Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Boasting masterful cinematography to match its well-acted, wonderfully romantic storyline, Sunrise is perhaps the final -- and arguably definitive -- statement of the silent era.
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Movie Info
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Cast
as The Wife
as The Man
as The Woman from the City

as Maid
as The Photographer

as Barber
as The Manicure Girl
as The Obtrusive Gentleman

as The Obliging Gentleman
as Angry Motorist

as Danchall Manager

as Head Waiter

as Dancer
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Critic Reviews for Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
All Critics (50) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (1) | DVD (6)
Rich, strange and gorgeous, F.W. Murnau's Sunrise shows what an artist of the late silent era could accomplish cinematically, backed by an open checkbook and fueled by the highest aspirations even in the simplest of morality tales.
For his Hollywood début, in 1927, the German director F. W. Murnau brought a slender story to life with a breathtaking display of cinematic virtuosity, creating one of the masterworks of the art form.

F.W. Murnau's career-peak nova, the crowning film from that sacred, edge-of-the-abyss year of 1927.
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.
Picturesquely soporific.

Released in 1927, the last year of silent film, it's a pinnacle of that lost art.
Audience Reviews for Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
The ultimate silent film, released right after the talkies had already become a reality. Featuring some splendid superimpositions and impossible camera movements, this wonderful movie is both an impressive technical achievement and a beautiful story about love.
Super Reviewer
At his mistress's command, a man takes his wife on a boat ride in order to kill her, but he decides against it, and they have a lovely afternoon together. While the cinematography is quite charming and the superimposed images were probably revolutionary and striking in their time, the story of Sunrise is streamlined and not that interesting. We know early that the man isn't going to kill his wife, so there isn't any suspense on the boat, and what follows lacks any real, compelling conflict. Overall, for its technical achievements, Sunrise has been rightly praised, but its emotional effect is pretty close to nil.

Super Reviewer
Quite simply beautiful. One of very few honest and poignant true love stories in cinema. It is very slow paced but highly worthwhile for its moments of romance, humour, tragedy and beauty. Murnau created a timeless silent film that stands up as perhaps one of the greatest films ever made.

Super Reviewer
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