"We're going for a trip across the water, I may not be back for quite some time"
Sunrise or sometimes known by its full title Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is a multi
Oscar winning film from F. W. Murnau, one of the most famed Directors of the
silent era. Mixing Murnau’s traditional German Expressionism with Hollywood techniques the film stars George O’Brian as a
rural farmer who begins an elicit affair with a glamorous and sophisticated
Woman from the City (Margaret Livingston). The City Woman persuades the Farmer
that he’d be better off with her in the city and suggests that he drowns his
Wife (Janet Gaynor) and makes it look like an accident. Following a last minute
change of heart The Man tries to gain his wife’s forgiveness as she herself
flees to the city with him in tow.
I’d never heard of this film until a couple of weeks ago
when I was searching for Silent Films that I could watch for Eternity of
Dream’s Speechless Blogathon. I searched the IMDb Top 250 and found that this
was one of the few silent films I hadn’t seen. And boy am I glad I found it. It
is not surprising that Sunrise remains so highly regarded today as it
is a truly magnificent film.
