely want to own this. The majority of filming is either in slow motion or in time lapse, with not a single word spoken. Fricke and Mark Madigson developed some camera and dolly techniques that created the smoothest time lapse photography available, and some of the filming they've done you may recognize in some commercials or even movies.

NOTE, this is for the earlier MPI version DVD (DVD7060), which is somewhat similar in content, and the never version claims a new 70mm transfer and digitally- remastered audio. One thing I noticed that wasn't noted in the specs on the Collector's Edition is they didn't mention a full screen version; the older DVD is double- sided, one for the widescreen and the other for pan & scan.

Other suggestions: Koyaanisqatsi (deals mainly with the industrial cultures, cinematography by Fricke, 1983), Chronos (by Fricke, 40 minutes, 1985 which has music a little dated, but the film techniques are similar) and Powaqqatsi (1988). Of these, Baraka is best, IMHO.

Tidbit: There was also a coffee table book with images from scenery in Baraka.

Watching this movie resembles meditating, with the filmmaker supplying the images of a mystical vision welling up from the entire audience's subconscious. I agree with the reviewer who said the views of more "primitive" societies were perhaps unrealistically positive in contrast with the perhaps overly negative portrayal of industrialized societies, but I have never seen a movie which so authentically focussed on the intelligence of native societies. Do we really need a movie to tell us that there are some good things about our society, and some bad things about less modern ones? Doesn't everyone already know that??? I think this film strives to shake us out of our daily reality where we already make those assumptions subconsciously.

I think the filmmaker is challenging the audience to try to reconcile industrialism with environmentalism--he wants us to start creating a new way of thinking, and it's absolutely brilliant that he doesn't need a single word to make that argument. I appreciate the filmmaker's faith in the audience to see correctly and feel deeply if given the chance.

This is one of the greatest films of all time. When I say films, I mean "films" as it isn't really a movie. Shot on 70mm in 24 countries around the world, the visuals in this are absolutely out of this world. Complimented by the stirring soundtrack of Michael Stearns, every time I watch this film, it raises the deepest emotions from inside.

It's message is simple - that every man and woman on this Earth are striving for something more, through religion, war, ceremony, class, etc..., we are searching long and hard. As well, this film is unforgiving in the assesment of our failures along the way.

The most beautiful image in my mind is that of a family riding on a scooter with the sun glittering behind them as they calmly go about their business. All of this is amplified by a stirring track by Lisa Gerard (Dead Can Dance) that finally disolves into a haunting Japanese dance.

The director, Ron Fricke, I believe ironically enough worked in some degree on the set of Apocalypse Now with Francis Ford Coppola. This would explain his expert use of 70mm in capturing this great piece of work...

BARAKA is a beautiful travelogue directed by Ron Fricke, the cinematographer of KOYAANISQATSI. It is similar, but superior, to KOYAANISQATSI and its sequels, largely because it doesn't have quite as much of a political axe to grind, and because it is not designed to highlight the music of Philip Glass.

Instead, BARAKA is a profound, moving experience. I guarantee you will find in it at least a half-dozen moments of pure wonder, and probably many more. You will also see images of things you've never seen before, or even imagined. BARAKA explores natural wonders, religious practices, and humans in harmony and in conflict with nature and themselves. In many ways it remains me of the PLANET EARTH series, but focused on humanity, and with no narration.

BARAKA contains scenes of great beauty, great ugliness, and great humor. It is also a spiritual meditation, and I make it a point to watch this movie every Easter season, even though it is not particularly Christian in its outlook.

Buy it. Watch it on the best movie system you or your friends own. You will certainly enjoy this film. What I can't say is whether this new DVD release is superior to the old one, which is no longer in print.

It's a risk to review a video like this. You either become clichéd or sound truly naive. It doesn't matter. It's really refreshing to feel that, even though any viewer may have traveled to or watched images of some of these places, this astonishing film makes you feel that you belong to this world and, still, you don't know much about it. Secuences like those from Nepal, Bali or China will certainly encourage your need for traveling and knowing other cultures and sights. On the other hand, the video quality is superb,70 mm. looks very similar to IMAX and the music posseses your soul for 104 minutes and takes you "there" as you visit some of the most puzzling and beautiful places on earth.

If you want to enhance your DVD collection, Buy This!