Leonard Maltin was very gracious during our 20 second or so encounter though I don't think he said much more than you're welcome when I thanked him for supporting classic film. ;)

Metropolis was somewhere way way WAY beyond awesome. It looked spectacular on the huge Grauman's Chinese Theatre screen, the re-editing and newly-restored additional 25 mins. of footage are invaluable -- for the first time, the story actually makes sense and I was as engaged with the characters as I was with the monumental sets, the Alloy Orchestra's percussive score was perfect for this kind of modernist movie, and the atmosphere in the theater was electrifying, as it was the culminating event of the festival, EVERYONE was there, Robert Osborne hosted and announced there would be a second festival next year... it was one of the most incredible cinematic experiences I've ever had.

Besides Metropolis, for me the highlights of the festival were:

Newly restored print of the early 1929 musical Sunny Side Up, starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, who can't sing or dance but who cares, they're so charming. It has a great score -- several of the songs are now standards -- and it's one of the very first film musicals that integrated song and dance into an original story, rather than being a revue or a film of a Broadway show. It was a huge hit back in 1929 and I can certainly see why.

Newly restored print of the western Jubal, starring Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine and Rod Steiger. This had been filmed in Eastmancolor and had faded badly but now with digital tools they were finally able to restore it. Great movie. Borgnine was there too and talked about making the movie and told other stories about his many years in films. He's still a very busy actor though he's in his 90s now.

Two Harold Lloyd films, An Eastern Westerner and Safety Last, with live musical accompaniment by the Robert Israel Orchestra. I've loved Israel's silent movie music for years so it was a special treat to see (and hear) him and his colleagues live.