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Sunrise

Play trailer Poster for Sunrise Released Sep 23, 1927 1h 50m Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
98% Tomatometer 64 Reviews 92% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Bored with his wife (Janet Gaynor), their baby and the dull routine of farm life, a farmer (George O'Brien) falls under the spell of a flirtatious city girl (Margaret Livingston) who convinces him to drown his wife so they can escape together. When his wife becomes suspicious of his plan and runs away to the city, the farmer pursues her, slowly regaining her trust as the two rediscover their love for each other in this award-winning silent classic.
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Sunrise

Sunrise

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Critics 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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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker The story is told in a flowing, lyrical German manner that is extraordinarily sensual, yet is perhaps too self-conscious, too fable-like for American audiences. Jul 28, 2022 Full Review Wilella Waldorf New York Post Any one who prefers an intelligent and stimulating film to the usual trash is urged to go and see it for himself. Sep 4, 2020 Full Review SMH Staff Sydney Morning Herald From two points of view, Sunrise is among the most remarkable films that have ever been flashed on the screen. One is the rich, sensitive beauty of the photography; the other the tragic tenseness of the story. Feb 6, 2020 Full Review Zita Short InSession Film Murnau really was a visionary and I do see what made him such a talent... Feb 9, 2023 Full Review Francisco J. Ariza Cine-Mundial Innovative through technology and development which will, without a doubt, be echoed in films yet to come. [Full review in Spanish] Jul 1, 2022 Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills The visual poetry it expended on an admittedly simple, cornball story (country bumpkin seduced by city vamp, pursued and redeemed by his pure-hearted wife) remains fairly dazzling. Jan 8, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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DanTheMan 2 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. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/15/25 Full Review Shin S 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? Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/25 Full Review Martijn t 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. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/27/24 Full Review Micah H 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. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/27/24 Full Review Jonathan G 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. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/04/24 Full Review freya n A mix of German expressionism and realism, the influences from the era it was made created a beautiful film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/02/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Sunrise

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Movie Info

Synopsis Bored with his wife (Janet Gaynor), their baby and the dull routine of farm life, a farmer (George O'Brien) falls under the spell of a flirtatious city girl (Margaret Livingston) who convinces him to drown his wife so they can escape together. When his wife becomes suspicious of his plan and runs away to the city, the farmer pursues her, slowly regaining her trust as the two rediscover their love for each other in this award-winning silent classic.
Director
F.W. Murnau
Producer
William Fox
Screenwriter
Hermann Sudermann, Carl Mayer, Katherine Hilliker, H.H. Caldwell
Distributor
Critics' Choice Video, Fox
Production Co
Fox Film Corporation
Genre
Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 23, 1927, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 1, 2015
Runtime
1h 50m
Sound Mix
Mono
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