Naqoyqatsi

Godfrey Reggio's 1983 KOYAANISQATSI, the first film in his now-completed "qatsi" trilogy, was a groundbreaking mix of hip visual stylings and deeply serious intent. The title, taken from the Hopi language, meant "life out of balance," and Reggio made his argument — that "civilization" has pitted modern man against the natural world, rather than bringing him into harmony with it — in purely visual terms. Time-lapse photography produced scudding clouds and shadows, and sent a giant moon arcing gracefully across an urban night sky; accelerated motion made crowded train stations look like seething ant colonies, and minimalist composer Philip Glass's propulsive ...