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Sunrise: A Song of Two HumansRating:
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Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans Reviews
Touching and simple
"Sunrise" is a simple, touching story, beautifully told, about betrayal and redemption. A farmer, tempted by his sophisticated mistress from the city, tries to kill his wife, but at the moment of truth he cannot do it. The farmer and his wife rediscover their love, but then Nature throws in a surprise twist to test their happiness. Within this framework, Murnau throws in bits of humor and imagination-- the knocked-down statue which they think they have broken because it doesn't have a head, the drunken pig which the farmer chases through the carnival. Throughout, Murnau hardly needs intertitles because the visuals are so effective.
About the DVD: I received it through Fox Studio's free offer in 2003. The quality of the print is uneven and much more grainy than Fox's restorations of later films. Sometimes it appears to be free of artifacts, but often you can see the scratches and blotches from the film negative. There are two soundtracks. The original score is in mono and the sound quality is decent. The new score is in Dolby 2.0 and sounds much clearer. Both scores match the movie very well and are worth listening to.
The DVD also has a lot of extra features. The audio commentary by the cinematographer John Bailey is technical but informative. For writers, you have the original scenario by Carl Mayer, along with the final screenplay. Most uniquely, Fox has also included what remnants are available from Murnau's "lost film" called "The 4 Devils." The narrated essay pieces the film together from production stills, drawings from the art director, and the screenplay, which is also on the DVD.
Overall, a masterpiece of visual storytelling and an oustanding DVD. Kudos to Fox Studios.
Let the sun rise on DVD !
This masterpiece by F.W.Murnau rates as one of the top ten movies ever. In a June 2002 poll of its members by the American Film Institute, inviting them to name the most romantic films of the 20th century, "Sunrise" was named alongside such classics as "Casablanca" and "Gone With the Wind". Digital satellite showings of the silent feature in the U.K. reveal the existence of a superb print crying out for DVD presentation. The sooner its distributors can be persuaded to release it in that format the sooner we can glory in it.
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