Hollywood
HOLLYWOOD celebrates the glamour, excitement, and hard work that made up the pioneering days of silent movies, from the earliest technical experiments to the advent of sound. It shows how, in less than thirty years, movie makers created an art form and established themes that became the staples of the film industry.
Beginning in the penny arcades and struggling for respectability, the motion picture began capturing a vast audience worldwide. This series looks at the stars of the silent era: Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, Buster Keaton, and Lillian Gish.
HOLLYWOOD also examines the great film pioneers, such as D.W. Griffith, Cecil B. DeMille, and Erich von Stroheim. From the scandal of "Fatty" Arbuckle to the earliest movie blockbusters like The Birth of a Nation and The Thief of Baghdad, this series looks at how the magic of cinema was born.