Musical accompaniment is to be preferred to the audience talking through the movie.

I do hope that as many of them can be restored get restored--there's a lot of history there. So much has already been lost.

I, unfortunately, was first brought to silent movies on television, where they not only had musical accompaniment but narration/commentary, and as a result have only not-slept (in a theater!) through Phantom of the Opera, probably because the companion nudged once or twice.

My loss.