The art we're talking about is the silent motion picture . Many of our favorite movies are remakes from the silent era. An impressive roster of well-known directors and performers began their careers in the golden age of silent film. Silent films are America's greatest original art form of visuals and music. They are a unique recording of our history.
Silent movies are a special form of entertainment.
They can be beautiful, hilarious, enchanting, intense, exhilarating and shocking - sometimes all at once. The watching of silent movies is only part of the story, for a large percentage of these films are missing and presumed lost. Presently, there are on-going searches for these missing films and, in several cases, they have resurfaced in archives, garages and attics. However, there are others that are, put plainly, held hostage and lie fallow in vaults. These films are restored, but neither shown, nor available on video tape.