TOD: Like the Birthday Boy, PBS was showing a lot of silent films while I was in high school, and I had friends who enjoyed them, so we'd get togethr and watch whatever we could see. I never thought anything odd about the films or the fact they were silent. The well-made ones didn't need sound. you had to see the Battleship Potemkin (it's required; isn;t it?) but I loved seeing a look in Valenino's eyes, and you knew why he was a star and why they still talked about him or the flesh and blood of Clara Bow and how bright and natural she was. I heard Lilliain Gish lecture and show clips from her films (a few times). You could see why she was a star; she made it all real. Billy Haines was so natural onscreen, and they all looked like they were having so much fun. You can see the skill Chaplin had, and Harold lloyd and Laurel and Hardy. Harold Lang too (although he isn't as well-remembered) I had heard about all the stars and movies, so I wanted to see what made them so special. Some people you think of as grand turned out to be nothing, and others who are barely remembered were something truly great.
"Sunrise" is one my favorites because it surpasses all that I had read of it (and it is praised a lot), and I was not disappointed.
