"Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" (1927)

Rank on the AFI List: #82

Watch Trailer

Thanks to my grandma for letting me borrow this movie -- back in 2001. It only took me 8 years to get around to watching it!


WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Just one thing: It's a "silent movie"

LET ME EXPLAIN...
I suppose it took me 8 years of having this movie available to watch before I finally watched it because I was nervous about watching a silent movie. I anticipated being bored and/or falling asleep trying to watch it. I'm glad I got over those fears and finally watched this film, because not only was it a great movie, I found it broadening my artistic horizons even more than a typical movie on the AFI list.

Why do I feel this way? I believe "Sunrise", as a silent movie, had to illustrate emotions, thoughts, and plot in a very different way than a "talkie" (a.k.a. "non-silent movie") because it had to rely on the acting and the way each scene was shot instead of on what words the actors said, and how they delivered their lines. And oh my goodness did this movie do an excellent job!

There are 2 scenes in particular that tugged at my heart-strings more than I think any other movie has done: the wedding scene and the shot when they are walking away from the church (you'll have to watch this movie to understand what I mean). Those scenes alone made this movie worth watching. Oh, and the lead actress (Janet Gaynor, who won the very 1st Oscar for Best Actress with her performance in this movie), is quite possibly the cutest and most adorable character I have ever seen on film.

Not really a complaint, but...
There are scenes in "Sunrise" that I believe are there more for impressing the audience with "look what we're able to do, visually and with sound effects!" rather than for moving the plot along (the amusement park scene is one of them). That's not really a complaint, just an observation. But hey, in the early days of film, I'm sure that was a big thing that movies needed to have to entertain the audience.

LET ME SUM UP...
You know the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words". I wouldn't be surprised if that expression originated from this movie. I spent 90 minutes never hearing one word uttered, but I can't tell you how many thoughts, emotions, and expressions of love I easily picked up in every scene. This is described as a "poetic" film, and I can definitely see why. It's a beautiful story, and very well done.

MY RATING: 8/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 48