Sunrise

• director

  Murnau
• director's contract

  got as much money as he needed to make whatever film he wanted
• director's tactic

  made lighting a tool to tell a story. sometimes unnatural lighting, if necessary, to tell a point. took Griffith's editing techniques to the next level with CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Janet Gaynor


  stand-out actress, showed real life looking emotions. played the wife
• George O'Brien

  played husband, pretty good actor
• kiss between husband and hoe


  symbol that lust is stronger than reason
• Defocused photography


  the smaller the aperture, the less light can come through. but also, the more focused the picture is
• intellectual montage

  something meaningful in foreground and the background. these two things are juxtaposed
• only true fully rounded character in the film

  husband
• studio where film created

  William Fox's Studio
• box office success or flop?

  flop, however the film did win an oscar bc film art critics saw brilliance in it
• intertitles


  the words that come up in between shots to tell viewers what character is saying.

  the scenes and intertitles were artistic. example: "couldn't she drown" melts away after it was on screen
• theme of film

  the male dilemma. the showing of the conflict between reason and instinct. however, when the wife forgives the husband, symbol that love is the only thing that can fully heal. COMMON THEME OF GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST FILMS
• wife


  represents good women, always wearing light colors
• hoe

  represents lust, bad women. always wearing dark colors
• symbols for the journey of life

  opening scenes of boats and trains

  husband's trip to see hoe

  murdurous sailboat ride

  trolly ride into town

  wedding

  rebirth of the main couple in Luna Park sequence
• irony of the original film

  wife drowns at the end of the film by a storm. Mornau cuts this out in his version by only having her almost drown. however, she is saved and her and the husband live happy. maybe this is due to William Fox saying the OG version wouldn't do well with American public
• change of filming of husband and wife from beginning to end

  begins with constructive one shot or obstructive two shots. after murdurous scene, as the movie moves long past that and they start to be in love again, we see the two move closer together in each shot, and less obstructions
• what movement is the film sunrise a part of?

  german expressionism
• What are the characteristics of German Expressionism in film?

  - distortion + manipulation

  -High angles

  -Deep shadows/chiaroscuro lighting

  -Extreme camera tilting

  Impossible sets
• state the mise en scene of 'meeting the woman from the city' scene

  mirror/hairbrush -

  messy room -

  black short hair + silk black clothes -

  candle
• He returns home scene

  - low and high contrast lighting - expressionist - shadows

  - ominous music
• he returns home - wife shot - lighting


  cross like shadow - wife's sleeping face - christian imagery -evokes crucifix -aligns audience with her as the right partner

  - lighting illuminates her face - purity + innocence

  - venetian blind effect - she's trapped in loveless marriage
• he returns home - husband shot - lighting

  lighting - shadow falls on his sleeping face - torment

  positioned- separate beds - physically distanced - heads are side by side - reflects - no matter how far apart they will always be true loves
• what 2 superimposed shot displays the husbands mental state

  - superimposed image of lake - illusion of him submerged in water - drowning in his primitive desires - destroying him

  - further employed by motif of bells (sound) - emblematic of funeral tolls

  - superimposed image of woman from the city kissing + hugging him as he tries to turn away
• opening scene - what does this say about the city (p1)

  - super imposed edit- hustling bustling train station - mise en scene of bar like windows - sense of entrapment

  - smoke from the train - dominates the frame of shot - urban life mystifies people
• opening scene - what does this say about the city (p2)

  layered combination of non diegetic sound - fast paced- chaos

  further augmented - superimpose images - illusion of an implicit collision of trains
• boat + raunchy woman significance

  boat belching out smoke - pollution + dirt

  raunchy flirtatious naked woman - corruption

  negative villainous light of the city
• What is the film that is studied?

  Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
• When was it made?

  1927
• Who is the director?

  F.W. Murnau
• Who was it produced by?

  Fox Film Corporation
• What is the rationale for study (conclusions!!!)

  A unique film with a mix of a German Expressionist film produced by a Hollywood studio

  Reflects silent film at its peak as an art form
• What was the first 'talkie'

  The Jazz Singer 1927
• What was a talkie?

  A motion picture sound
• Why did many filmmakers dislike talkies?

  Cinema was regarded as a visual medium + sound took away from it
• What are the two types of dialogue?

  Expositional and on the nose
• What is expositional dialogue?

  Dialogue explains something to the audience
• What is on the nose dialogue?


  A character states exactly what they want/how they feel
• What do silent films appear to be like for a modern audience?

  Pace can feel slow

  Decoding film form to understand the narrative

  Exaggerated acting