Review of Sunrise (1985) by Daniel N — 30 Nov 2014

The 1st half of Sunrise directed by FW Murnau is one of the greatest films of all-time. There was a moment during the film that I said to myself, wow This is Better Than Citizen Kane.

*Spoilers* The story loses focus when the genre switches into a comedy and change-shifts musical genres. Nature as a conflict is not foreshadowed, and several insert shots could of saved the Unity and cohesiveness of the plot/story. A weapon was inserted and never used by the end, which is a disappointment. (in fact, this scene caused a loss of empathy on the protagonist 10fold) There are some incredibly beautiful shots in this film, some of the best I've ever seen, and much much better than the cover. In fact, some of the couple close-ups could be posted on a "History of Cinema" book and it would be worthy of iconic stature. Once again, sorry to repeat myself but some of the Close-ups could of replaced this cover. And that is another mistake this film makes. It repeats itself too often and Happiness done twice within a film gets redundant. The Photoshoot scene could of been removed, and they could of cut to the Party/Carnival scenes in order to create contrast with the previous Barbershop scenes and the film would of benefited greatly. The restaurant scene is one of the best music-score-to-picture scenes I have ever witnessed. The Church wedding scene suffers from over-crying syndrome (which is when the actor weeps and then the audience becomes emotionally distant from the occurrence and events). I was praying for more close-ups at the end of the film, as the intensity skyrockets, and I even prayed for the foreshadowed weapon to be utilized again. I wish Murnau brought back some of the beautiful introduction shots/locations to balance the ending, and I could feel the lack of confidence in his final Close-up shots, in which the couple is off-centered in the frame. How strange!

Once again, the 1st half of the film is one of the best cinematic experiences I have encountered. Gripping, powerful, and interesting in concept. Unfocused plot-line, and lack of goal/motivations/cohesiveness are the weaknesses. I feel like Murnau could be one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time if it weren't for his weaknesses. Seems to be a common occurrence among influential directors which makes me sad. :(.

Added Thoughts: The music in the restaurant scene is the high point of the film imo, and all musical genres/themes could of been based off that one scene alone. That is how powerful it is. Also, the transitions and journeys from Boat to Train to City etc. was incredibly moving and powerful. I loved the song played there.