Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

In 1920s Hollywood and the German cinema industry were rivals, but they also co-operated, mostly through exchange of ideas and, more importantly, talents. Hollywood fared better in such exchanges and probably the most spectacular example was provided by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, the celebrated director of German Expressionist classics like *Nosferatu*. His Hollywood debut, 1927 drama *Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans*,…

After critical and artistic success of “The Last Laugh”, expressionist master director Murnau was lured to America. This did not mean though, that his expressionist mindset would be left behind, au contraire. His skills in this regard was probably at the highpoint and even Lang would be hard pressed to out-do him. Where Murnau excells compared to Lang could be said to be in the existentialist expression of the human…