Chronos Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Chronos Blu-ray Movie Review

“Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater October 23, 2009

“Pure” cinema is the belief that non-narrative film—without character, dialogue, or plot—is an equally valid way to explore the human experience, impart ideas, and trigger emotion. As a method of filmmaking, it has been largely relegated to the avant garde, like the Dog Star Man series or many of Stan Brakhage’s other experimental films, but there are notable exceptions. Few documentary-lovers (and high-definition eye candy junkies) are unaware of Baraka, the non-narrative 1992 film by director Ron Fricke that visually examines the universality in human culture through footage from 24 globe-spanning countries. Fricke got his start as the cinematographer for Godfrey Reggio’s similar Koyaanisqatsi, and in 1984, armed with a small crew and a huge time-lapse IMAX camera, he set out to make Chronos, his directorial debut. While many see Chronos as little more than a trial run for Baraka—many of the techniques used in the later film are found in a nascent stage here—Chronos is a worthwhile experience in its own right, even if it doesn’t match the visual and emotional impact Fricke would ultimately achieve with his almost-spiritual masterpiece.

Monument Valley, Utah

Many films claim to bring the audience on a “journey through time,” but Chronos is one of the few to examine the nature of time itself, using time-lapse photography to reveal patterns and cycles in the natural world, highlight the hustle and bustle of modernity, and show humanity’s endeavors to immortalize itself through monuments, sculpture, and architecture. The medium really is the message, as the footage, which was shot at 1.5 frames per second, presents a sped-up version of reality that reminds us of the fleeting, transitory nature of not only our lives, but also of the Earth itself. Fricke shows us vast vistas of the American southwest, over which clouds speed, casting mile-long shadows. Rising tides gather off the coast of France, encircling the island monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel. The moon hovers between two monoliths as Stonehenge stoically greets the morning. And as a concentrated beam of sunlight pierces through the darkness in the Temple of Ramses II, it’s impossible not to think of just how many times that arc of light has traced the same solitary path every summer equinox.

These natural, cosmic processes are contrasted with the breakneck speed of the modern world and man’s strikingly beautiful but ultimately feeble attempts at self-memorial. Michelangelo’s statue of David is frozen in marble while New York’s Grand Central Station blurs and hums with peripatetic humanity. Riverboats full of tourists weave like phosphorescent water-bugs through nighttime Paris as the cathedral of Sainte Chappelle stands in silent, empty reverence, the slight swaying of a chandelier the only sign of movement. And while steel skyscrapers and the gilded halls of the Vatican show little signs of time’s deteriorative effect, crumbling medieval castles and the sand-weathered ruins of ancient Egypt remind us that, in the end, everything turns to dust.

Capable of stunning beauty but never glossing over the fact that time will eventually erase all evidence of our presence, Chronos feels like a cinematic reinterpretation of Percy Bysshe Shelly’s “Ozymandias,” in which the poet meets a “traveler from an antique land” who tells him about a fallen monument to Ramses II, a “shattered visage” that lies “half sunk” in the desert sands. On the pedestal to the memorial, these words appear: “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Of course, there’s nothing left of the once- powerful ruler’s empire. Instead, “Round the decay / Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare, / The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Chronos Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While Chronos definitely hasn't received the gold-standard treatment that was given to Baraka, the film's 1080p/MPEG-2 encoded transfer, which was created from the original 65mm negatives under the supervision of Ron Fricke himself, is a solid effort that's occasionally very impressive. Like most IMAX-format films, Chronos sports excellent clarity from corner to corner of the frame, readily showing the intricacies of rock formations, marble busts, and hectic cityscapes. However, as the film is over twenty years old, it's not quite as sharp as what you'd expect from a modern IMAX movie, and the print shows some negligible wear and tear, mostly in the form of white specks. Grain is far more prevalent than in more recent offerings, especially against solid colors, and it's mildly distracting during some of grand vistas. Color holds up well, though, and you'll be pleased with the deep azure blues of the desert sky, the rusty terracotta hues of canyon walls, and the vivid, gilded interior of the Vatican. Black levels are adequately deep while still preserving plenty of detail in the shadows. You will notice some flickering brightness levels from time to time, but this is a regular effect of time-lapse photography and not some kind of transfer defect. Baraka this ain't, but hey, what is?

Chronos Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Chronos contains no dialogue, no voiceovers or narration. There's no ambient city noise, no wind sweeping over the desert or water lapping at the shore. The entirety of the film's audio experience is dictated by Michael Stearns' synthesizer-heavy score, which, admittedly, is a love it or hate it affair. Well, perhaps it's not that polarizing, but it does sound a bit dated today. On the plus side, whatever you think of the music, it's hard to deny that it's impressively reproduced thanks to a hefty and detailed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. Synth pads create a hush while subtle arpeggios tweak into the upper registers and martial drums beat a staccato rhythm in the rear speakers. Other cues have modulated classical overtones. The soundspace is a little claustrophobic at times, with a cluttered mix of sweeping synth lines and bell-like tollings, but the sound is full and engaging, taking up residence in all six channels. Along with the electronic elements of the score, Stearns uses this crazy homemade instrument called "The Beam," which is essentially a 12-foot long aluminum pole somehow strung with piano wire. It generates this enormous low-end droning which is rendered with some satisfying LFE oomph.

Chronos Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Commentary with Director Ron Fricke, Composer Michael Stearns, and Production Manager Alton Walpole
Don't expect any discussion of Fricke's thematic intentions, but if you're after production details, technical analysis, and travel anecdotes, this track will suit you fine. The three participates look back fondly on their creation, share plenty of laughs, and tell some crazy stories, like when the camera operator had to load the film magazine in a dark Egyptian tomb because he left the changing bag in Cairo. Or when the director smoked 50-some cigarettes in order to generate some smoke to make the beam of light in one scene more visible. Or about how not a single artificial light was used during the making of the film. This track is well worth a listen, especially at only 45 minutes.

Annotations and Locations
If you go to the pop-up menu and turn on "Annotations," a text-box filled with a few sentences worth of info will pop up in the lower left corner of the frame for every location in the film. Likewise, by selecting "Locations," a globe appears on the lower right hand corner to show you where each scene is taking place.

Chronos Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warm-up for Baraka or not, director Ron Fricke's Chronos is an often-stunning look at the way time intersects with humanity. It may not have the emotional resonance of its successor, but it's certainly worth watching for fans of travel documentaries and non-narrative cinema. Recommended. Also, keep your eyes out for Fricke's sequel to Baraka, Samsara, which is set to release sometime in 2010.