Baraka (Blu-ray) (1992)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Featurette-Making Of-(76.23) Featurette-Restoration (7.04)
Rating
Year Of Production	1992
Running Time	97:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Ron Fricke
Studio Distributor	Beyond Home Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Brackley-Trans-No Lip
RPI	$36.95	Music	Michael Stearns

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 (6912Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (640Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.20:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.20:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Baraka, the word, means different things in different languages. However, one constant amongst these meanings is the spiritual context. In Sufi it means " breath of life". It is this meaning, perhaps, that cinematographer-filmmaker Ron Fricke has settled upon for his entrancing, hypnotic, stunning film from 1992 called Baraka.

Baraka is not a documentary nor a fiction - rather it is a collection of shots and sequences of human existence set to equally stunning music. There is no narration and no dialogue. The effect is to create a meditation on existence which is almost unique. I say almost unique as Fricke was involved as cinematographer with director Geoffrey Reggio on the film Koyaanisqatsi. That film and its sequels follow the same path - images with music. He did not participate on Powaqqatsi or the final film in that sequence.

It is difficult to describe Baraka. It just has to be experienced. Fricke's all-seeing camera takes us to 152 locations in 24 countries for the widest possible take on the human condition from the Amazon rainforest to a Tokyo train station, from the favelas of Rio to the aboriginal dancers of Kakadu, from the grim confines of Auschwitz to Masai tribesmen, elaborately costumed, dancing in hypnotising rhythm. From the sweatshops of Indonesia with countless women methodically making cigarettes to the streets of New York, crowded with taxis as far as the eye can see and presented in a time-lapse photographic experience which gives new meaning to our little planet.

Baraka has to be seen to be understood and can be seen and wondered at again and again. Critics pick on the sometimes abrupt juxtapositions of, for example, trees being felled in the jungle with disappointed looking Amazonian kids. However, this type of obvious comparison is but part of Baraka. The rest is a mediation on the World, in all its beauty and horror, and faith of all types.

For those who have a Blu-ray Baraka is an essential purchase.

Video

  The pre-release Blu-ray review of Baraka by noted critic Roger Ebert threw down a gauntlet to the High Definition community, declaring the release to be "the finest video disc I have ever viewed or ever imagined" and "sufficient reason itself to buy a Blu-ray player." Strong words indeed from someone who , I would suspect, has seen quite a few movies at home.

Visually speaking, is he right? The answer is "yes" and then some.

Baraka was filmed using the Todd AO process. Developed by, amongst others, Mike Todd in the 50's it was created as a method of competing with the other ultra widescreen formats. Shooting on 65mm film (which was then projected at 70mm with the soundtrack), the Todd AO films were vivid and spectacular.

There were only 20 feature films shot using the Todd AO 70mm process. They include such epics as Oklahoma!, Around the World in Eighty Days, The Sound of Music and Patton. Baraka was filmed at the end of the 80's and early 90's and released in 1992. By that time the super widescreen formats had fallen out of favour due to expense of shooting and the proliferation of smaller cinemas unable to exploit the format to its potential.

To date only a couple of 70mm films have been released on Blu-ray. The results have sometimes been spectacular. 2001 : A Space Odyssey looks freshly minted. Patton has not made it to these shores yet but has had some raves. Rest assured, this is the best of the lot.

The extras on the Blu-ray trumpet the fact that this film has undergone an 8K digital scan. All modern films and all films remastered or prepared for Blu-ray are scanned into computers at a resolution of 2K - 4K. 1080P resolution is the equivalent of 2K so anything further is either gilding the lily or maximizing the look depending on your viewpoint. Baraka is the first feature film to be scanned at 8K resolution. The interesting featurette on the restoration process points out that at this resolution they have reached the point where there is nothing more to be extracted from the film negative. So is this the best Baraka will ever look? Not likely, for when the possible resolution of today's screens and Blu-ray itself reaches the higher resolutions then the wonders will not cease. Somewhat ironically, it may be the latest films, shot on High Definition digital with a 1080P native resolution that will come to look ordinary compared to the older movies, shot on good old fashined celluloid.

Baraka was originally presented at a 2.20:1 aspect ratio and that ratio has been preserved for this release.

Comparing this release to the previous Region 4 Baraka is reason enough to turn skeptics to High Definition. Carrying both a widescreen (not 16x9 enhanced) version and a full screen version, the DVD was a blurry, indistinct mess. It is as if the Blu-ray has created an entirely new film from the elements - in short, it is not the same movie.

The WOW factor is not just to be found in the sharpness of the image. There are plenty of recent 1080P documentaries such as Galapagos which are incredibly sharp to look at and a handful of Pixar films like Wall-E that are brighter and more striking. It is not for the laboratory tinkering that the film is so perfect. Instead it is in the life-like presentation of the image and the depth of field that Baraka really shines. Take the scene in the favelas at around 36.14. In one long shot we see a wall of houses crammed with humanity. Out of the windows drape clothes of various colours. Though hundreds of metres away the shot picks up the colours of the individual pieces and we can see then gently moving in the breeze.

Picking out visual highpoints from Baraka is impossible - half of the individual frames could be hung on a museum wall.

There are many breathtaking moments. None more so than at 85.20 where we are taken in to a mosaic covered house of worship where the walls appear to be covered in tiny mirrors as they reflect an array of little lights.

The flesh tones are true to life and the colours are incredibly accurate and stable.

In short there are no problems whatsoever with this transfer.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

   Having no dialogue or narration Baraka has only two sonic elements to be judged by - the music and the ambient effects. In both cases the Blu-ray excels.

Composer Michael Stearns worked closely with Fricke in the filmmaking process in order to create original music for the film and to assemble musical works from around the globe. His stated intention was to create a global orchestral sountrack rather than an assemblage of world music. The result is an almost seamless soundtrack, shifting slightly like a symphony. The localized elements are there - chanting in Indonesia and pan pipes in the favelas - but some choices are not so obvious. Take for example the use of the haunting music of Dead Can Dance beginning in the scenes in the rubbish tips in India.

Fans of this type of film, particularly those of the 'qattsi series will want to compare the music to the iconic music of Phillip Glass used for those films. Dusting off my copy of the Powaqqatsi is a reminder of the power of Glass's craft, however, the music also shaped the film and can stand separate from it. Stearns score is definitely less showy but it is also perhaps more ingrained in the work and more organically linked to the images.

The foley artists and sound recordists also travelled around the world to record the sound of blowholes, sweeping women, rainforests and waterfalls. All are accuarate and convincing.

The sound for Baraka was also subject to an above average clean-up. It went through a 96 kHz/24 bit audio remaster and is presented in all its glory on this Blu-ray in a DTS- Master Audio track that runs at around 9306 Kbps. There is also a 5.1 track which is also highly engaging.

The music is powerful and immersive. The surrounds are not used overwhelmingly but there are moments of true ambience. The sub-woofer gets a workout on a few key scenes of volcanoes, waterfalls, crashing trees and the like.

Although the visuals of Baraka are its key selling point the sound is equally high quality.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Baraka - A Closer Look

This is a lengthy feature showing the whole production process of the film. All the key players are interviewed - director Fricke, producer Magidson, composer Stearns and many others including the cinematographer and location scouts.

This film is almost as interesting as Baraka itself. Don't get put off by the comment at the beginning where one of the "writers" says : "This is not entertainment. It is a closer look at life", this feature is highly informative and practical. It covers the whole process including development of special cameras to be able to film the pans, dollies and tilts in time-lapse photography. We are taken behind the scenes of some of the most interesting shots in the film including the ones that got away - a life threatening brush with Mt Everest -and the ones that didn't - the awe-inspiring tile sequence featuring the eclipse over Hawaii.

. Worth watching.

Baraka - The Restoration

Those who are interested in the technical process behind the restoration will get a buzz out of this feature. There is apparently only one 8K scanner on the planet and it took 13 seconds for each frame of the film to be digitally copied. That's before the real work even starts! The featurette shows comparisons between the look of the film on DVD and the restored version. I can vouch for the fact that the astonishing difference is real.

   This Blu-ray carries the same features in Region A and C.

 There are really two audiences for Baraka - those who are entranced by its awe-inspiring blend of sound and vision and fall into the hypnotic rhythms of the spiritual journey and those who want to show off their new home theatre system to their jealous friends. Both of them will have reason to embrace this release.

The visuals are superior to anything previously presented on the format simply because of the clarity and fidelity of the image and the sound is pristine and flawless.

The extras are a useful addition to the package.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall