Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

This is one of the few movies that fully deserves all the raves that it gets. Some movies are artistic masterpieces more to be admired than enjoyed, leaving the viewer feeling a little distant; other movies can be enjoyable and satisfying to watch, but with obvious artistic defects. "Sunrise" is a nearly perfect movie that is impressive in every detail, and it is also a joy to watch, offering moments of suspense and tension and other moments of humor and humanity.

The story provides a very thoughtful look at the importance and the fragile nature of human relationships. Janet Gaynor is wonderful as the wife - she is always believable, endearing, and completely sympathetic. George O'Brien is also good as the husband, and both of their performances are enhanced by director Murnau's use of their body language. There are also many minor touches in the settings and action that help guide the story and the mood, and it is all complemented by some fine camera work. The first time you watch the film, your attention is fixed on the leading couple, as you hope against hope that things will work out all right for them. Repeated viewings reveal many of the other fine details that make everything work so well.

The movie also has plenty of variety and a masterful structure. The first part and the last part are tense and full of suspense, but they sandwich a very enjoyable series of lighter vignettes in the middle, which make a perfect complement both to the story and to the tone of the movie.

It is very difficult these days to track down this movie, which is a real shame, and even when you do find it you generally have to make do with a rather fuzzy or defective print. But it is well worth the trouble, and "Sunrise" is highly recommended to any silent film fan or to anyone who can appreciate a movie made the way that movies ought to be made. It is not only one of the great masterpieces of the silent era, but is as good a film as any made since.

Before the movie starts properly, Sunrise professes that life is sometimes bitter and sometimes sweet, and that is exactly what this film is; a bittersweet symphony of life and love. Flamboyant German director, F.W. Murnau directs this film with a great love and precision, his direction in the movie is flawless. Sunrise features very little story cards, and it almost totally told with just visuals and music. This is a testament to Murnau's talent for storytelling; to portray a story without dialogue is something that all silent films have to do, but to tell a story without many story cards either is something that many directors would struggle to do. The music in Sunrise is simply sublime; it fits what's going on in the film to a tee, and also succeeds in making the visuals' power more potent. Sunrise is a groundbreaking film, some of the techniques used by Murnau to tell his story are amazing, especially for the time. Techniques such as his use of flashback have had a major impact on cinema as a whole.

And the film isn't just a technical marvel either; there is more than enough substance here. The plot isn't massively substantial, but it's the subtext that is important. It follows the story of a man who, tempted by a woman from the city, gets talked into murdering his wife. Him and his wife used to be madly in love, described by their maid as 'being like children', but the love has since stagnated and so the man is easily taken in by an offer from a beautiful to move to the city. However, when it comes to doing the act; he can't do, and so the film moves into following the two falling back into love. Like life itself, the film is never plain sailing and that seems to be it's central message, along with the fact that love is more powerful than anything that life can throw at you. And those are welcome messages in any film, especially one as brilliant as this.

Overall, Sunrise is a masterpiece. It easily ranks as one of the best, and most important silent films ever made and it is as brilliantly technically as it is on the substance front. A must see for all fans of cinema.

There are plenty of reasons for film buffs to watch 'Sunrise'. One is if they love, or at least appreciate, FW Murnau and his films and recognise their importance, that's applicable to me. Two is if they love, or again at least appreciate, silent films, have seen some fantastic silent films myself. Three is if one is interested in seeing what the hype is, with it being widely considered a cinematic masterpiece and milestone. Four is if one is interested seeing whether Janet Gaynor's Oscar win was deserved.

'Sunrise' in my mind absolutely deserves every ounce of the acclaim it garnered and still gets. Murnau was a truly fabulous and influential director whose (too few) films were watchable at their worst and amazing at their best, and while 'Faust', 'The Last Laugh' and 'Nosferatu' are wonderful films 'Sunrise' gets my vote as his best. Of the many fantastic silent films out there, in a list that includes 'Metropolis', 'The Crowd', 'The Last Laugh', 'Intolerance' and 'The Cabinet of Dr Caligari', 'Sunrise' is one of the very finest. Cannot say enough great things about it and Gaynor's Oscar win is easily one of the most deserving winners in the early years of the Academy Awards history (in a period with a fair share of questionable nominees).

In a period of exceptionally well made films and even for a director who was a visual master, 'Sunrise' looks exquisite. Not many films at the time and since had cinematography this level of stunning or full of wonder, with also a surprisingly witty style and chockful of images that actually tell a story. As always with Murnau, the sets are indicative of a lot of time, money and thought went into constructing them as they are very rich in detail and lavish. It is also one of the few films where back projection is used well and looks good, usually it looks cheap but here it is quite imaginative.

Murnau's direction was seldom more accomplished or more inspired than here in 'Sunrise', which is quite a feat from one of the more accomplished and inspired directors of the silent film era. A perfect example of why he is justifiably lauded in cinema. The music is beautifully done, it appeals on the ears and is not intrusively used or emotionally over-emphasised. 'Sunrise' is also sincerely written and doesn't ramble. The story is nothing short of timeless and of all the silent films in existence to me 'Sunrise' is the one that connects with me the most emotionally.

A lot of poignancy can be seen here and there are a fair share of memorable scenes, particular standouts being the hard hitting rowboat scene and the visually unforgettable trolley ride. It is one of the few rewatched films this year to uplift me and fill me with hope, sorely needed at a point where that was not felt very much. Simply put, 'Sunrise' is a masterpiece of complex range of emotion.

Wonderful acting can be seen here too, with Gaynor being perfectly cast and a revelation in the lead role, charming and deeply felt.

One can argue that masterpiece is thrown around a lot and too easily these days and personally have tried to avoid using it a lot, but 'Sunrise' deserves it. Amazing film and a fine example of a film that one should see before they die. 10/10.

I finally got a hold of the 'Sunrise' DVD, which is only available in English-speaking America (for free) by buying three titles of the excellent Fox Studio Classics line and sending in proofs of purchase. I urge everyone to get this DVD either by sending your three coupons to the promotion or by dealing with someone in the province of Québec since it appears to be the only place in North America where this contest is void and one can buy it directly off the shelf.

I have heard about 'Sunrise' all my life but the closest I ever got to see a part of it was, as a quote, in Martin Scorsese's 2-DVD made-for-the-BBC lecture with illustrations 'A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies' (1995). Nobody told me the following:

It is a pioneering, overwhelming piece of cinema that still manages to move me (ME!) after I thought I had seen everything. It is a profoundly human film which made me cry for 15 minutes solid in its first part (a reconciliation scene that has to be seen to be believed). This film has more special effects than Terminator 3, all in the service of a thoroughly poetic, bucolic, pastoral, personal, contemplative, idiosyncratic, lyrical, late romantic and expressionist vision of humanity. Its love story, poignant and comic elements have inspired, in no specific order, René Clair ('Le Million'), Jean Vigo ('L'Atalante', 'Zéro de conduite'), Charlie Chaplin (all his subsequent films), Fellini ('La Strada', 'Nights of Cabiria') and even James Cameron ('Titanic').

The camera is extremely mobile (more so than in most of today's films, except maybe The Matrix) and the acting is superb. I finally understand why Janet Gaynor was such a big star and a big deal in her time. Her co-star George O'Brien would be hunk-o-rama of the month at the box office today if he was still around. Margaret Livingston (who she?) is also quite realistic as a believably enticing city girl vamp (of modest means) who tries to lure the hero away from his deserving wife.

The DVD has more extras than a Criterion issue, including a tentative reconstruction of Murnau's missing American masterpiece 'The Four Devils' (a circus love story) and the entire shooting scripts of both 'Sunrise' and 'The Four Devils'.

'Sunrise' is presented with two soundtracks: the original (mono) Movietone (i.e. optical track) anonymous composite soundtrack cobbled together from several sources (think Wagner's Siegfried Idyll) and a newly written and recorded (stereo) score with all-original themes, that closely follows the original in spirit but not in melody.

Both soundtracks try to add an intimate, poetic dimension to the film, which is subtitled 'A Song of Two Humans'. The music is an integral part of the experience as the film is conceived as a tone poem and, as such (my theory) is a kind of transcription for the masses of Schoenberg's 1900 string ensemble tone poem 'Verklärte Nacht' (Transfigured Night), a late-Romantic/early expressionist attempt to describe musically the 'truly profound and authentic' relationship between a man and a woman who have problems (the music follows a poem of the era).

Both soundtracks succeed admirably, my preference going to the new one, despite the original's polish, historical value and magnificent preservation. And that would be because, although in the silent era there was no stigma attached to accompanying silent movies with a score made up of public domain and rather recognizable pieces, as long as they fit the mood, times have changed ('2001, A Space Odyssey' notwithstanding) and this practice is more distracting than anything for a contemporary, moderately educated spectator.

Murnau had very highbrow ambitions but his film is totally clear and populist and made to reach the widest popular audience thanks to the incredible sums of money and artistry that Fox poured in the project. 20th Century Fox basically imported a genius from Germany, gave him a ton of money and told him: 'Make us a movie that will be the most prestigious ever made in this town and that will win us the first Oscar'. And that's just what he did!

Needless to say, that was a long time before Rupert Murdoch took over the Fox Corporation...

While some film critics disagreed in the late fifties, giving the nod to Murnau's equally brilliant "Last Laugh," this in my view is the crowning achievement of the German genius. Many polls rank it as the greatest silent film ever made and many rank it very high on the all time list of great movies.

The plot is melodramatic, the acting in places heavy handed, and the action seemingly non-existent, at least in the eyes of the "Terminator 3" generation,yet "Sunrise" is so captivating a film that it can be watched over and over again and deliver the same punch every time. In fact, like the other greats,including "Citizen Kane," you can probably get something new out of "Sunrise" every time you watch it, no matter how many times you watch.

Murnau takes barren sets and dark, hallow rooms and turns them into treasure troves of lighting and nuance. He creates something as simple as a railway depot or a big traffic intersection and makes it a story all by itself.

"Sunrise" stands today as one of the most visually fascinating films ever made. Murnau's cinematographers, Charles Rosher and Karl Struss, got an Oscar for their work and surely deserved it. Janet Gaynor won the Best Actress award for her body of work that also included "Seventh Heaven" and also richly deserved the prize. Her face expresses her inner emotions so perfectly that some of her scenes are achingly beautiful.

And the film itself received an academy award for "Most unique and artistic production," an award never given out again, maybe because no picture could live up to the standard set by "Sunrise."

The new DVD version being marketed on the quiet by Fox is marvelous, with a wonderfully restored print that seems just as bright today as it must have in late 1927 when the film was released. The DVD includes an interesting commentary option by cinematographer John Baily and no film is better suited for this, since it tells its story brilliantly with pictures alone, so the commentary option is not a distraction.

One of the great tragedies of the cinema in my view is that few people alive today have seen "Sunrise." They have no idea what they are missing.

This one ranks among the five best films ever made.