I'm not a brilliant reviewer or anything, but as far as I'm concerned this is the best film of all time and is indeed essential viewing. I first saw it on TCM back when I used to live with my parents, and I gotta tell you: the beauty of cinema has never been this great or expressed. I have yet to see the full cut of this masterpiece, but thankfully, I have access to the Blu ray 417min cut now and I already know that what Abel Vance creates is pure beautiful cinema. Would highly recommend to any fan of film.