Sunrise, 1927

Murnau’s “Sunrise” (1927) is often praised for its innovative and influential cinematography. For me, the cinematography is good but not great, and it is not clear that the film, in and of itself, had a stand-alone influence. Many of the filmmaking techniques in “Sunrise” were used in by Murnau in his earlier German films, “The Last Laugh”(1924) – specifically, techniques of camera movement. “Sunrise” does use some techniques not used in “The Last Laugh” (and vice versa!), but these techniques are not unlike various accomplishments achieved by previous and contemporaneous expressionist films, surrealist films, and other styles of film developing the arts of cinematic symbolism and stagecraft – including, for example, the films of D.W. Griffith. Murnau’s “Faust” (1926) ranks among these masterpieces of symbolism and stagecraft. No doubt, “Sunrise” has stunning sequences: particularly the couple’s walk across the street. In my opinion, however, “The Last Laugh” is a more innovative, experimental, and impressive work of cinematography than “Sunrise.” Again, looking at “Sunrise” in context – but not in relation to any other specific films in particular – its cinematography is good but not great, in my opinion. As for the film’s plot, I believe “Sunrise: A song of Two Humans” weaves symbolism and realism together in a rather awkward manner. The story is a parable that uses both symbolism and realism. However, it employs symbolism in ways that undercut the credibility of its realism, and it employs realism in ways that similarly renders the film’s symbolism not symbolic enough. As a parable, the story is fittingly simple, but in its discordant use of symbolism and realism, the story verges on becoming, but does not quite become, a sequence of very forced melodramatic clichés. (“Sunrise” seems to need either much more symbolism, almost to the point of becoming surrealist film; or a good deal more realism, which would be closer to and more in keeping with the film as it is; or, a much more difficult challenge, more of both symbolism and realism, but woven together in a quite different manner.) In the realm of parable and fable, Murnau’s “Faust” is in my opinion a much greater film than “Sunrise.” Again, looking at “Sunrise” on its own, the film’s parable plot uses symbolism in an awkward and poorly-executed relationship to its use of realism.

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