REQUIRED VIEWING #1 -- by Naudy

There are movies which people should just be required to watch. Now, I'm not talking about movies one has to see in order to survive socially, movies like TOMMY BOY and MONTY PYTHON'S HOLY GRAIL. I'm also not talking about movies which one should see right now in order to have something to talk akwardly about with irritating coworkers and persons of the opposite sex whom you wish to impress. Those movies are basically anything which say, in the preview, "Most Controversial Movie Of The Year" or some other pretentious nonsense.

Nope, I'm not talking about popularity or pop culture, I'm talking about films which deserve the term "art". Since I'm a firm believer that art should be inflicted on everyone ('cause it makes you think!) I nominate METROPOLIS as the first movie to go on the "Required Viewing" list.

Now, to warn you, METROPOLIS is a silent film. I feel I must mention this because I'v been looking around the net and there are some bitterly resentful comments on the lack of color and dialogue. Please. Also, this movie was made in 1927. So, be prepared to be very very impressed by the special effects (which are marvelous) and to be highly entertained by the close talking and dramatic over-acting by the silent film stars. They're just a product of their time so be in their time for a little while. You might learn something.

The take home message of this film, and there is a lot to it, is there can be no understanding between hands and head unless the heart is a mediator. Which dosn't seem to make a lot of sense. However, since Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were big fans of this concept, I think it's a good one to try to absorb.