Chronos (1985)

Director:

Ron Fricke

Writers:

Constantine Nicholas (scenario)
Genevieve Nicholas (scenario)

Release Date:

1985 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot Keywords:

Nature | One Word Title | Stained Glass | Ancient Art | Cathedral

Directed by
Ron Fricke

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Constantine Nicholas		scenario
Genevieve Nicholas		scenario

Produced by
Preston M. Fleet	....	consulting producer
Ron Fricke	....	producer
Jeffrey Kirsch	....	producer (as Jeffrey W. Kirsch)
Mark Magidson	....	executive producer
Steven Marble	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Michael Stearns

Cinematography by
Ron Fricke

Film Editing by
Ron Fricke
Alton Walpole

Production Management
Tom Garrett	....	production manager
Alton Walpole	....	production manager

Special Effects by
Wayne V. McGee	....	special effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Ron Fricke	....	time lapse camera system: designer
Steven Marble	....	assistant camera
Alton Walpole	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Clinton Hatchett	....	post-production assistant
Steven Marble	....	assistant editor
William Pine	....	color timer (as Bill Pine)
Jess Van Valkenburg	....	post-production assistant
Vern Van Valkenburg	....	post-production assistant

Transportation Department
Barry Kolsky	....	on-set driver

Other crew
Hassan Baghat	....	location assistant: Egypt
Gary Clemons	....	motion control system: assembler
Virginia Clemons	....	motion control system: assembler
Pamela Crooks	....	publicist
Miguel de Santiago-Juarez	....	location assistant: Spain
George H. Diller	....	location assistant: Florida
Elizabeth Emerson	....	concept development
Elizabeth Emerson	....	production assistant
Bertrand Ferriot	....	production advisor: France
Rolf Foller	....	aerial pilot
Tom Garrett	....	co-location manager
Tom Garrett	....	location coordinator: New York (as Thomas Gniazdowski)
Tom Garrett	....	production coordinator
Samy H. Ghoneim	....	location assistant: Egypt
Mohamed Gohar	....	location assistant: Egypt
Louis Habib	....	location coordinator: Egypt
Dudley Hale	....	aerial pilot
Mischa Hausserman	....	aerial pilot
Mary Hettinger	....	publicist
Tove Johnson	....	production assistant
Marcel Kahn	....	location coordinator: France
Marcel Kahn	....	production coordinator: France
Popi Kim	....	motion control system: assembler
Sandie Klugman	....	motion control system: assembler
Mustafa Labib	....	location assistant: Egypt
Jean Marie Le Goff	....	aerial pilot
Wayne V. McGee	....	motion control system: designer
Constantine Nicholas	....	scenario
Genevieve Nicholas	....	scenario
Genevieve Nicholas	....	studio manager
John Pittas	....	location assistant: Greece
Paul Reddish	....	location coordinator: United Kingdom
P. Christopher Reyna	....	technical director: San Francisco
Renen Schorr	....	location coordinator: Israel
Stefano Sulli	....	location assistant: Italy
Carlo Timpanaro	....	location coordinator: Italy
Bill Witaker	....	aerial pilot

Production Companies

• Les Productions de la Géode
• Magidson Films
• Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater & Science Center, The

Distributors

• Canticle Films (1985) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• MacGillivray Freeman Films (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater & Science Center, The (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Video Film Express (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)

Other Companies

• Canticle Films  optical effects and print-down

Runtime:

43 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

None

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.34 : 1

Sound Mix:

IMAX 6-Track

Certification:

Australasia:E

Filming Locations:

405 Freeway, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Les Productions de la Géode

Trivia:

Composer Michael Stearns used an instrument called the Beam to generate many of the sounds for this film, which is 12 feet long made of extruded aluminum with 24 piano strings from 19-22 gauge. The original instruments it was based upon were made from cast iron and difficult to move around.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Silicon Valley Timelapse (2008)

Baraka "lite" (shorter, perhaps a good intro to this sort of film)

In Greek mythology, Chronos is said to be the personification of time. Taking that into consideration, you might assume that this would be the longest of the films that Ron Fricke was involved with but actually the opposite is true. Chronos comes in at just under 45 minutes making it a short but sweet trip around some of the world's most beautiful man-made and geological structures.

For those looking for a longer trip as well as more to think about when the film is over, I highly recommend Powaqqatsi at 99 mins, Baraka at 96 mins, and Koyaanisqatsi at 87 mins - but you should probably skip Naqoyqatsi at 89 mins because its the weakest of the Qatsi trilogy. Whereas Naqoyqatsi's seizure inducing mechanical/digital messages drench the experience, Chronos is the exact opposite.

Chronos is sort of a Baraka "lite". This does not have the music of Philip Glass or the socio-political messages, but the beauty on display should make up for it. Additionally Fricke experiments with different exposures and filters (not seen in the other films) to create some striking effects. If you get the chance to see it, definitely take this one for a spin.

Fricke has a new film coming out soon (should be sometime this year) called Samsara which is a sequel to Baraka, and if that doesn't fill the gap you can check out Anima Mundi (by Reggio about animals), Microcosmos (about insects) and Atlantis (by Luc Besson) which is like a scuba dive.