Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

One of the earliest examples of a love triangle in film, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans follows a man who loves two women. The solution? Murder, of course. The characters are unnamed to help add to the film’s allegorical nature, and it was also one of the first films to use music and sound effects. Scholars have remembered the film as an innovative, unique, and groundbreaking universal story.

Production

Directed by F. W. Murnau

Produced by William Fox

Screenplay by Carl Mayer

Based on "The Excursion to Tilsit" by Hermann Sudermann

Starring George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston

Music by Hugo Riesenfeld, Ernö Rapée

Cinematography by Charles Rosher, Karl Struss

Edited by Harold D. Schuster

Production company: William Fox Studio

Distribution & Stats

Distributed by Fox Film Corporation

Release date: September 23, 1927

Running time: 95 minutes

Country: United States

Language: Silent film, English subtitles