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Nostalgia is golden certainly not forgotten. We ask some aficionados why they still love -thejgid silent films^^ BY JEFFREY RESSNER DURING AN ERA in which Holly wood movies rely on earsplitting explosions and sonic-boom sound tracks to throttle audiences, it may sur prise some to learn that films were once (gasp!) silent. The last Charlie Chaplin film made sans sound, Modern Times, w r as in 1936, but audiences still watch silents on DVDs, at film festivals and online via websites like movieflix.com. Next month marks the Chaplin’s death, and movie buffs around the world plan to honor his career with events includ ing screenings of his films, aecompa- December marks the 30th anniversary of Chaplin's death. nied by live orchestras. What exactly do these films provide that modern blockbusters can’t deliver? To find out USA WEEKEND asked sev eral silent aficionados to explain their passion. The responses were, um, loud and clear. 10 USA WEEKEND • Nov. 23-25,2007 DUSTIN HOFFMAN, 70 Oscar-winning actor I’ve always been interested in silent movies. When I speak to film stu- dents, I urge them to watch silent films because it enables than to focus on the structure of shots without being dis tracted by the dia logue. I ask them •A ' mr ' 4 J tV jmSSSi how they would face the challenge of “speaking” dialogue without being able to talk. There were some mar velously subtle performances given by those silent actors, given the fact that they had to tell a story without the advantage of dialogue. KARIE BIBLE, 34 Part-time tour guide There’s something beautiful and dream like about silent movies a poetry, a grace. They’re like a cinematic ballet. The first one that I ever saw T was the I Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed and starred in Modern Times, the last of his great silent films. Phantom of the Opera. I immediately be came obsessed with Lon Chaney’s per formance. Modern-day actors just can’t compare to the silent stars. Back in the 1920 s and 19305, the actors looked so glamorous, so alluring so mysterious. Without a sense of mystery, an actor isn’t interesting to me. And thanks to YouT\ibe, camera phones and aggres sive paparazzi, today’s film stars are way too overexposed. THOMAS J. STATHES, 18 Student blogger One of my earliest memories is that of my father digging around a friend’s house and finding some dusty 16mm reels of silent cartoons. From the moment that I first saw the primitive animation flick ering on a sheet he had taped against the wall, I was hooked. A few years later, a department store was closing down, and I found a bin of cheap videos featuring oddball silent shorts. I picked up arm fuls, and my interest has snowballed to the point where I have now dedicated most of my free time to posting infor- nation about them online on my blog, CartoonsOnFilm.blogspot.com. VICTORIA PRINCIPAL, 57 Actress and entrepreneur In 1996,1 attended a Silent Film Gala, and soon afterward I began contrib- uting to film resto ration efforts and watched dozens of old silent movies. The arts can be an antidote to chaos in the world. If the longest journey is B jg from the head to the heart, then si lent films speed that journey. With a silent film, you don’t talk or look away. It demands undivided attention —you become utterly focused. In today’s world, how often does that happen? MIKE 6EBERT, 45 Advertising copywriter There are two reasons why I’m a devoted fan of silent movies. As the hysterical laughter of my 6- and 9-year-old sons proves, there’s no one around today fun nier than Laurel and Hardy, Buster Kea ton or Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. These films also serve as a time machine, tak ing you back nearly 100 years to a more innocent era. There’s just something magi cal about films made in the ’2os the giand passions, the unique perspectives. Watch a good silent movie and you’ll be swept away by the experience in a way that today’s big, noisy movies seem too clumsy to achieve. DANYKA KOSTURAK, 32 Guitarist for the Vaticans, a San Francisco-based rock group When I was 6,1 sneaked into our living room and watched the horror film Nos feratu on TV. The story, the shadowy light it was transfixing. I couldn’t look away. These movies are just so much more moody and elegant than anything from my own generation. Watching a good silent film is similar to walking on air they pick you up and take you on a ride. Cl PRINCIPAL. MATHtW IMAGING/HtMMAGIC. HOFFMAN JON KOPAIOFF. FEMMAGIC