CLASSIC MOVIE OF THE WEEK: SUNRISE

Sunrise (Not Rated)

1927

95 Minutes

Fullscreen: 1.33:1

Movies don’t get much nicer than “Sunrise.” The first time I saw it, I didn’t know what it was about. Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide describes the plot as a haunting saga about a husband plotting to murder his wife for another girl. But that’s only half the story, for in this film, the characters learn of redemption, forgiveness, and love in an exquisite way like no other.
Like I said before, the movie starts on a tense note as the citizens of a small village notice a sad affair. The man of the story (George O’Brien) is a farmer with a wife (Janet Gaynor) and one child. But after a happy flashback of them together, we slide to the grim future as he throws everything out the window and has an affair with a city girl (Margaret Livingston). She promises him happiness and he must believe it, because in the next scene we see them strolling along the creek, smooching (!). It seems like he just wants to have some wifeless fun with another woman, but she seriously wants him, which leads her to a powerful plot: She wants him to kill his wife. At first he’s against it, but the idea kind of grows on him. And the next thing we know, they’re in a boat on the lake and the wife has no idea of her impending doom.
A great thing about the silent era was that the actors didn’t need words to show emotions (as long as they were really good at their job). The two leads are fantastic in the rowboat. The wife seems so happy, the man seems confused, and when he’s about to dunk her, her face looks seriously hurt. He can’t do it. He rows as fast as he can back to shore, the guilt rising. And as soon as they weigh, she runs and he shouts the classic line to her “Don’t be afraid of me!” And then, something marvelous happens.
The man chases her halfway into town, and she still won’t forgive him. Finally, they go into a church and see a wedding. Listening to the vows, he begins bawling and knows that his wife deserves better. They make up and start a tour of the city, mending their love. They discover what life hold along with the romance they lost so long ago. It’s a tearjerker of a movie that needs no improvements whatsoever. It’s an important movie that will stand the test of time, so long as love lasts.

Grade: A

And that's why "Sunrise" is the Classic Movie of the Week.

P.S. I've included the first 10 minutes of the film to give you a taste. If you like it, you can see the rest on Youtube.com