Baraka: 2-Disc Special Edition

Shows humanity's efforts to find their place in the world, highlighting the things we've built, the things in nature we stand in awe of, and the practices we engage in to bring us a sense of the spiritual. Beuatiful images. I love it, I haven't shown it to my girlfriend yet because I don't know if she'll tolerate the lack of plot. If you have a fancy TV you want to show off, especially one with excellent brightness, this is the disc to use (I first saw this in an ultra-high-end AV store). I am surprised it isn't available in 4K, not sure how much difference that makes, but it's still impressive.

Recipient happy with the gift.

I bought this DVD on impulse last week because Amazon paired it with Waking Life, and as I waited for it to arrive, I went hot and cold constantly, at one point thinking "wow, this must be so powerful and amazing, considering that there's no narration and no traditional plot," to "oof, well, can I sit through ninety-some minutes of this with nothing to tie the images together?" Let me just say that when all was said and done, my initial excitement was more than justified.The language of this film, where in most others we would look to dialogue, is found in the music (which is incredible in its own right-- note to self, see if the soundtrack is available). Through the segues, peaks, and valleys of the sound, Fricke actually manages to cogently connect such starkly different images as traffic in Tokyo with human breathing, the intensely different architechtures of distant cultures, menial factory labor and upper-class executive professions, prayer and chant-- all the while jumping from one end of the Earth to the other, creating a spectacle of similarity that will leave you shaking your head in amazement.Surprisingly enough, as is mentioned in certain other comments, there is a poignant emotional charge to the piece as well-- I won't go into details of course, but I have to say I was just as moved by scenes of this film, completely devoid of words and (what I am now forced to view to be) more superficial human drama, as I was by any big-name actor-driven drama like Schindler's List, Green Mile, or anything like that. Some parts are drop-dead hilarious, others are terrifying. Never a dull moment throughout.Meanwhile, to speak of the film more technically, it's still a masterpiece. This is the first piece I've ever seen that was shot in 70mm film, and I was blown away. I'll tell you, it doesn't even matter whether or not you've got an HDTV with 7.1 surround sound-- I watched Baraka on a 20" JVC TV/VCR combo, with its standard stereo speakers-- the depth of field is almost dizzying. Even simple dolly shots (some scenes toward the end focus most on architechture) are strikingly rendered, and the color quality is absolutely insane. Every frame could conceivably be printed and exhibited as a professional photograph, but of course then you'd lose the soundtrack! I can barely begin to imagine what it must look like on an HD display.Overall, there is not a single thing I can criticize about this movie-- it's quite possibly one of the best I've ever seen, and one I plan to strap all my friends down to watch at some point soon. Definitely worth the investment to be able to watch it over and over-- my skepticism was totally dashed.My particular copy was damaged slightly-- I wasn't able to see chapters 5 or 6 when I watched it, but Amazon's been really great about getting a new copy to me as fast as possible, so I'm all-around pleased! Definitely a great buy-- grab up Baraka straightaway if you're a fan of documentary, experimental film, cultural studies, poetry, photography, anything!

I discovered my soft spot for Visual Arts film when I first watched KOYANNISQATSI, where quite literally a picture said more than a thousand words. Followed by POWAQATSI and Ron Fricke's own CHRONOS (in a manner of speaking a sequel to KOYANNISQATSI focusing on European locations and at the same time the prequel to BARAKA, revealing Ron Fricke's personal artistic style to approach the subject), BARAKA is - put simply - the mother of all such Visual Arts films.Without any audible word Ron Fricke confronts the audience with images of our world and scenes from global life, sometimes beautiful and exciting, sometimes ugly and sobering but always in a context that invites self-reflection and involves the audience (in many memorable instances it is somewhat unclear whether it's the audience that's watching or the one being watched). What never ceases to amaze me are the reactions of my guests I expose to BARAKA, some are taken in silent awe, others are giggling and reveal a kind of uncertainty as to what to think about the experience.Words can't express my gratitude to all the individuals involved in the restoration process of this Blu-ray disc, there is an impressive remove-the-veil-visualization that illustrates what BARAKA looked like on home video first and now (which itself is worth to watch), and the documentary about the making of the film is rich in anecdotes (I couldn't help but feel that the production itself was truly blessed as Murphy's Law seemed to be banned by a higher force for the duration of production).Just a few words about some issues I've repeatedly heard: BARAKA was shot on film and with special lenses, so in close-up camera shots the background is sometimes out of focus which is owed to technical reasons and artistic intentions (there is nothing wrong with the HD resolution). Sometimes audiences would have liked a subtitle option indicating at which global location the shot was taken, because at times BARAKA has a somewhat inevitable Trivial Pursuit character (but a travelogue wasn't Ron Fricke's artistic intention. The end credits reveal all the locations).The making of the film documentary clearly reveals that much more footage that's not included in the film was shot. Personally, I'd like to see that one day but feel it shouldn't be used to make a "special edition" of BARAKA, as I couldn't possibly imagine how it could ever improve the film in its finished version.If you feel the bulk of movies Hollywood produces is like eating cake all the time and you look for something with more nutrition and a different, exotic flavor, BARAKA is my ultimate recommendation. It is definitely a film everyone should watch in his or her lifetime, as it constitutes a one-of-a-kind experience, unlike all others.

Documentario di qualità eccelsa con bella colonna sonora.Consigliatissimo il bluray.

Impossible de lire les 5 premières minutes !!! Fort dommage...

Se trata de una nueva remasterización de una de las películas más estéticamente bellas que se han hecho. El nuevo máster en 8k se transfirió a formato Blu-ray para quedar en 1080 pero con un detalle mejor que la mayoría de remasterizaciones que suelen encontrarse de DVD a Blu-ray, al grado de no pedir nada a uno de esos demos de 4k considerando la distancia del sillón a la tele.En cuanto a la película, es un esfuerzo fílmico impresionante que consiste en escenas de la vida y naturaleza en diversos países, muy al estilo de la trilogía qatsi de Ford Coppola, con cierta carga de crítica social al yuxtaponer imágenes contrastantes y muchas veces simbólicas que giran en torno a la naturaleza, la espiritualidad, la explotación humana y las ciudades.

梵好きにはたまらない１本だと思います。サウンドと映像のマッチがすごい。大きなテレビでドーンと観ていただきたい。週末の夜中とかに是非。

Baraka (1992)Documentary, 96 minutesDirected by Ron FrickeThere are few films that I think everyone should watch at least once, but Baraka may be one of them. Perhaps it should be shown in schools too? It's arguably the strangest choice on my list.Baraka is a word in the ancient Sufi language meaning "the thread that weaves life together" and the film contains no dialogue and no explanation. It's a series of images taken from 24 different countries. Some of the images show scenes of animal life or extreme beauty; others show human rituals and the effects of war or poverty. The result provokes a lot of thought if you are open to such things.Shot on 70mm film, the Blu-ray presentation is among the best live action films the format has to offer. Some of the images are located in places that are not normally accessible to people. An image of an underground cavern springs to mind.If you follow the film closely, you are likely to be moved. The beauty is breathtaking, but some of the sadder scenes could take your breath away for a different reason. The contrast between good and evil is one of the themes running throughout the documentary. You might also question the path you have chosen in your life when you realize that most humans are continually racing toward something and few stop to appreciate the beauty in their lives.The special features are informative and almost as interesting as the film itself. If you are curious about where the images came from, the special features answer most of your questions.