Sunrise

"Sunrise" is a beautiful film from the silent era, winning an award that became quickly obsolete in Best Unique or Artistic Production. I still consider this a winner of Best Picture and think it is among the most timeless films from the old days. The themes are relevant to just about anyone, celebrating things like love, forgiveness, and hope. The movie starts out pretty dark and it takes a little while to get into, but once a certain event happens 30 minutes in, the rest of the movie is just a delight. I found myself engaged with the movie and think it is much more accessible than many old films. Overall, it is a joyful experience to watch and one that stands the test of time in more ways than one.

Spooky gaslighting amidst temptation and fear, Sunrise admittedly took a while to click with me but it's hard to deny the sheer artistry on display here, blending the figurative, the imaginative and the real into a film that works purely from its simplicity and passion. A blinding portrayal that anyone holding the experiences of the hazards encountered during the tricky travails of a relationship expiring will know only too well. Murnau weaves a dangerous net of excellent technical proficiency here, he takes the barren sets and dark, hallow rooms and turns them into treasure troves of lighting and nuance, creating something as simple as a railway depot or a big traffic intersection and making it a story all by itself. The photography is frequently beautiful mixing German expressionism with a huge helping of Hollywood money and balances a story of obsession, love and forgiveness in a moving, harrowing and heart-rending way, it almost feels a shame that sound came along. Having a silent film that's not overly reliant on interludes was an exceptionally bold move by Murnau, his complete disinterest in them results in a gradual disappearance from the film altogether ultimately just letting his actors express themselves physically, it's a little cheesy and melodramatic yes, but it works within the medium. Without the need to play his story out in a thoroughly realised reality, Murnau uses illusion and the poetry of his medium to communicate the themes of his modernist fable and that's exactly what Sunrise is; a timeless achievement to the world of cinema in a marriage of expressionism, visual lyricism and daring technological ambition.

农村青年在城市女郎的勾引下要杀害自己的妻子，谋杀前一刻他幡然悔悟，然后和妻子度过了浪漫的蜜月之旅。电影运用了许多多重曝光，幻灯片似的展示了许多城市奇观，让人一睹大萧条来临前的繁华风采。我可以想象当时关注看到这么多迷幻的叠影，这么多游乐场、海浪奇观，会感到多么震撼。而开头城市人来乡下度假的情景，让我思考到底是从什么时候开始，社会开始流行起旅游和度假了呢？

Sometimes the canon classics leave you bewildered about what made them earn their reputation. Sometimes you can see why they were influential at the time, without actually enjoying them. But sometimes a movie that's near a 100 years old completely bowls you over, like Sunrise. F.W. Murnau is an absolutely genius of visual story telling. Also the only canon classic prominently featuring a drunk piglet.

The stark contrast between purity and adultery and the effects of the two. Adulterous love leads to guilt and moral deterioration. But a pure, innocent love strengthens courage and selfless. This is a movie about a man who overcomes to find the joys of purity.

One of the most innovative pieces of cinema EVER. Absolutely love the emotion that’s conveyed in this; it’s genuine, it’s real, it’s beautiful, and it makes this one of the greatest silent films of all time. F. W. Murnau struck cinematic gold with Nosferatu (1922) and Faust (1926), but this is a completely different beast and is captivating in every way.

A mix of German expressionism and realism, the influences from the era it was made created a beautiful film.

A near perfect film. Proof that silent films can be both emotional and exciting. It is also a technical wonder for its time. The performances from Janet Gaynor and especially George O'Brien are flawless. So much can be said with almost no words. Remarkable. One of the greatest film experiences of all time.

Honestly, you can say the first half of this is a masterpiece. It is filmed in such a different way and with more care and consideration than any movie from the era. There is a little lull after where it dips into some misplaced silent film slapstick, the ending sequence is a little weird story wise but beautifully filmed.

One of the earliest silent film movies of its time.