"Director: Ron Fricke"

• Baraka | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Baraka is a non-narrative visual poem addressing, according to director Ron Fricke, "humanity's relationship with the eternal." The title means "breath of life" or "a blessing" and the film unfolds into a tapestry of global images shot over 13 months in 24 countries, comparable to, but far more ambitious than Koyaanisqatsi (1983) which Fricke also wrote, edited and photographed. Like Bernardo Bertolucci's similarly meditative Little Buddha (1993), Baraka was designed as a powerful audio-visual experience, one of a handful of films made in the 1990s to revive the immensely cinematic 70mm process. Filled with staggeringly beautiful vistas which are striking, rich in detail and immaculately composed, the screen is complemented by an immersive Dolby Digital soundtrack fusing natural sounds with a haunting world music score. (At one point composer Michael Stearns combines Japan's Kodo Drummers, a Scottish bagpipe ensemble and a Tibetan water music orchestra.) Baraka encourages the audience to think or be entranced, and depending on mood and circumstance it can enthral or bore. With its epic, trans-human scale, vast formal grandeur, depersonalised abstraction, startling juxtapositions and avowed ambition to be the ultimate non-verbal film, Fricke has created a visionary experience akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey. On the DVD: Baraka is accurately transferred at the original 70mm theatrical ratio of 2.2:1, not as the packaging says as 2.35:1. The picture quality is superlative, with virtually no flaws and razor-sharp images. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is equally outstanding. The extras are presented at 4:3 with letterboxed clips, and being video based offer lower image quality. These special features play for approximately 25 minutes and, apart from the original theatrical trailer, are divided into three sections containing significant overlaps between the material. The "making of" documentary and the collection of to-camera comments from members of the production team are both interesting, but the behind the scenes location filming footage adds little substance. --Gary S Dalkin

• Baraka (DVD & Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (14/01/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A stunning collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life, the majority of which involve humanity's many religions.

• Samsara (DVD & Blu-Ray) | Blu Ray | (14/01/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Filmed over a period of five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on 70mm film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.

• Baraka: Remastered (Blu Ray) | Blu Ray | (10/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A visually stunning film shot over 13 months in 24 countries; Baraka is an overwhelming experience that spans the geographical cultural and social diveristy of our changing planet. Set to an atmospheric soundtrack inspired by various rituals and nature itself; the film captures the very essence of man's relationship with the earth both harmonious and catastrophic. Baraka is a journey of rediscovery. It is the power the beauty and the rage of life itself. It is the world we live in.

• Samsara/Baraka | Blu Ray | (14/01/2013) from £16.05   |  Saving you £18.94 (118.01%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Samsara Filmed over a period of five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on 70mm film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders. Baraka A stunning collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life, the majority of which involve humanity's many religions.

• Baraka: Remastered - 2 Disc Special Edition DVD | DVD | (10/11/2008) from £20.89   |  Saving you £-0.90 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A visually stunning film shot over 13 months in 24 countries; Baraka is an overwhelming experience that spans the geographical cultural and social diveristy of our changing planet. Set to an atmospheric soundtrack inspired by various rituals and nature itself; the film captures the very essence of man's relationship with the earth both harmonious and catastrophic. Baraka is a journey of rediscovery. It is the power the beauty and the rage of life itself. It is the world we live in.

• Chronos | DVD | (26/02/2007) from £17.53   |  Saving you £-4.54 (-34.90%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Chronos is the directorial debut of Ron Fricke director of Baraka and cinematographer of Koyaanisqatsi. The film imparts a unique vision of our world - the first non-verbal non-fiction motion picture filmed in time-lapse photography. Presented as a visual symphony in seven movements Chronos embarks on an unprecedented cinematic journey across the worlds of natural beauty and manmade monuments as it explores the essence of time.

• Baraka / Chronos Boxset | DVD | (24/09/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Baraka: A visually stunning film shot over 13 months in 24 countries Baraka is an overwhelming experience that spans the geographical cultural and social diversity of our changing planet. Set to an atmospheric soundtrack inspired by various rituals and nature itself; the film captures the very essence of man's relationship with the earth both harmonious and catastrophic. Baraka is a journey of rediscovery. It is the power the beauty and the rage of life itself. It is the world we live in. Chronos is the directorial debut of Ron Fricke director of Baraka and cinematographer of Koyaanisqatsi. Originally shot in the largest film format Imax 1570 the film imparts a unique vision of our world - the first non-verbal non-fiction motion picture filmed in time-lapse photography. Presented as a visual symphony in seven movements Chronos embarks on an unprecedented cinematic journey across the worlds of natural beauty and manmade monuments as it explores the essence of time.