BYU

Harold B. Lee Library

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

George O’Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston
Commentary: James D’Arc
Live accompaniment:
Blaine Gale, The Organ Loft

  • Time: 7:00 PM
  • Date: Friday, February 10, 2006
  • Place: HBLL Auditorium, 1st Floor; Admission is free; arrive early for seats.


About the Event

Sunrise was one of the last silent films and, as such, is proof of why so many filmmakers lamented the coming of sound. The plot of Sunrise deals with the contrast between a man’s marriage to a sweet country girl and his infatuation with a woman of the city. With Expressionist flair, the famous German director F.W. Murnau, in his first American-produced film, turns a simple story into a profoundly unforgettable movie about the power of fidelity in marriage and the eternal nature of love and commitment. As one critic wrote, light used in the film is the metaphor for the human relationships within it. In the first year of the Academy Awards, Sunrise won for “Unique and Artistic Picture,” Gaynor for Best Actress, and Karl Struss for Best Cinematography. Fox Film Corp. 1927. 95 mins.

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