- Actors: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, Bodil Rosing, J. Farrell MacDonald
- Directors: F.W. Murnau
- Writers: Carl Mayer, H.H. Caldwell, Hermann Sudermann, Katherine Hilliker
- Producers: William Fox
- Format: Black & White, PAL, Subtitled
- Language English
- Subtitles: French, Spanish
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: U
- Studio: Eureka Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: 26 Jan 2004
- Run Time: 94 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0000Z0I20
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 83,544 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1928 Sunrise won Oscars for Janet Gaynor as Best Actress and cinematography as a "Unique and Artistic Picture". In 1967 it was declared "the single greatest masterwork in the history of cinema" by key French new wave magazine Cahiers du Cinema. Released with a synchronised score and effects soundtrack but no dialogue, it is a cinematic landmark from the transition period between silent cinema and the talkies. Beginning as a prototype film noir in which a farmer (George O' Brien) plans the murder of his wife (Gaynor) with his vacationing lover from the city (Margaret Livingstone), the film develops from tense thriller into a story of reawakened love and redemption.
Anticipating Orson Welles's artistic freedom on Citizen Kane (1941), German expressionist director FW Murnau was given carte blanche following the huge American success of The Last Laugh (1924). The result was this poetic fable making inventive use of every technical device then available, including in-camera multiple exposures and superimpositions, long elegant tracking shots, forced perspectives, complex miniatures and synchronised sound, as well as the largest single-street-scene set ever built. The result is a film that influenced everything from Hitchcock suspense to Titanic (1997) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Murnau summons powerful performances from his principal players--Gaynor would later headline A Star Is Born (1937) and O'Brien would take important roles in several classic John Ford westerns--while the transcendent finale evokes and reworks the ending of the director's earlier classic, Nosferatu (1922). Though now inevitably dated Sunrise remains essential for anyone seriously interested in the development of cinematic art.
On the DVD:Sunrise is presented on an immaculately produced two-disc special edition. Though restored to full length and presented in the original 1.2:1 ratio with the complete music and effects soundtrack, the film has been taken from a print made in 1936, the original camera negative having been destroyed in a fire. As a result this is the best possible modern presentation of Sunrise, though the print, while perfectly acceptable, is very grainy, lined and flickery by contemporary standards. The mono sound has been superbly restored and is remarkably effective for its vintage; an alternative stereo musical track recorded for recent reissue sounds excellent. The film also boasts a commentary by John Bailey: apart from talking a little too much about how beautiful the lighting is, Bailey offers seriously in-depth knowledge about the film and about Murnau that really puts everything into historical context and explains the constant technical ingenuity.
The second disc presents the useful A Song of Two Humans, a 12-minute visual essay by film historian R Dixon Smith, and almost 10 minutes of outtakes with optional commentary by John Bailey, as well as a trailer, stills gallery and notes explaining the nature of the restoration. There is also an excellent 40-minute documentary Murnau's 4 Devils: Traces of a Lost Film, telling the story of the director's lost follow up to Sunrise. Microsoft Word and PDF files available via DVD-ROM present various incarnations of the screenplays for both Sunrise and 4 Devils. --Gary S. Dalkin
DVD Description
F. W. Murnau — invited to America by William Fox, the promise of complete artistic freedom, and a blank cheque — made Sunrise on the cusp of two eras: it represents the silent film at the peak of its poetic sophistication, and the sound film in its infancy. Fox told Murnau to take his time, to make any film he wished, and Sunrise was completed without any studio interference — as though with a dying flourish in a medium which at that moment had achieved a startling richness of expression. It was the swan song of the era.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another important silent movie finds his way to DVD,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sunrise [Special Edition] [DVD] (DVD)
Eureka presents Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's maybe most important silent movie "Sunrise - A Song Of Two Humans" for the first time in Europe! What can we expect? Eureka is not going to disappoint its customers. The list of special features is long and above all very promising:* Documentary by Film Historian R.Dixon Smith "Sunrise" found its place in the history of silent movies next to classics like "Metropolis", "Nosferatu", "Der Golem" or "Faust". What is the story about? A young quite naive man falls in love with a cold-blooded woman who persuades him to drown his wife in order to be with her. But then something goes wrong... This movie was the first to be awarded with three Academy Awards at the very first ceremony in 1927 and there is no question why!!! But every movie-buff should make his own opinion about this very intelligent psychological thriller that is - even yet - a shining example of how a movie should be!!!
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece!,
By
This review is from: Sunrise [Special Edition] [DVD] (DVD)
For years I had a copy I taped off television and was delightedwhen a laserdisc was produced. Now it will be even better on the dvd format. A beautiful story subtitled "A Song of Two Humans". Janet Gaynor won the first best actress Academy Award and 75 years later her performance is still marvelous. The film also won "Most Artistic Film" a category dropped after the first ceremony. One is mesmerized with Murnau's work which was ahead of its time. The irony of the ending is not to be forgotten. This should be one of the best if not the best dvd reissue of 2004 and I am greatful to Eureka for doing it. I can't wait.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfull edition for a wonderfull movie...,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sunrise [Special Edition] [DVD] (DVD)
I'm just getting into the movie history, the 'real' classics, the 'silents'. It's a wonderfull world to get into. These films are made with a lot of love for the movies, and you can notice.So I bought this dvd, and it really surprised me. The cinematography is great! For example a really long dolly shot of the man walking to the lake. And the 'special effects' they use, like the double exposures... Fantastic! Then we get to the story. The beginning is absolutely fabulous. A real psychological thriller. In the second part, they lost 10 % of my attention, the thrill was gone. But the climax is real nice. And what about the extra's? Well. This is how every dvd ought to be. It's really full of it. Choose between the original soundtrack, or a later one (I prefer the original) and commentary (sorry, didn't hear the commentary yet, I will next week). I was really blown away by the documentary about '4 Devils'. With sketches and production photographs they tell you the story of the presumed lost film '4 devils' of Murnau. This takes 40 min. Two films for the price of one. The documentary of Dixon Smith is really nice, the outtakes really worth watching,... If you like silents, this is a must!
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