Sunrise: A silent classic!

A married man is tempted by his big city mistress to murder his wife. But just as he is getting ready to do so, he comes to his sense and they end up heading to the city in order to rediscover their love for one another.

I’m sure the bulk of you reading this review have never seen a silent film before. This is not a bad thing, for our generation has always been able to view films which are dependent upon sound (specifically dialogue) to make them the cinema experiences they are. But Sunrise did not have that advantage, so how is it that a film made back in 1927 can still be seen as a powerful and unforgettable film? To start, director F.W. Murnau infused Sunrise with the kind of camera movements, special visual effects and Expressionistic shots that have continued to influence directors to this day (and will continue to do so for years to come). Next, Murnau was able to draw out remarkable performances from his lead actors George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor. Without the welcoming crutch of dialogue, it was up to these two to use their actions and expressions to draw the audience into the story. And while some nuances of their performances could be seen as over-the-top by a modern audience, overall they were daring and completely believable. This allowed the audience the chance to dig their fingers into the story. And that was the final piece of the puzzle which made Sunrise such an outstanding film. It was a simple morality tale of the love between a man and a woman which was tested via an “evil” temptress from the big city. There was nothing extraneous in the story to distract from the main characters trying to rediscover their relationship and become a happily married couple once again. Those scenes of O'Brien and Gaynor rediscovering their love were so emotional and real that the audience was probably able to feel the joy and happiness the couple was beginning to share again and felt a smile creep along their face as they thought about, or reached for, their loved one.

Were this film to be made nowadays, I think the story would be lost amongst a deluge of saccharine romantic dialogue, a dreadful subplot regarding a mousy best friend or any other standard pitfall witnessed in the last god awful Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy. It is often said but in this case, the statement rings truer than ever, they do not make films like Sunrise anymore. Films that are able to truly move an audience.

Grade: A