The Way of the Game

The Way of the Game


We Just Watched a Movie – Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

October 25, 2014

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans this week.  The Manchurian Candidate next time.  As always, follow along on our iCheckMovies list, and be sure to let us know how you'd rank the movies in the comments below.  You'll also find our ranked lists on iCheckMovies: Jonathan's, Michael's, and Nathaniel's.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans – September 23, 1927

Director: F. W. Murnau
Producer: William Fox
Writers: Carl Mayer
Actors: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston
Studio: Fox Film Corporation
Distributor: Fox Film Corporation

The course of the conversation:

The last great silent film, released just a week before The Jazz Singer.
Better regarded than The Jazz Singer, and rightly so.
Jonathan just doesn't enjoy fairy tales.
You don't get to go on a date five minutes after threatening to kill someone.
At least they establish that the husband is violent.  Good?
Joyvulsion.
There's quite a bit of technical artistry.  Does that overcome the story?
Kudos to Warner Bros. and it's useful to keep their message in mind.
"Weren't the 50s great?"  "Sure, if you were white."
Michael gets confrontational when presenting his placement.
Never mind Sunrise, Jonathan talks about The Awful Truth.
Nathaniel's very impressed by the creativity of the production.
There's a joy in practical effects, but it's hard to see how 35mm film survives.
The remastered Ghostbusters doesn't really look that great.