Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

Encouraged by his mistress to murder his wife, a farmer wrestles with what to do in this F.W. Murnau silent drama. Not everything about the plot adds up (killing the wife is senseless since the two lovers could just run away together) but the film is assembled in such an inventive and thoughtful manner that it is never less than thoroughly encapsulating. The editing design is especially innovative with dissolve shots that merge images together, most notably as the lovers sit on a patch of grass and 'watch' the city at they imagine it, as well as the iconic shot of the spirit of the farmer's mistress wrapping her arms around him. The title cards are cleverly done too, especially the how word "drowned" drowns as a title card fades away, and the tracking shots are very ambitious for a film of its era. Murnau's attempts to lighten the proceedings with comic relief do not, however, always work, with a sequence involving a pig and a woman's dress falling off at the shoulders not gelling well with the rest of the movie. The farmer and his wife are generally fascinating to follow around though with a real tension always felt between them, knowing what the farmer has contemplated. Janet Gaynor is also very good as the all-too-trusting wife while George O'Brien impressively goes through a lifetime of emotions for a story that, as per the title, only occurs in between two sunrises.

I thought that this silent film was pretty great. The sound and words didn't even have to exist in this film to understand what was going on in it.The first shots of the city were very detailed. I thought that Murnau did a great job with the cinematography. The lighting was perfect for each angle in the scenes.The camera, directing, and acting were perfect. The actors had great expressions to create mood in this film.I really felt the emotion, suspense, and humour in this movie. This film also had a cool plot. It really made the suspense a great experience.George O'Brien did a fantastic job of portraying a man broken by society and looking for a way out of the life he previously made. Margaret Livingston is another actor who did a really amazing job. She does a great job portraying the "siren from the city". Ion the end she ends up exactly right where she had started.I thought it was unbelievably harsh that Janet Gaynor ( George O'Brien's) wife was drowned by Mr. O'Brien just to be with Margaret Livingston in the city area. It was all Margaret's idea... so that made the mess even more awful. I would rate this movie at a 6 out of 10. This movie is worth watching if you enjoy silent films in black and white.

Sunrise wrestles with themes of morality, love and redemption. For a 1920s movie, the quality of the cinematography is impressive, with the light of sunrise illuminating the screen at the film's end while cameras even move to follow the action of characters from time to time. The film also provides quality shot to shot transitions, with city landscapes and elements of a fun fair fading in and out of focus. It's no question that Gaynor and O'Brien both perform miraculously, but the evolution of their marriage over the course of the film is a spectacle to behold. The film's greatest irony lies in the boat journeys taken by the couple to and from the nearby city. Initially, the man's love for another woman provokes a failed attempt at drowning his wife which foreshadows her fall off the boat on their return journey in the storm. Though he initially ponders sacrificing his wife for his mistress, the man experiences genuine regret and despair when he thinks he's lost her. Sunrise is an admirable look into both the fortitude of marriage and the challenges that it constantly brings about.

Captivating to say the least. In the beginning, this film bombards you with plot and puts you to the edge of your seat. All while telling a magnificent tale of a dying marriage, adultery, plots for murder, and the rekindling of a forgotten love.The acting was done very well. George O'Brien does a wonderful job of depicting a man broken by society and looking for a way out of the life he's built. Margaret Livingston also does well with portraying the "siren from the city" who, in the end, ends up exactly where she started.In all, I believe the film was ingeniously done and was revolutionary for it's time. With film-making being a fairly new concept (Just over 20 years), and the fact that the first sound film was released the same year, this movie truly cemented itself as one of the best silent era films.