Author intent: Great. The Film: Not so great. Really, I appreciate what's going on here, but it's just not that entertaining. So keep that in mind. Technically I'm recommending it, though.

Creative, sure, but not always engaging.

It's probably true to rank Maya Deren the hardiest of silent cinema adherents extant in the post-sound filmic times - not Mel Brooks or Paul Merton. To fully understand the depth of film's power you need to have seen at least one of her pieces. Still, it's highly possible that The Very Eye of Night could deter, lacking as it does the glorious emotionally expressive imagery of, say, At Land. Rather, its an interpretive experiment walking a virtual tightrope. Engaging but not quite fulfilling.

This film did not have me as much as Deren's other works (probably akin to Fantasia for Disney in its time). But hey, an experiment that misfires is still an experiment, thank God.