Before Godfrey Reggio's "Koyaanisqatsi", there was "The City", and before Philip Glass composed his famous chant and music for Reggio's film, Aaron Copland wrote his seminal score for this medium-length documentary, which allegedly had an influence in Hollywood scoring. Although I could not help associating both films in my mind, as I watched "The City", of course there are differences. While Reggio concentrated on making an audiovisual statement of "life out of balance" in the United States, the makers of "The City" proposed a "solution" (according to the American Institute of Planners, I believe) to life in general, and to family in specific, with commentaries that were sparse, but emphatic in their "didactic" tone. One of the main problems of this work is that there is no hint of the multiracial conformation of the United States: as it is, it should be called "The Caucasian City". On the other hand it is too simplistic in its analysis of the distortion of life, the deterioration of quality of life in the city. It seems it just "happens", with no reflection on the social and economic reasons, with no consideration of many men's greed, if they did not want to openly talk about politics, power struggle, unfair distribution of natural wealth and hoarders. It proposes a way out of unbalanced life, but it takes more than what the filmmakers say, to achieve such state of "bliss" (a little boring to my taste, I must say, but quite comfortable). As for Reggio compared to Copland, both their works had an impact, but in different stages of the evolution of modern music, and contemporary film scoring. All this said, I feel "The City" is an outstanding audiovisual work, as attractive and important as, say, any of Leni Riefenstahl's propaganda films. There is propaganda in "The City" too, but that does not make it less effective. It shows a way of thinking, at least of a fraction of the United States society, and it comes as no surprise that things have gotten worse since 1939. This does not make it less beautiful: images (specially the urban shots, the views of the shacks, the great buildings, the "symphony" of fumes) are remarkable. If it is just for that, watch "The City".