--- title: "Koyaanisqatsi: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/koyaanisqatsi/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/koyaanisqatsi" critics_score: 54 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Koyaanisqatsi (1983): what the critics said Critics' score 54 from 8 reviews: 4 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative. The reviews are divided on Koyaanisqatsi, but praise consistently centres on its images and Philip Glass’s score. Even some sceptical critics acknowledge the sensory force of the film’s landscapes and accelerated urban activity, while admirers find the combination hypnotic and immersive. Ron Fricke’s time-lapse cinematography draws particular praise for making the contrast between nature and technology compelling without a conventional narrative. The disagreement concerns what those images have to say, with responses ranging from enthusiastic admiration to outright rejection. Several critics find the contrast between unspoilt nature and modern civilisation simplistic, or question whether Reggio is too fascinated by urban life to condemn it convincingly. Time Out takes the harshest position, finding the ecological message condescending and its reliance on technology hypocritical. Collider reads that tension more generously, seeing a film that recognises human ingenuity and beauty alongside the environmental costs of progress. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 26 September 1983. The critic finds the film simplistic in contrasting pristine nature with human civilization's mess but praises its impressive visual and auditory experience created by Reggio and composer Philip Glass. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/koyaanisqatsi-1983) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The time-lapse cameras on the American landscape deliver psychedelic visuals that were striking when premiered in 1983. There's nothing much for the mind to bite on and many effects have become over-used, though its appeal is directed entirely to the senses with Philip Glass's resonating score. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/koyaanisqatsi-7433989.html) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 17 September 2002. Reggio’s debut remains the most heartfelt entry in the Qatsi series, though it is not without structural and theoretical complications. The film’s synergy of natural beauty and urban decay contemplates a “life out of balance,” yet Reggio appears intoxicated with the very blight he questions. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/koyaanisqatsi-powaqqatsi/) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 1982. Festival review. The critic calls the non-narrative film slick, naive, chic, maddening and sometimes very beautiful, a hypnotic folly that evokes a psychedelic moviegoing experience through its images and Philip Glass score. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/04/movies/koyaanisqatsi-back-to-psychedelia.html) ## Time Out — KJ Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The critic views the film as a condescending ecological documentary that uses time-lapse photography and Philip Glass's score to criticize modern technology and urban life while hypocritically relying on advanced technology to make its points. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/koyaanisqatsi) ## Collider — Joe Hoeffner Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 July 2022. The critic sees the film as a timeless marvel that captures humanity's ambivalent relationship with progress, lamenting its environmental costs while celebrating ingenuity and beauty, especially in the 'Grid' sequence. [Read the review](https://collider.com/koyaanisqatsi-godfrey-reggio-embodies-wonder-dread-human-progress/) ## /Film — Ben Pearson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 8 February 2021. The critic views the film as an immersive, hypnotic experience more than a traditional movie, praising its time-lapse cinematography by Ron Fricke and Philip Glass score for creating a powerful contrast between nature and technology. It notes the environmental message may leave viewers dispirited while scratching a wanderlust itch during quarantine. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/579263/the-quarantine-stream-koyaanisqatsi-may-help-satisfy-your-sense-of-wanderlust/) ## Consequence Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 16 July 2009. The piece praises the film as a transcendent work of art fusing striking imagery with Philip Glass's powerful score into an unforgettable experience that explores themes of imbalance between humanity and nature. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2009/07/cinema-sounds-koyaanisqatsi/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/koyaanisqatsi.md