"Sunrise: A Song of 2 Humans" - Silent Film, 1927

[Bob Pr.]

(The following is a copy of my user comment/review in imdb.com and posted here because I'd praised it in my review of "The Man Who Laughs")

"Sunrise" was the featured film at the 10th annual Kansas Silent Film Festival, Washburn University, Topeka, KS. Music provided by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

The festival discussion described this film as being an American studio's attempt to be taken seriously as a quality studio instead of being known as the producer of quantity. Germany at that time was known for making the most important, serious films and so a German director was brought in and given a blank check to make a statement film (its final total expenses pained the studio).

But the result is a powerful, timeless film on themes of betrayal, seduction, adultery, murder, and reconciliation.

For today's taste, the actors somewhat overly-dramatize their actions (as typical in the silent era) BUT just as most of us adapt quickly to reading subtitles in a foreign film, most also adapt to this convention to convey the message between those intermittent written screens that give dialog or explanations.

My understanding is that the very first year the Academy Awards were introduced, THIS film--made a couple years earlier--was the VERY FIRST chosen to be honored as "Best Picture." While I've not seen the other silent films that were its competitors, this honor certainly seems fully deserving. The actors, photography, pace, unfolding, etc., are all superb. Some of the scenes will remain in my memory forever. (It currently ranks in IMDb/Internet Movie Database's group of the 250 all-time greatest films and Roger Ebert also rates it among his Greatest Films.)

What a rare treat to have seen it! I rate it as one of the all-time best movies I've ever seen.