Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier

During the weekend just past, I saw Denzel Washington in Fallen, and late Monday night (or very early Tuesday morning) I saw Sidney Poitier in Lillies of the Field, both on television. I enjoyed the actors, and consequently the films, tremendously. The first movie, a modern film in color, is about an ancient demon whose evil, violent spirit moves from body to body by simple touch--and there are two very scary scenes when we see this. In that film Denzel plays a policeman investigating murders. The second film, an old black-and-white movie, featuring Poitier, is about a man whom a group of German nuns in America get to build a chapel. (There is a scene in which the severity of the lead nun is compared to Hitler.) The two films take place in different eras and settings, with very different subjects; and both men, Washington and Poitier, embody masculine beauty, dignity, intelligence, sensitivity (they embody goodness)--and it was a pleasure to watch them.