I remember seeing a commercial about a car where the narrator says it was designed in Germany, and then made in America. That saying definitely applies to the film, "Sunrise."
“Sunrise” has all the qualities of a German expressionist style film but it was made in Hollywood. Its director was F.W. Murnau, was already famous for German-Expressionist films like “Nosferatu” and “The Last Laugh,” whose camera work was groundbreaking.
German Expressionism was an artistic movement to reflect mood and emotion stylistically in the work of German Films. They used set designs that had outrageously preposterous sets. In addition, they had designs painted on walls and floors to represent lights, shadows, and objects. The filmmakers’ artistic control over scenery, light and shadow to augment the mood of a film was very appealing to many filmmakers. All of these elements are evident in this film.
The film is about a love triangle between The Man, The Wife and The Woman from The City. The Man tries to kill his wife so he could live with The Woman from the City. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. The rest of the film shows The Wife forgiving The Man and also rekindling their romance. There was one scene where The Wife nearly drowns from the storm but is rescued at the last moment. In the end, The Woman from the City heads back home as The Man and The Wife live happily with their child.
Furthermore, there were groundbreaking technologies used in the film. There were these long dolly shots that were never really used in a Hollywood film before. Also, this was one of the first films to have sound. No wonder people are calling this the “Citizen Kane” of the Silent Era.
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