Chronos
Chronos
| 10 May 1985 (USA)
Chronos Trailers

Carefully picked scenes of nature and civilization are viewed at high speed using time-lapse cinematography in an effort to demonstrate the history of various regions.

Reviews
ayhansalamci

"The lifetime of a human being is measured by decades, the lifetime of the Sun is a hundred million times longer. Compared to a star, we are like mayflies, fleeting ephemeral creatures who live out their lives in the course of a single day."Chronos is the personification of Time in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Ron Fricke, who is regarded as the founder of time-lapse, has done a wonderful job. We live and die without realizing that our lives are trapped in a jar. Instead of making an effort to get out of the jar, we continue to practice our daily habits. The routine and falsity of mankind in everyday life is almost making a slapdash effect. Our dependence on technology and constantly trapped between concrete walls cools us from nature. I think we need to think a little bit. It is really fascinating to watch the works of art of the ancient civilizations, the spectacular nature images accompanied by great music. I was very happy to see the works of ancient Egyptian civilization. You should give Chronos a chance before the Baraka and Samsara documentaries.

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Sean Lamberger

HD landscape porn in the same vein as Koyaanisqatsi and Baraka, with the heavy social and environmental themes mostly cut away. Featuring an emphasis on staggering time-lapse photography, plus an understated, excellently-timed ambient score, it's a great way to shut off your brain, kick back and let your entertainment center stretch its legs. The regular, ambitious shifts in locale took me around the world and back in less than an hour, lingering just long enough to trap the breath in my throat with one stunning panorama after another. A spectacular, timeless, moving photo book that makes for terrific light viewing.

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Michael Neumann

This forty-minute novelty item, directed by the cinematographer of 'Koyaanisqatsi', presents a time-lapse history of Western Civilization, from ancient Egypt to downtown Los Angeles. Like its predecessor the film is essentially a non-narrative travelogue filled with sweeping vistas and arresting images, set to a soaring new-age soundtrack and intended only for the largest movie screen in town. The various landscapes, both natural and man-made, are pleasant to look at, but that's all they are: pretty pictures, a showcase for Ron Fricke's computer operated camera. It's clear from the brief length of the film that Fricke himself realized its limitations; his theme of the transience of humankind compared to its creations is explored only superficially, and relies too heavily on repeated shots of cumulus clouds whizzing over Stonehenge and sunlight passing over the face of the Sphinx.

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SkyCAM

I was fortunate to see the movie in HD on cable recently. The movie is a bit like Koyaanisqatsi but concentrates more on a aesthetic look and does not transmit a political message. The images are astonishingly beautiful. The use of quick-motion and time lapse is great and give the film a very nice artistic touch. The electronic score composed by Michael Stearns accompanies the corresponding footage very smooth and nicely and adds to the overall atmosphere. If you like movies like Baraka or Koyaanisqatsi this movie is a absolute must-see. The photography and composition of this movie is just mesmerizing and brilliant.

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