Overview
A tale of love and betrayal unfolds on the shores of a tranquil lake.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- dreamy
- foreboding
- intimate
- classic cinema night
- film history study
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Murnau's film as a landmark of silent cinema, praising its emotionally powerful fable, innovative visual language, and luminous performances.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Murnau turns the city, countryside, lake, and transit between them into fluid visual representations of temptation, danger, and reconciliation.
The farmer's attraction to the city woman leads to a plot against his neglected wife, while the marriage's survival depends on remorse and renewed devotion.
The couple's country life is placed against the city woman's urban sophistication and the destabilizing journey into the city.
George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, and Margaret Livingston carry the fable's emotional and moral conflict through highly physical screen acting and subtitles.
Films like Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, and why
The Passion of Joan of Arc
shares poetic visual storytelling, moral melodrama, marital crisis, and romantic redemption
The Crowd
shares silent-era visual innovation, heightened emotional expression, and tragic romantic tension
The Earrings of Madame de...
shares lyrical black-and-white cinematography, relationship-centered drama, and psychologically intense moral conflict
Days of Heaven
shares fable-like storytelling, rural life, and a marriage threatened by temptation
Movie Details
- Director
- F. W. Murnau
- Release Date
- 1927-11-04
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 7.8 / 10 (935)
Cast
- George O'Brien
- Janet Gaynor
- Margaret Livingston
- Bodil Rosing
- J. Farrell MacDonald
- Ralph Sipperly
- Jane Winton
- Arthur Housman
- Eddie Boland
- Herman Bing
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans about?
- A visually rapturous silent fable follows a farmer tempted into betraying his wife and discovering the possibility of forgiveness.
- What is Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans as mild.
- What did critics think of Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans?
- Critics broadly regard Murnau's film as a landmark of silent cinema, praising its emotionally powerful fable, innovative visual language, and luminous performances.
- Which films are like Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans?
- Films with a similar feel include The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Crowd, The Earrings of Madame de..., and Days of Heaven.
- How long is Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans?
- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans runs 94 minutes.
- Where can I watch Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans?
- In United States, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
