Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

Equally indebted to the avant-garde city symphonies of the 1920s, such as Man with a Movie Camera, and the ecological consciousness of the post-1960s counterculture, Godfrey Reggio’s singular cinematic experience dispenses with conventional narrative altogether in favor of a hypnotic montage of natural landscapes, urban environments, and modern technology in motion. Its Hopi title translates roughly as “life out of balance,” a concept that reverberates through every frame as the film contrasts the rhythms of the natural world with the accelerating pace of modern civilization. Propelled by Philip Glass’s haunting, pulsating score, Koyaanisqatsi transfigures everyday images into something at once mesmerizing, overwhelming, and strangely uncanny. More than four decades after its release, this landmark of experimental cinema remains one of the most immersive and visually arresting big-screen experiences ever created.