Chronos (1987)

Taking the familiar conventions of time-lapse cinematography to a transcendent level of artistic achievement, filmmaker Ron Fricke circled the globe to make Chronos, a stunning 70-millimeter time-lapse tour of natural and man-made wonders. The entire film has the enhanced, hyper-realistic quality of a laser-etched photograph, and by using special cameras and motion-control photographic techniques, Fricke and his technically expert crew were able to create mesmerizing images guaranteed to spark any viewer's sense of awe and wonder. Accompanied by the hypnotic music of Michael Stearns, this visual journey takes the viewer on a tour of over 50 locations on nearly every continent of the world, including explorations of Paris, the Vatican, the Egyptian pyramids, the African veldt, and many more stunning vistas. The cumulative effect is the feeling that the world--from the busiest metropolis to the most serenely remote wilderness landscape--is dictated by "chronos," the rhythm of time to which all living things must submit. Like Koyaanisquatsi and Baraka, this is one of those eye-candy films that was conceived according to its specific theme, so it's not only a soothing visual experience but a thought-provoking study of our fascinating planet. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

waste of money

A total waste of money. Time-lapse photography becomes boring and annoying after a few minutes. Photography is really beautiful but the opportunity to make it entertaining or/and educational has been completely lost. June 9, 2008

Give us MORE BLU-RAY FRICKE !!!!

I saw this when IMAX was brand new (last century) and was blown away by the scope and beauty of the piece. I was so happy to get it on DVD (I had VHS,too). But this Blu-Ray version is definatly the best! I'll admit, while it doesn't look as "perfect" as say, "Cars" on BD, it is very much VERY WATCHABLE and only the very pickiest of video geeks would be distracted by the PRACTICALLY NON-EXISTANT grain, outline or color uneveness. A much better transfer than I expected, near perfect, especially considering the age of the film. The DRS company did a fine job.
As far as the film itself, this is a "Bolero". Not intended for ADD viewers or fast food consumers. This is art, not product. It's Fricke's first major film (that I'm aware of). It's a beautiful exploration of the passing of time with unpresidented cinematography. Films like this are why I got my big screen hi-def TV and BD player. Other movies are fun, and look great, it's true, but Fricke's work a whole different world. May 11, 2008

Irritating music. Slightly interesting time lapse photography.

The music was very irritating. It sounded like a key was stuck on an organ. The concept of time lapse photography was slightly interesting. February 4, 2008

not recommeded unless you find it very cheap

While the quality of the images is fairly good - average high-def quality, the content is lacking.

This film is a collection of shots from the USA and Europe. Some of the shots are of beautiful scenes and historical landmarks(some of the church interiors are amazing). But this is almost just a random series of still photos. It lacks any real story, drama, or cohesion.


The editing is particulary pedestrian and can even be irritating at times. Shots are sometimes too short and they cut back and forth between two locations for no apparent reason. The shots lack pacing or any kind of real drama or meaningful sequence. For example one shot is a time lapse photo of some stalls in a market/alley in Israel where you watch blurs of people whiz by a bored young man slouching in his 5ft x 5 ft cigarette stand (seriously).

Most of the film is just the camera sitting still on a tripod getting time-lapse shot of a)people or cars moving very fast in the city b)the interior of a fancy european building, or c)landscapes where the shadows of the clouds pass over the land very fast. The only time the camera moves is some 10 second sequences where they do helicopter fly overs in the southwest U.S or on a boat in the canal in venice.

Again, SOME shots are pretty. But there is little creativity, drama or excitement here - its just an almost random sequence of shots where the camera is placed in front of some landmark and left to run for several hours in stop motion mode. Kinda like looking at a hi-res travel album.

Another minor annoyance to me is that they use a a wide angle lense that has very bad barrel distortion. When they do shots of interiors of buidlings the vertical surfaces at the edges of the picture bend in very badly at the top and bottom.

And the music is just a typical synthesizer playing elevator quality music (at times its annoying).

This film is also VERY short - about half the length of a normal film.

Overall a minor piece of film. Not worth the money unless you can get it for maybe about 1/3 of what a normal film goes for and you just want to see some hi-res travel shots. January 4, 2008

Good

it is not as good as Baraka... Baraka is excellent... He repeats images in both films which I consider is a lack of respect to the audience.. December 9, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...