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.
Comment
02/13/07
Sunrise (1927)
97
%
Tomatometer
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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.
Theatrical Release:06-02-2004
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... [More]
Starring: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, Arthur Housman
Director: F.W. Murnau
Reviews for Sunrise
Top CriticOne of the last great silent movies.
02/04/07
An example of True Love styled to cinema perfection.
06/24/06
Top CriticThis sexy melodrama and intense psychological thriller provides an original and satisfying mix of romanticism, artifice and realism.
04/01/06
Top CriticAn exuberant pioneer picture conceived on a big canvas, blazing an inspirational trail for just about everything Hollywood has done since.
04/09/04
Top CriticIt's a love story that's more than just a tale of broken hearts and damp hankies. It's also a landmark in the history of cinema that turns melodrama into high art.
02/03/04
Top CriticAlternatingly romantic, joyful, sexy and terrifying
01/29/04
One of those seminal works without which modern movies wouldn't exist...
03/03/09
No review available.
04/22/08
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.
02/20/08
Top CriticPicturesquely soporific.
01/22/08
Top Critic[an] unexpectedly harmonious marriage of German expressionism and Hollywood romanticism.
08/06/07
Released in 1927, the last year of silent film, it's a pinnacle of that lost art.
02/13/07
One of the finest romantic dramas of all time.
08/05/06
Moody and melodramatic, a technical treat that grabs hold of the viewer and will not let him go.
05/06/06
One of the finest examples of cinema's artistic flowering at the cusp of the silents-to-sound transition...
04/06/06
Mr. Murnau proves by Sunrise that he can do just as fine work in Hollywood as he ever did in Germany.
03/25/06
Top CriticF.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.
01/20/06
Top CriticNo review available.
02/26/05
Murnau masterpiece; gorgeously shot and acted.
01/02/05
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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