Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786303492551 Format: Color ISBN: 630349255X Label: Mpi Home Video Manufacturer: Mpi Home Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Mpi Home Video Release Date: 1995-06-13 Running Time: 96 Studio: Mpi Home Video Theatrical Release Date: 1993-11
The word Baraka means "blessing" in several languages; watching this film, the viewer is blessed with a dazzling barrage of images that transcend language. Filmed in 24 countries and set to an ever-changing global soundtrack, the movie draws some surprising connections between various peoples and the spaces they inhabit, whether that space is a lonely mountaintop or a crowded cigarette factory. Some of these attempts at connection are more successful than others: for instance, an early sequence segues between the daily devotions of Tibetan monks, Orthodox Jews, and whirling dervishes, finding more similarity among these rituals than one might expect. And there are other amazing moments, as when sped-up footage of a busy Hong Kong intersection reveals a beautiful symmetry to urban life that could only be appreciated from the perspective of film. The lack of context is occasionally frustrating--not knowing where a section was filmed, or the meaning of the ritual taking place--and some of the transitions are puzzling. However, the DVD includes a short behind-the-scenes featurette in which cinematographer Ron Fricke (Koyaanisqatsi) explains that the effect was intentional: "It's not where you are that's important, it's what's there." And what's here, in Baraka, is a whole world summed up in 104 minutes. --Larisa Lomacky Moore
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Horrible packaging! Comment: Normally I would review a movie in this spot but sadly, I never got the chance.
The first copy showed up scratched. It was so damaged that it didn't work in my player. Amazon overnighted me a replacement and that disc was also scratched/not working.
Amazon can't replace a replacement so I ended up getting a refund.
100% recycleable packaging is a great idea in concept but without adequate protection for the disc, it does more harm than good. MPI "are still testing this issue" but I imagine that the return rate must be high. Enough that dud discs outweigh the benefit of recycleable packaging.
I ended up having to import this Blu-Ray from the UK to get a copy with a real case. Hopefully, I'll be able to update this review with a review of the movie itself when I recieve it.
Customer Rating: Summary: Huge Disappointment Comment: Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this movie.
The release of Baraka on Blu-ray was the reason I bought a Blu-ray player.
The problem is this release locks up on certain Blu-ray players. It locks up somewhere around chapter 19 or 20. My player is the new Sony BDP-S350 with the firmware update. Amazon sent me a replacement disc and that disc also locked up. I purchased a different machine, the Samsung BDP-1500 Blu-ray player, and the disc locked up on that player too. I have emailed MPI, the company that released the movie, and have received no reply. According to the online Blu-ray forums, I'm not the only one this has happened to.
Will someone at Sony or MPI please fix this problem???? Customer Rating: Summary: Beautiful Comment: Extremely beautiful and impressive blu ray title. A little too eastern in terms of religious point of view. Then again I suppose I have a western bias. Customer Rating: Summary: Baraka - Blu-ray Info Comment: Version: U.S.A / Region A
Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
VC-1 BD-50 / Advanced Profile 3
Running time: 1:37:49
Feature size: 28,32 GB
Disc size: 46,97 GB
Total bit rate: 38.62 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 27.33 Mbps
Number of chapters: 22
Subtitles: None
#Baraka: A Closer Look (1hr:16m:23s - HD)
#Restoration (HD - 7m:04s) Customer Rating: Summary: Amazing Comment: I have watched this masterpiece 20 or more times on a regular dvd. I was amazed to watch it in Blu-ray. You percieve a greater depth of meaning through the clarity of the video.
