Baraka: Remastered (Blu Ray)

The 2008 remastered Baraka Blu-Ray disc was recently named by prominent film critic Roger Ebert as "the finest video disc I have ever viewed or ever imagined", and having viewed the entire film in 1080 HD, I must confess that he is correct. This is an ethereal, visually stunning experience that will convince even the most ardent skeptic of HD that the difference is distinct and worth the extra costs involved. Baraka is a film entirely scant of plot - instead, it offers images of the world around us, loosely connected with the notion of showing the world as it turns. It is frequently compared to the Qatsi film series by Godfrey Reggio (of which the ...  Read the complete review

To call Baraka a documentary is to create a false expectation in the viewer. There is no narration, story or dialogue. But there is a purpose. Through the juxtaposition of scenes of humans, animals, nature and man made creations, director Ron Fricke make his purpose clear. To show the similarities of man and nature, how humans exist along side nature or change it to suit them and how we look at and treat ourselves as people as a whole. The ideas and thought processes Baraka induces are worthwhile and universal but that's not to say it's all cereberal. It's a true feast for the eyes and can easily be enjoyed on a purely aesthetic level. For a film which ...  Read the complete review