Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

F. W. Murnau, Fox, 1927, after Hermann Sudermann's Die Reise nach Tilsit, scenario by Carl Mayer. A farmer (George O'Brien), tempted by a city woman (Margaret Livingston), takes his wife (Janet Gaynor) on the water. Charles Rosher and Karl Struss photographed; Rochus Gliese's city was forced perspective, with sloping floors, bulbs that shrink toward the back, and children dressed as adults on the terrace. The first Academy Awards gave it Unique and Artistic Picture and cinematography. Released with a Movietone score. National Film Registry, 1989.