Baraka (1993)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  Over 90 minutes of the most visually stunning filming ive ever seen. A must see on blu ray due to the amazing restoration of the original film to a high def transfer that will put any movie to shame. You will feel like your there. You feel like you can reach into the screen and touch… More
  Over 90 minutes of the most visually stunning filming ive ever seen. A must see on blu ray due to the amazing restoration of the original film to a high def transfer that will put any movie to shame. You will feel like your there. You feel like you can reach into the screen and touch it. This is something else.

• Raymond W

  
  Baraka is a one-of-a-kind film that deserves to be seen. Director Ron Fricke has created a film that is stunning, and meditative, and at times even shocking. The camera work and editing has allowed for the visuals to do all the talking; there is not one word of dialogue in Baraka.… More
  Baraka is a one-of-a-kind film that deserves to be seen. Director Ron Fricke has created a film that is stunning, and meditative, and at times even shocking. The camera work and editing has allowed for the visuals to do all the talking; there is not one word of dialogue in Baraka. I found his message clear and precise, his visuals absolutely breathtaking, the music fantastic, and the film as a whole mesmerizing. The only complaint I have is it's length. It's about 10 minutes too long in my opinion, but Baraka is not to be missed.

• Nicki M

  
  Beautiful, but not exactly thrilling entertainment for an hour and a half. Some of it is interesting, some upsetting, like the bit with the chickens getting thrown around and all the human skulls lined up. Some of it not so interesting. If you like photos you will probably like… More
  Beautiful, but not exactly thrilling entertainment for an hour and a half. Some of it is interesting, some upsetting, like the bit with the chickens getting thrown around and all the human skulls lined up. Some of it not so interesting. If you like photos you will probably like this as it is really nicely framed and shot, but if you're looking for entertainment, I would avoid.

• Robert C

  
  Absolutely stunning! Completely captivating from start to finish.

• Bruce B

  
  This film kind of lured me in on the previews, showed a monkey in a hot spring so I thought that it would be a nature film, it kind of was, as it showed many locations around the world, the thing that impressed me the most was the Monkey Chant that was done by a tribe in Thailand is… More
  This film kind of lured me in on the previews, showed a monkey in a hot spring so I thought that it would be a nature film, it kind of was, as it showed many locations around the world, the thing that impressed me the most was the Monkey Chant that was done by a tribe in Thailand is my guess. The thing that was very disappointing was the Nazi Concentration camps, the skulls , the piles of bones and the piles of shoes. It was a good one time watch, best seen on a big screen (Wide) TV. not a little 27 inch ole school TV like mine. but 4 stars could have been 5..

• Ken S

  
  Very pretty, but not much else. It's the worlds best location scout video

• Ross C

  
  Evocative cinema. Emotive scenes of life on Earth, with an almost spiritual, chanting soundtrack. Samples were used in lots of New Age bands' albums, like Delerium.

• Sophie B

  
  Truely epic and astonishing and amazing! So calm and gentle but lively and interesting. Awesome.

• Mike N

  
  Spending Easter alone this year and then boarding a plane for Scandinavia in the late afternoon. [url="http://www.devilducky.com/media/41802/"]Beency-bouncy-burger, eh?[/url] Have a happy & safe Easter holiday, everybody. And thanks to those who voted in my Battle of… More
  Spending Easter alone this year and then boarding a plane for Scandinavia in the late afternoon. [url="http://www.devilducky.com/media/41802/"]Beency-bouncy-burger, eh?[/url] Have a happy & safe Easter holiday, everybody. And thanks to those who voted in my Battle of the Posters matches (looks like my tombstone's being etched as we speak for that one, but it was close! Congrats to Chairman Meow). Movie reviews for another newsletter offering (interest? then follow closely!): [font=Book Antiqua][b]The Host (Gwoemul)[/b][/font] [font=Book Antiqua]Though ultimately a ?monster movie? if you want to ascribe it a video store definition, this über-fresh Korean product has much more than scares extending from its slimy tentacles. It?s absurd to think this movie managed to be so gloriously entertaining with such a kinetic spirit and a wide-ranging, dauntless narrative, almost making it an entirely new species of film altogether. This plucky undertaking is an effortless hybrid of terror, suspense, action, drama, tenderness, and comedy, with nimble but assured shifts in emotional tone that made it feel more organic, and satisfying. Even in moments of tragedy, the movie manages to console the audience by tilting overwhelming family grief into hysterical slapstick (trust me, it works), followed minutes later with breathless gangbusters action. There?s an air of ?Little Miss Sunshine? to the dysfunction of the dopey family comedy and tragic setbacks (each family member amply developed enough for empathy, even with economic screen time), and the satirical social commentary, replete with plague fears and government distrust, is in no shortage of effect. The photography and the unexpectedly strong score, too, serve to augment the skin-stiffening horrors and endearing compassions of the movie and for the viewer. ?The Host? is a bizarrely delightful experience, a feverish, genre-splicing beast of a film that immediately ensnared me in its hideous jaws and didn?t let up. It?s a movie I greatly respect for tearing from my calloused self a wide variety of emotional reactions, and should stand as a paramount example of how horror can actually serve as a handmaiden to legitimately poignant storytelling.[/font] [b][font=Book Antiqua][size=3]9.5/10[/size][/font][/b] [b][font=Book Antiqua][/font][/b] [font=Book Antiqua][b]300[/b][/font] [font=Book Antiqua]Abs ahoy! Frank Miller?s latest graphic novel adaptation arrives with slightly more swagger (and greased bodies) than ?Sin City,? but no less the excess. As one person put it, it?s the cinematic equivalent of Bill Brasky, one of the tallest tales out there. There are times when ?300? is entrancing as its slow-motion blood poem bombastically unfolds onscreen, swarthy Spartans sluicing through wave after wave of demonic Persians like a salad shooter infomercial, blood gracefully squirting from open neck cavities. But when it bogs down into intermittent lapses between the action, the viewer is allowed to realize, once more, that this movie borders on the ridiculous (such as the painfully cheap storyline with the wife at home and the senator). At times boring? Gasp, it may be true once the hypnosis wears off, but there is enough visual dazzle, snappy one-liners, and a cool enough premise (with wrinkly-applied layers of history) to justify itself as serviceable escapist fare, as well as a Body by Jake portfolio.[/font] [b][font=Book Antiqua][size=3]6/10[/size][/font][/b] [b][font=Book Antiqua][/font][/b] [font=Book Antiqua][b]Zodiac[/b][/font] [font=Book Antiqua]?Zodiac? is a fascinating period piece / newsroom sleuth film set in our lovely San Francisco about the infamously unsolved Zodiac Killer murders in the 60?s and 70?s. Alluring, absorbing, and at times disturbing, it invites the viewer into the obsession shared by the protagonists (Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey, Jr.) in trying to piece together a dizzying parade of overlooked clues and overcome bureaucratic hurdles just to even begin knowing where to look for the Zodiac killer. Expertly, the movie leads and misleads, mirroring reality, never really being able to conclude what was a red herring and what wasn?t. There is subtle finger-pointing, but it?s more about the quiet destruction of the characters whose lives they just couldn?t untangle from the Zodiac mystery. And, it does a brilliant job book-ending the movie with Donovan?s creepy ?Hurdy Gurdy Man,? both an emblem of the cultural era and of the slow unsettling atmospherics of the film.[/font] [b][font=Book Antiqua][size=3]8.5/10[/size][/font][/b] [b][font=Book Antiqua][/font][/b] [font=Book Antiqua][u]Others[/u]: [/font] [font=Book Antiqua][b]Blades of Glory[/b][/font] [font=Book Antiqua]Hilarious, Ferrell?s best yet (yes, better than Anchorman and Talladega Nights), but with a great comedic cast all-around and a story the filmmakers never gave up on. ?It makes my hair shine like the Belt of Orion.?[/font] [font=Book Antiqua][size=3][b]8/10[/b][/size][/font] [font=Book Antiqua][b]Grindhouse[/b][/font] [font=Book Antiqua]Planet Terror = thumbs up. Death Proof = meh. Rodriguez?s zombie romp (Planet Terror) was basic but a lot of fun. Dang that Tarantino, who has a frustrating habit of pandering to the masses without much buildup, and is clueless like a small child on how to do anything remotely worthy of the viewer?s emotion outside of kick-butt action twists and soundtrack-soaked style. At least Kurt Russell was great.[/font] [font=Book Antiqua][size=3][b]6/10[/b][/size][/font]

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic][color=darkgreen]"Baraka" is a mesmerizing cinematic essay that takes the viewer on a tour of the world; one that is wordless but set to music. It shows the amazing diversity of cultures from rural to urban; primitive to sophisticated and everything in… More
  [font=Century Gothic][color=darkgreen]"Baraka" is a mesmerizing cinematic essay that takes the viewer on a tour of the world; one that is wordless but set to music. It shows the amazing diversity of cultures from rural to urban; primitive to sophisticated and everything in between. This amazing documentary is almost constantly in motion; it occasionally takes a moment to record something at rest. [/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#006400][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=navy]"With All Deliberate Speed" is a documentary made on the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education which struck down the doctrine of separate but equal established in Plessy v. Ferguson(1896) and ordered the desegregation of schools 'with all deliberate speed.' It looks at the events leading up to the momentous decision and also afterwards focusing on two of the five school districts named in the suit, Clarendon County, SC and Prince Edward County, Va. Clarendon County has fared the worse of the two districts and continues to fight in the courts for suitable education.(One of the reasons a quality public education is important is possibly allowing some of its poorer citizens to escape a perpetual cycle of poverty.) I already knew most of the history involved, so I would have liked it if this documentary had focused on more of the events following the decision, especially on the battle over busing in Boston in the 1970's to show that segregated schools are not simply a phenomenon of the South.[/color][/font]

• Chris B

  
  Unique and different from any other. Baraka is an experience, period. This is, for some time to come I presume, my reference quality disk. Any time I want to convert people to HD, I pop in Baraka and sit back. The 8K transfer is the pinnacle of the blu-ray technology currently… More
  Unique and different from any other. Baraka is an experience, period. This is, for some time to come I presume, my reference quality disk. Any time I want to convert people to HD, I pop in Baraka and sit back. The 8K transfer is the pinnacle of the blu-ray technology currently available. Highly Recommended!

• Lesley N

  
  Wow. Beautiful. Fascinating. Inspiring. And lots of other big words. .

• meril l

  
  Sometimes words are not needed to communicate.

• Wu C

  
  Pretty cool photographic montages from all over the world. Best timelapse shots I've ever seen.

• Linda K

  
  Perfect cinematography! Just WOW!

Read all 15 featured audience ratings