Sunrise details

Sunrise
Formats: U DVD, Blu-ray
Starring: Margaret Livingston, Janet Gaynor, George O'Brien
Director: F.W. Murnau
Genres: Drama - Romantic, Romance
Studio: EUREKA ENTERTAINMENT
Name Discs
Sunrise
U Feature
Sunrise - Bonus Disc
U Bonus

DVD Information

Run time: 1 hour 31 minutes
Rental release: Not available for rental
Main languages: Silent
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Most helpful review Sunrise

  • This silent film still makes a terrific impact after 85 years !

    Rated - 4.5 stars  
    By roncoach (369 reviews) from suffolk , 24 May 2011

    [Highly rated reviewer]

    Some folk simply dismiss silent films from so long ago. To do so means they are missing something that everyone should have a chance to judge, not simply movie afficianados but every film watcher.

    This silent classic is a bit special and is a must for anyone who wants to initiate themselves into the wonders of the silent era. It still works as a good evening's viewing. Some may indeed go further and say it is a masterpiece----and I don't think they're far wrong personally.

    The acting is excellent in the 'overacted' style that was so often used in order to try and make up for the lack of speech sound ( a bit like we shout loudly in English at foreigners LOL). The photography is good ; it is particularly interesting to see a 'silent' flow like a latter-day film instead of the many 'silents' which were set in one room and looked as though they were shot in a theatre. This has pace, movement, many different settings ranging from rural charm to bustling city, and a photo-realism that belies its age.

    It is a melodrama, a domestic conflict based on the 'eternal triangle', with the ever-present tension of murder lurking in the background. But it is a moving and very charming film that leaves a 'haunting' memory for those who see it.

    I recommend members take a look at what Brad Pitt would have been doing 85 years ago ..........
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  • don't bother with the bonus disk

    Rated - 4.0 stars  
    By kej (1 review) , 08 Mar 2012
    The main disc I was sent included the reconstruction of '4 Devils' and the outtakesfrom Sunrise, so the bonus disc, which repeated these, was a waste of time for me, and I should think for many: the other stuff on it was for printing off the screenplays so unless you want to do this, don't bother with the bonus disc
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  • Enduring images tell a great story

    Rated - 5.0 stars  
    By amg61 (1 review) , 22 Feb 2012
    A visually stunning film. A number of the images and scenes stay in the mind for days afterwards. There are also special effect passages which work extraordinarily well given when the film was made. Above all it's a really good story, told really well, by actors and a director at the top of their art.
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  • This silent film still makes a terrific impact after 85 years !

    Rated - 4.5 stars  
    By roncoach (369 reviews) from suffolk , 24 May 2011
    Some folk simply dismiss silent films from so long ago. To do so means they are missing something that everyone should have a chance to judge, not simply movie afficianados but every film watcher.

    This silent classic is a bit special and is a must for anyone who wants to initiate themselves into the wonders of the silent era. It still works as a good evening's viewing. Some may indeed go further and say it is a masterpiece----and I don't think they're far wrong personally.

    The acting is excellent in the 'overacted' style that was so often used in order to try and make up for the lack of speech sound ( a bit like we shout loudly in English at foreigners LOL). The photography is good ; it is particularly interesting to see a 'silent' flow like a latter-day film instead of the many 'silents' which were set in one room and looked as though they were shot in a theatre. This has pace, movement, many different settings ranging from rural charm to bustling city, and a photo-realism that belies its age.

    It is a melodrama, a domestic conflict based on the 'eternal triangle', with the ever-present tension of murder lurking in the background. But it is a moving and very charming film that leaves a 'haunting' memory for those who see it.

    I recommend members take a look at what Brad Pitt would have been doing 85 years ago ..........
    • Was this review helpful to you?
    • (45) Yes |
    •  No (38)
  • Rise and Setting

    Rated - 4.0 stars  
    By Nigel Wilson from Helmsley, North Riding of Yorkshire , 10 Feb 2011
    Indeed this is a great film - and in two ways it marks a setting sun: the high pinnacle at the end of the particular art of the silent film, followed so soon after by the sunset of Murnau’s premature death at the age of 44. The almost obsessively detailed planning. preparation and presentation of the film by him and his associates are awesome; a triumph of skill and meticulous workmanship. All of that is well explained and documented in the accompanying material on the DVD, though I must admit that the bonus disk can be rather heavy going … it is fascinating, but it becomes a question of how much time you can spare!

    There are, thus, two ways of looking at the film – one in terms of the story and its entertainment value, the other in terms of the construction, historical setting and outstanding technical achievement … and lavish use of available resources … that mark the achievement of the film. The second of those is, beyond argument, entirely fascinating. As for the first, the story itself is, truly, a fairly routine romantic drama, plus humour … none the worse for that … well and amusingly acted, well varied. You must let yourself take up the attitudes and conventions of the time. For me otherwise I should find, for example, the psychological reversals and inconsistencies of the Man’s character rather too much to credit and his ultimate appeal as a heart throb rather routinely unappealing -similarly, how much sense is there in the character and motivation of the Woman from the City as a vamp? - but think yourself into the mindset of a film goer in 1928 and marvel and enjoy it all!
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  • Rise and Setting

    Rated - 5.0 stars  
    By Nigel Wilson from Helmsley, North Riding of Yorkshire , 10 Feb 2011
    Indeed this is a great film - and in two ways it marks a setting sun: the high pinnacle at the end of the particular art of the silent film, followed so soon after by the sunset of Murnau’s premature death at the age of 44. The almost obsessively detailed planning. preparation and presentation of the film by him and his associates are awesome; a triumph of skill and meticulous workmanship. All of that is well explained and documented in the accompanying material on the DVD, though I must admit that the bonus disk can be rather heavy going … it is fascinating, but it becomes a question of how much time you can spare!

    There are, thus, two ways of looking at the film – one in terms of the story and its entertainment value, the other in terms of the construction, historical setting and outstanding technical achievement … and lavish use of available resources … that mark the achievement of the film. The second of those is, beyond argument, entirely fascinating. As for the first, the story itself is, truly, a fairly routine romantic drama, plus humour … none the worse for that … well and amusingly acted, well varied. You must let yourself take up the attitudes and conventions of the time. For me otherwise I should find, for example, the psychological reversals and inconsistencies of the Man’s character rather too much to credit and his ultimate appeal as a heart throb rather routinely unappealing -similarly, how much sense is there in the character and motivation of the Woman from the City as a vamp? - but think yourself into the mindset of a film goer in 1928 and marvel and enjoy it all!
    • Was this review helpful to you?
    • (1) Yes |
    •  No (0)
 

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