Well, wasn't that delightful? So far, my slow journey through silent film history has been mixed. The Birth of a Nation was repugnant. I liked The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari more than Nosferatu. I prefer Buster Keaton over Charlie Chaplin, although The Kid is my favorite of either of their movies. I appreciated Battleship Potemkin for its craft while not liking it all that much.
Sunrise is comfortably my favorite silent movie now. This shouldn't be a surprise either. It's on a bunch of "greatest movies" lists. It even holds the distinction of being the first Oscar snub. At the first Oscars, they didn't have things figured out. There was a Best Picture award and a Best Unique and Artistic Picture award. Wings won Best Picture. Sunrise wasn't even nominated for that. Instead, it won Best Unique and Artistic Picture. I imagine the two awards at the time were considered two sides of the same coin, the same way the Golden Globes award Drama and Comedy/Musical separately. In the history books though, Wings gets listed among Best Picture winners. While I haven't seen Wings, I can tell you that it is on far fewer Greatest Films lists and Sunrise beat it into the National Film Registry by 8 years. Sunrise was actually an inductee in the very first year of the Registry.
Sunrise isn't a greatly complex movie. It's more about the simple pleasures. Following Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien as they explore the city is delightful. I even got a legitimate laugh or two, which I wasn't expecting. Sure, the handling of the fact that the husband was cheating on Gaynor and tried to kill her earlier that day is problematic when you think about it. I'm giving some narrative leeway to a 90 year old movie though.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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