Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans 1927

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: Released in 1927, the last year of silent film, it's a pinnacle of that lost art. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Rich, strange and gorgeous, F.W. Murnau's Sunrise shows what an artist of the late silent era could accomplish cinematically, backed by an open checkbook and fueled by the highest aspirations even in the simplest of morality tales. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: For his Hollywood debut, in 1927, the German director F. W. Murnau brought a slender story to life with a breathtaking display of cinematic virtuosity, creating one of the masterworks of the art form. Read more

Mordaunt Hall, New York Times: Mr. Murnau proves by Sunrise that he can do just as fine work in Hollywood as he ever did in Germany. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Sunrise is often rightfully noted for its technical achievements but what is often overlooked is its emotional power. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: F.W. Murnau's Sunrise (1928) conquered time and gravity with a freedom that was startling to its first audiences. To see it today is to be astonished by the boldness of its visual experimentation. Read more

TIME Magazine: Picturesquely soporific. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: An example of True Love styled to cinema perfection. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: In its artistry, dramatic power and graphic suggestion it goes a long way toward realizing the promise of this foreign director in his former works, notably Faust. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: F.W. Murnau's career-peak nova, the crowning film from that sacred, edge-of-the-abyss year of 1927. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Reckless, romantic, and extravagant. Read more