vilmos was now at film school along with his best friend, laszlo.mazing happened. >> hated emblems of red tyranny went down as hungarian patriots for ten glorious days sent armored russians which pitted rifles against tanks. >> few blocks away, where the statue of stalin used to be under the first night, actually, when the revolution started, the people wanted to take the statue down. it took about a couple of hours, actually, to cut mr. stalin's legs off. and naturally, the next day, people took pieces home as a souvenir. >> to date, this was something that had never been done. the hungarians took to the streets. a revolution. that's when vilmos and laszlo and some pals snuck 35 millimeter cameras and film out of their school's equipment room, and at great risk to themselves, joined their countrymen in the streets, documenting the revolt and the aftermath. these images are from some of that historic footage. it seemed for ten glorious days, that freedom had finally come. encouraged by the west and by cia radio broadcasts in particular, the hungaria

didn't change much. >> through it all for vilmos was this place, however.up during wartime. the moviehouse where he saw his first films. >> what memorable films did you see in this theater? [ speaking german ] >> my probably best experience in my life, i was in hungary, see chaplain's "the dictator." >> demarcus cousins democracy stunk. >> democracy is fragrant. >> liberty stunk. >> liberty is odious. >> freedom of speech is objectionable. >> chaplain did such a great job, you know. >> some films, of course, resonated more than others. the power of the visual image intensified maybe by what was going on just outside that dark room. films could be inspiring. they could be dangerous. >> it was so magical, to go to a film, especially a dangerous one, one that was just the subject matter and the content was different and to see that just, oh, my god, what do i do with my life now after seeing this? >> this theater, by the way, is now named in his honor. ♪ meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natura