I'd always wanted to watch Wings, the first winner of the Best Picture Oscar. At 2 hours 20 minutes it always seemed daunting for a silent. I ended up watching this over several lunch breaks. It's the story of two guys from the same town going to World War I as pilots. Clara Bow is in it, but not as a shameless flirt, but as the girl-next-door. She goes overseas as an ambulance driver. Some amazing footage of dogfights and a tragic tale of war.

What a waste of a great idea. If you decide to watch this, you can skip the first half-hour as all that happens is he's a photographer and something of a jerk. Finally, half-hour in he takes the photos that play in the plot. Then a bunch of nothing happens, then finally he develops the film and it's a great scene as he figures out just what he took pictures of. At 1 hour 34 minutes, we get to see The Yardbirds with Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. 1/2 star for the "blow-up" scene, and one star for The Yardbirds.

How can a movie I've watched for 30 years, every year, multiple times some years, how can a movie like that still cause me to tear up at the end? I know what happens, I've seen it before. That, my friends, is quality film making.