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there's nothing quite like silent black & white films to create a sense of the numinous. The manner of acting, too, was imported directly from the 19the century stage, complete with fixed looks, poses and broad gestures that could be seen from the farthest seat in the house. I think what stays with me, though, are the EYES of the characters--the robot's corpse-like stare, the mad, insinuating eyes of Rotwang, the come-hither looks of the robot involved in a rather tame (by our standards) lascivious dance, clothed in the simulated likeness of the heroine, the half-closed eyes of the foolish rich boy as he chases his elite playmates around a gated complex, the vatic stare of the "true" heroine holding forth to the workers, and the eyes of the industrialist, filled with equal portions of intelligence and guilt. How much could be communicated by those gestures, those poses and those eyes! Though it could be argued that modern films have gained in subtlety with sound and color, I would argue that a vital language--of gesture, interplay of light and shadow, texture and etc.--has been lost. Jess