Our screening for this week, “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” (1927), is a classic silent film by F.W. Murnau who brought German expressionism to the studios of Hollywood. When I first watched this film, about a year ago, I was confused as to why the characters didn’t have any names, until I realized why would they if there is no dialogue anyway. However, music in a silent film is very important as it could spark emotion and build intensity throughout every scene.
When watching the film, I feel it’s important to understand where Murnau came from which is the Weimar era of cinema in Germany. Films were mostly fueled by artistic movements coming out of the countries turmoil. Expressionist films often use the mise en scene, production, montage, editing, acting, etc. to indirectly portray to the audience how the character is feeling emotionally or psychologically. For example, the scene where the man leaves his house to meet with the woman from the city, he walks through darkness, light only coming from the full moon. The set design was created to have these dark features to read to the audience as something evil and malicious about to take place. Even the characters features seem to be a lot darker. This then leads to the murderous plan between the man and the city woman. Since the set was built in a studio, it allowed Murnau to take full control over every component put into the film.
There was also a combination of expressionism and realism in the film. Murnau would take realistic elements (the moon, smoke, etc.) and apply them to the scenery to give a sense of realism to the audience. For example, in the same scene we are introduced to the man’s mistress, it is believable to the viewer that the source of light is coming from the moon. Light is a very important element throughout the film as it not only adds realistic aspects but also expressive qualities. During the times the man is with the film’s antagonist (the woman from the city), the lighting is mostly backlit and soft and we only see her during the night. She also is only seen wearing dark clothing and has dark hair which highlights she is the dark or evil character. However, when we see the man with his wife, we usually see her in the day, the lighting is high key but also soft. The wife is also seen in lighter clothing and has lighter hair, and has an overall softer look.
It makes sense that this film has this blend of expressionism and realism being that it was directed by a German expressionist filmmaker and produced by Hollywood producer, William Fox. “Sunrise” blurs the line between German and Hollywood filmmaking, marrying the two styles. It goes way beyond what makes a film expressionist or realist. The film created a reality the audience believed as the set’s aesthetic hinted at the intentions that lied within the characters. The fluidity between styles is what makes it such a notable and beautiful film.
History of the Motion Picture 