Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

(F.W. Murnau, US 1927, 97 min., 35mm)

Silent Tuesdays. Acclaimed German director F. W. Murnau’s (Nosferatu, The Last Laugh) first Hollywood film elicited extraordinary praise from the critics. Lighting, camera angles and movement, acting style, judicious use of sound effects and music—all are smoothly integrated to tell the simple story of a man torn between his sweet country wife and a “vamp” from the city. The culmination of the silent cinema and a harbinger of things to come, Sunrise won three Oscars, including one for its Unique and Artistic Quality of Production.