Ahh, I find much of the effect of his movies comes from the shifting contrast/agreement between what you’re seeing, hearing, and thinking, so I imagine only half watching would lead to a far less impactful version of things.

If you at all enjoyed it, especially for its historical insights, I think you’d enjoy far more some of his earlier work on more obscure subjects. There’s another comment chain in this thread which lists some of the best ones he’s done