Drama · Romance
American (Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans)
1927 · Directed by F.W. Murnau · 94 min
A farmer's marriage is unsettled by a woman from the city who has come to the village for the summer. One day the husband asks his wife to come away with him on a trip. Part fable, part love story, told almost entirely through images and music.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining film of late silent cinema, Sunrise is where German Expressionist craft meets the Hollywood studio system. It also arrives just as synchronized sound is beginning to reshape the medium.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a story told by the camera: let the images do the explaining, and treat the few title cards as secondary.
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