8 reviews
This film apparently contained the first ever double exposure, one of G.A. Smith's many inventions. George Albert Smith is sometimes called 'the English Melies', but given the fact that Melies would watch Smith's films and then steal their ideas, perhaps Melies should be called 'the French G.A. Smith'.
The last laugh (as it is known in the English speaking world) stands alongside "Birth of a nation", "Battleship Potemkin" and "Citizen Kane" as one of the most innovative and influential movies of all time. One viewing of this film, and no sane person could deny that Murnau is the king of German cinema, and perhaps the greatest of them all!
This picture marks the peak, probably, of Britain's free cinema movement (the equivalent of the French new wave, only much better). What film made since is richer, more dynamic, more expressive or more stunning than "if..."???? None, I say!
Not as mind blowing as "Intolerance", as Epic as "Birth of a nation" or beautiful as "Broken Blossoms", this film still holds up very well in Griffith's catalogue. Some great stuff, and many masterly sequences. Funnily, this was made at a time when Griffith's influence and credibility was waning, but in many ways this film is as influential as any of his others. "Isn't life wonderful" takes social realism to a new heightened level, and had immediate impact on G.W. Pabst when he made "Joyless Streets", which in turn influenced the entire Italian Neo-realist movement! This film confirms Griffith's position as the most important director of them all.
Perhaps the most overblown and ridiculous flick I have sat through. Also, did Picasso's "Les demoiselles D'avignon" really go down on the Titanic? I thought it was hanging in the museum of modern art in New York? Am I the only person who thought this was odd? Then again, the movie was so unbalanced and ill thought out that this doesn't seem out of place.
This is one of only about 8 or 9 films made between 1890 and present day that I would give 10 out of 10. "Sunrise" represents the pinnacle of achievement, technically and poetically of F.W. Murnau, and arguably stands on top of all the brilliant films made around 1927, which represent the greatest period of movie making ever!!!! Hyperbole? Yes, but my comments are not unfounded!
A print of this movie was found a few years ago in an Italian monastery, apparently. It is particularly interesting because it is the film Murnau shot right before his seminal "Nosferatu". It contains some incredible exterior shots, but is not as amazing as "sunrise" or "the last laugh". Still, Murnau's reputation as one of the TRUE film geniuses remains intact.
I cannot think of any movie that is as great a departure from contemporary film making than this. No movie maker before or since has taken so large and radical a step as Griffith made in 1916. The editing techniques and narrative are without precedent, and remain shocking today. Griffith's masterpiece truly puts every other epic to shame (except perhaps "Lawrence of Arabia").