SUNRISE (1927)
With live music (Graeme Costin), 94 minutes.
Tickets: $25/$20
General seating - not reserved or numbered
(T 0419 267 318)
Winner of three Oscars for Best Actress (Gaynor), Cinematography, and a never-repeated award for 'Unique and Artistic Picture', its influence and stature has only grown with each passing year.
Its cinematography showcases some of the most sophisticated and technically skilled work of the silent era and matched by equally astonishing sets evokes a visual world that appears frozen in time and yet timeless.
Sunrise enjoys the great distinction of being one of the finest silent films ever made, having won three Oscars at the very first Academy Awards ceremony for the 1927-28 season. One of these awards was for “Unique and Artistic Picture”, and down to this day Sunrise remains quite simply an outstandingly beautiful work of art.
The cinematography of Sunrise is some of the most sophisticated and technically skilled work of the silent era, fully deserving of an Oscar for Best Cinematography. There are dozens of spectacular superimpositions, matte shots and montages in the film, and the set design is equally impressive with elements of pastoral countryside, Bauhaus-inspired architectural design, and fantastical Expressionist interior sets.
The film’s overall strong Expressionist influence is due to German director F.W. Murnau, whose work in silent films is counted among Germany’s finest with titles such as The Last Laugh, Faust, Nosferatu, Phantom and Tartuffe, which stand alongside Germany’s other highly acclaimed films such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.
Sunrise was the first film Murnau made in the United States and represents the pinnacle of cinematic sophistication which was attained near the end of the silent era in 1929. Based on a German short story, the plot of Sunrise is deceptively simple: a simple farmer is tempted by a sophisticated city woman to murder his wife and go to the city with her, but on the verge of the carefully planned drowning ‘accident’ he loses his nerve and thus begins a complete emotional and spiritual turnaround for the couple as he rediscovers his love for his wife. A dramatic twist near the end, however, adds suspense and leads to a dramatic climax.
What appears so simple is turned into an eloquent work of visual poetry by use of lighting and shadows to express moods and feelings, deliberate lingering on details, use of visual metaphors and heightened melodramatic acting. Expressionism is the art of emphasizing emotion over realism, and in German silent films this was often achieved through some distortion, exaggerated lighting, and expressive acting.
As a result, Sunrise is highly stylized and is more like an unreal fairytale, and as such has a timeless quality and also a universality about it, such as in the fact that the characters have no names and the place could be anywhere in the world. This again puts the main focus on the story of the people and their emotions, and this is underscored by the subtitle of Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
Inspired by Expressionist art and theatre in Germany, Murnau managed to make every frame of Sunrise look like a classic painting such as a Rembrandt, such was the extensive work on set designs and attention to details. The seriousness of the story is balanced with light and happy scenes in an amusement park including antics with a drunken pig and a lively peasant dance.
Barbara Underwood
Tickets: $25/$20
General seating - not reserved or numbered
(T 0419 267 318)
Winner of three Oscars for Best Actress (Gaynor), Cinematography, and a never-repeated award for 'Unique and Artistic Picture', its influence and stature has only grown with each passing year.
Its cinematography showcases some of the most sophisticated and technically skilled work of the silent era and matched by equally astonishing sets evokes a visual world that appears frozen in time and yet timeless.
Sunrise enjoys the great distinction of being one of the finest silent films ever made, having won three Oscars at the very first Academy Awards ceremony for the 1927-28 season. One of these awards was for “Unique and Artistic Picture”, and down to this day Sunrise remains quite simply an outstandingly beautiful work of art.
The cinematography of Sunrise is some of the most sophisticated and technically skilled work of the silent era, fully deserving of an Oscar for Best Cinematography. There are dozens of spectacular superimpositions, matte shots and montages in the film, and the set design is equally impressive with elements of pastoral countryside, Bauhaus-inspired architectural design, and fantastical Expressionist interior sets.
The film’s overall strong Expressionist influence is due to German director F.W. Murnau, whose work in silent films is counted among Germany’s finest with titles such as The Last Laugh, Faust, Nosferatu, Phantom and Tartuffe, which stand alongside Germany’s other highly acclaimed films such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.
Sunrise was the first film Murnau made in the United States and represents the pinnacle of cinematic sophistication which was attained near the end of the silent era in 1929. Based on a German short story, the plot of Sunrise is deceptively simple: a simple farmer is tempted by a sophisticated city woman to murder his wife and go to the city with her, but on the verge of the carefully planned drowning ‘accident’ he loses his nerve and thus begins a complete emotional and spiritual turnaround for the couple as he rediscovers his love for his wife. A dramatic twist near the end, however, adds suspense and leads to a dramatic climax.
What appears so simple is turned into an eloquent work of visual poetry by use of lighting and shadows to express moods and feelings, deliberate lingering on details, use of visual metaphors and heightened melodramatic acting. Expressionism is the art of emphasizing emotion over realism, and in German silent films this was often achieved through some distortion, exaggerated lighting, and expressive acting.
As a result, Sunrise is highly stylized and is more like an unreal fairytale, and as such has a timeless quality and also a universality about it, such as in the fact that the characters have no names and the place could be anywhere in the world. This again puts the main focus on the story of the people and their emotions, and this is underscored by the subtitle of Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
Inspired by Expressionist art and theatre in Germany, Murnau managed to make every frame of Sunrise look like a classic painting such as a Rembrandt, such was the extensive work on set designs and attention to details. The seriousness of the story is balanced with light and happy scenes in an amusement park including antics with a drunken pig and a lively peasant dance.
Barbara Underwood
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SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
The Event Organisers have an obligation to implement all reasonably practical measures to ensure the health and safety of the patrons, musicians and organisers.
If you are feeling unwell, please do not enter the venue.
The latest NSW Government advice about COVID can be accessed at https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19.
The Event Organisers have an obligation to implement all reasonably practical measures to ensure the health and safety of the patrons, musicians and organisers.
If you are feeling unwell, please do not enter the venue.
The latest NSW Government advice about COVID can be accessed at https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19.
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Saturday 8 February 2025 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (UTC+11)
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Contact Details
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Location
Roseville Uniting Church
7 Lord Street, ROSEVILLE NSW 2069
Short walk from Roseville Station - eastern side.
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MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE - 8 February 2025 - Sunrise (1927)
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