“Koyaanisqatsi" at Rozz-Tox -- June 25.
Wednesday, June 25, 7 p.m.
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Originally presented by Francis Ford Coppola and hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "a remarkable film event," director Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi enjoys a special June 25 screening as part of Rozz-Tox's community series Filmosofia, this evening in Rock Island also boasting a reading discussion on the movie's philosophical themes hosted by Augustana College's Dr. Deke Gould.
Its title coming from the Hopi word koyaanisqatsi, meaning "life out of balance," Reggio's 1982 film is the first entry in the Qatsi trilogy, which was followed by 1988's Powaqqatsi and 2002's Naqoyqatsi. The trilogy depicts different aspects of the relationship between humans, nature, and technology. Described by the New York Times as an "essay in images and sound on the state of American civilization," Koyaanisqatsi comprises a montage of stock footage, slow motion, and time-lapse visuals of natural and urban environments across the United States. and features music by Philip Glass and cinematography by Ron Fricke. The work runs for 86 minutes without narration, dialogue, or intertitles, and is structured into 13 passages that are demarcated by dramatic musical shifts in Glass' score.
Koyaanisqatsi was first publicly screened as a workprint at the Santa Fe Film Festival on April 27, 1982. Later that year, the film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 5, and it was screened again at the New York Film Festival (NYFF) on October 4. While the NYFF was based in the Lincoln Center, an exception was made to screen Koyaanisqatsi at the larger Radio City Music Hall due to what the New York Times called the film's "spectacular visual and sound quality." On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91 percent, the Web site's critical consensus reading: "Koyaanisqatsi combines striking visuals and a brilliant score to produce a viewing experience that manages to be formally daring as well as purely entertaining."
Koyaanisqatsi will be shown in the Filmosofia series on June 25, and the 7 p.m. screening will be preceded by a 6:30 p.m. discussion on Clark & Chalmers' The Extended Mind (copies available at the venue) and followed by Dr. Gould's discussion of the movie. Admission to the all-ages event is free, and more information is available by calling (309)200-0978 and visiting RozzTox.com.
