Mit Friedrich Wilhelm Murnaus Meisterwerk “Sonnenaufgang / Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” [USA 1927] erscheint am 21. September 2009 bei Masters of Cinema die erste Blu-ray eines Stummfilms … wenn man von dem Stummfilm im Bonusmaterial der “There Will Be Blood” [USA 2007, Paul Thomas Anderson] Blu-ray einmal absieht. Der Murnau-Film wird aber nicht nur auf Blu-ray in den Handel kommen, auch ein neues 2-DVD-Set (siehe Cover links) wird erscheinen.

Wie Masters of Cinema bereits vor einiger Zeit bei Twitter bekannt gegeben hat, werden die Blu-ray und DVD neben der bekannten amerikanischen Movietone-Fassung (Bildformat: 1.20:1) auch die europäische Export-Fassung (Bildformat: 1.33:1), die als tschechische Kopie überlebt hat, enthalten. Die Export-Fassung wurde Ende 2008 erstmals innerhalb der amerikanischen “Murnau, Borzage and Fox“-DVD-Box von 20th Century Fox veröffentlicht.

Von dem ehemals angekündigten Konzept eines Blu-ray+DVD-Combo-Sets ist Masters of Cinema nach dem Ergebnis einer Umfrage im Criterion-Forum wieder abgekommen.
 
This new 2009 reissue of Sunrise (for the first time anywhere in the world in 1080p HD on Blu-ray, in addition to a newly mastered 2 x DVD set) contains two versions of the film: the previously released Movietone version, and an alternate silent version of the film recently discovered in the Czech Republic. The Blu-ray edition includes both versions in 1080p HD.

The culmination of one of the greatest careers in film history, F. W. Murnau’s Sunrise blends a story of fable-like simplicity with unparalleled visual imagination and technical ingenuity. Invited to Hollywood by William Fox and given total artistic freedom on any project he wished, Murnau’s tale of the idyllic marriage of a peasant couple (George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor) threatened by a Machiavellian seductress from the city (Margaret Livingston) created a milestone of film expressionism.

Made in the twilight of the silent era, it became both a swan song for a vanishing medium and one of the few films to instantly achieve legendary status. Winner of three Oscars for Best Actress (Gaynor), Cinematography, and a never-repeated award for “Unique and Artistic Picture”, its influence and stature has only grown with each passing year. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present a new 2xDVD and Blu-ray special edition of the film, including an all-new alternate version recently discovered in a Czech archive of a higher visual quality than any other known source.

• Restored high-definition transfers of two different versions: the American Movietone version, and the silent Czech version.
• Original English intertitles on the Movietone version, and optional English subtitles on the silent Czech version.
• Original Movietone score (mono) and alternate Olympic Chamber Orchestra score (stereo)
• Full-length audio commentary by ASC cinematographer John Bailey on the Movietone version
• Outtakes with either John Bailey commentary or intertitles
• Murnau’s 4 Devils: Traces of a Lost Film — Janet Bergstrom’s updated 40-minute documentary about the lost Murnau film
• Original theatrical trailer
• Original ‘photoplay’ script by Carl Mayer with Murnau’s handwritten annotations (150 pages in pdf format)
• 68-page illustrated booklet with numerous essays including a new reprint of a piece by Dudley Andrew