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Sunrise

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Sunrise (1927)

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97 %
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Reviews Counted: 36

Fresh: 35

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 8.8/10

Consensus: Held aloft by director F. W. Murnau's visual genius, Sunrise is one of the greatest silent films ever made, and a wonderful example of the medium's capabilities, then and now. Beautiful, dark and luminous, and astonishing even today, it has exerted a profound influence on countless subsequent films, and represents an undisputed pinnacle of the art form.

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: SUNRISE chronicles the murderous desires--and ultimate repentance--of a wayward husband. Deeply attracted by a sophisticated vamp who worms her way into the couple's simple country existence, the... SUNRISE chronicles the murderous desires--and ultimate repentance--of a wayward husband. Deeply attracted by a sophisticated vamp who worms her way into the couple's simple country existence, the man agrees to take his wife into the city by rowboat...with plans to drown her on the way. In the midst of their journey, however, he realizes he cannot go through with the act. But the pure and innocent wife has already understood what he meant to do. Heartbroken, and with tear-filled eyes, she stumbles away from him through the city streets. Now he must find some way to win her back -- and prevent the fates from punishing him for his misdeeds...Director F.W. Murnau, and cinematographers Charles Rosher and Karl Struss, created stunning expressionist imagery that poignantly captures the characters' complex desires and points-of-view. This is one of the most visually gorgeous and emotionally rich silent films ever made. [More]

Starring: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, Arthur Housman

Starring: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, Arthur Housman, J. Farrell MacDonald

Director: F.W. Murnau

Director: F.W. Murnau

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 30, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Sunrise

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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One of those seminal works without which modern movies wouldn't exist...

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
03/03/09
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm

No review available.

comment Comment
04/22/08
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

In its artistry, dramatic power and graphic suggestion it goes a long way toward realizing the promise of this foreign director in his former works, notably Faust.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/20/08
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Picturesquely soporific.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment 2 Comments
01/22/08
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[an] unexpectedly harmonious marriage of German expressionism and Hollywood romanticism.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
08/06/07
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

Murnau's visual mastery, his marriage of expressionism, visual lyricism and the daring technological ambition of pre-sound Hollywood, shows silent cinema at its pinnacle.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/13/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Released in 1927, the last year of silent film, it's a pinnacle of that lost art.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/13/07
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the last great silent movies.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
02/04/07
Philip French
Observer [UK]

One of the finest romantic dramas of all time.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
08/05/06
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

An example of True Love styled to cinema perfection.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Moody and melodramatic, a technical treat that grabs hold of the viewer and will not let him go.

Full Review Source: Cinemania | comment Comment
05/06/06
Dan Jardine
Cinemania

One of the finest examples of cinema's artistic flowering at the cusp of the silents-to-sound transition...

Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com | comment Comment
04/06/06
Mark Bourne
DVDJournal.com

This sexy melodrama and intense psychological thriller provides an original and satisfying mix of romanticism, artifice and realism.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine

Mr. Murnau proves by Sunrise that he can do just as fine work in Hollywood as he ever did in Germany.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/25/06
Mordaunt Hall
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

F.W. Murnau's Sunrise (1928) conquered time and gravity with a freedom that was startling to its first audiences. To see it today is to be astonished by the boldness of its visual experimentation.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/20/06
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
02/26/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Murnau masterpiece; gorgeously shot and acted.

comment Comment
01/02/05
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

Reckless, romantic, and extravagant.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
09/07/04
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/19/04
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

A textbook of silent film techniques and astounding black-and-white cinematography...

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
06/18/04
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
 
 
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Latest News for Sunrise

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

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