SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS
1927 | F W Murnau | 1hr 35m | U
“This song of the man and his wife is of no-place and everyplace: you might hear it anywhere at anytime. For wherever the sun rises and sets…in the city’s turmoil or under the open sky on the farm, life is much the same, sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet.” So begins F.W. Murnau’s astonishing film. It is one of the most moving stories ever told on film. Labelled simply ‘The Man’ (George O Brien) and ‘The Wife’ (Janet Gaynor) the protagonists embark on an adventure of temptation, reconciliation, re-consecration and redemption, told with a lyrical simplicity of timelessness and universality.
Sunrise is silent film at its most poetic. Made with an unlimited budget it uses an amazing array of cinematic touches, with a plot that keeps the audience transfixed. Wurlitza have added music that will be both familiar and unfamiliar, from Bach and Villa Lobas to Talking Heads, Echo and the Bunnymen, Madness and the Vapors, as well as some of our own. This is a truly unique and memorable experience, and great for all ages.
Debut performance: 2006.
