Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
89%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: NA
Boasting masterful cinematography to match its well-acted, wonderfully romantic storyline, Sunrise is perhaps the final — and arguably definitive — statement of the silent era
Sunrise is like the Beyoncé of silent films – it’s got everything you could want and more. The stunning photography and tragic story will leave you feeling overwhelmed in the best way possible. Plus, the fact that it’s not overly reliant on intertitles just proves that Murnau knew how to let his actors shine. It’s no wonder this film is considered one of the greatest of all time.
Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Distributor
Fox, Critics’ Choice Video
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1927
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.33 : 1
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Runtime:1h 50m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 23, 1927 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 12, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring George O’Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, directed by F.W Murnau, written by Hermann Sudermann, Carl Mayer, Katherine Hilliker, H.H Caldwell, drama, romance, silent film, award-winning, masterful cinematography, well-acted, romantic storyline, tragic, tense, temptation, simple, stripped down, emotional, visual treat, timeless, tight storytelling, suspenseful, charming cinematography, superimposed images, revolutionary, striking, technical achievement, beautiful story, honest, poignant, true love story, slow-paced, romance, humor, tragedy, beauty, timeless, greatest films ever made
Worldwide gross: $121,107
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,581,943
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,346
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 281,564
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Janet Gaynor – The Wife (Indre)
Margaret Livingston – The Woman from the City
Bodil Rosing – The Maid
J. Farrell MacDonald – The Photographer
Ralph Sipperly – The Barber
Director(s)
F.W. Murnau
Writer(s)
Hermann Sudermann, Carl Mayer, Katherine Hilliker, H.H. Caldwell
Producer(s)
William Fox
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (63) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (1)
Any one who prefers an intelligent and stimulating film to the usual trash is urged to go and see it for himself.
September 4, 2020
Wilella Waldorf
New York Post
TOP CRITIC
From two points of view, Sunrise is among the most remarkable films that have ever been flashed on the screen. One is the rich, sensitive beauty of the photography; the other the tragic tenseness of the story.
February 6, 2020
SMH Staff
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
The film is electric: overwhelmingly passionate and sexual.
December 20, 2017
Antonia Quirke
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Rich, strange and gorgeous, F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise shows what an artist of the late silent era could accomplish cinematically, backed by an open checkbook and fueled by the highest aspirations even in the simplest of morality tales.
February 25, 2014 | Rating: 4/4
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
In his first American film, Sunrise… the German director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau creates some of the greatest images in the history of the cinema.
February 25, 2014
Richard Brody
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
F.W. Murnau’s career-peak nova, the crowning film from that sacred, edge-of-the-abyss year of 1927.
March 31, 2010
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
Innovative through technology and development which will, without a doubt, be echoed in films yet to come. [Full review in Spanish]
July 1, 2022
Francisco J. Ariza
Cine-Mundial
The visual poetry it expended on an admittedly simple, cornball story (country bumpkin seduced by city vamp, pursued and redeemed by his pure-hearted wife) remains fairly dazzling.
January 8, 2022
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
I like that the film wasn’t overly reliant on intertitles. Murnau let his actors tell the story. The actors are masters of silent film acting which at times is a little cheesy but works within the medium.
April 1, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
One of the most moving and technically sound films ever produced.
August 5, 2020
Allen Almachar
The MacGuffin
This partly expressionistic masterwork is often considered one of the greatest of all silent films.
July 30, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Not since the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and the Last Laugh, those two European products of cinema art, has the screen offered anything that is even remotely comparable to Sunrise, from any or all angles.
February 6, 2020
Star Staff
Washington Star…
Plot
In this fable-morality subtitled “A Song of Two Humans”, the “evil” temptress is a city woman who bewitches farmer Anses and tries to convince him to murder his neglected wife, Indre.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Ralph Sipperly, who played the Barber in Sunrise, was actually a real-life barber and was chosen for the role because of his profession.
F.W.-Murnau.jpg
