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January 1997, Week 5

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Subject:
From:
Leo Enticknap <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 30 Jan 1997 18:09:08 +0000
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On Wed, 29 Jan 1997 16:35:47 -0400 Ron Hoffman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
 
 
> I would appreciate anyone providing me with references as to books,
> articles, websites, etc. that will help me gain some good background on
> F.W. Murnau's *Sunrise.*  Thanks in advance.
 
Try Lotte H. Eisner's biography of Murnau - although most of what she writes is
tainted by Kracauer-esque cack re. psychological determinism she covers the
historical points comprehensively and cites a few contemporary sources.
 
Its years since I've read the book, but I think Allen & Gomery's "Film History"
says something about "Sunrise" in the context of Hugo Reisenfeld's score being
printed as an optical track - using the Fox Movietone system - the "first" time
it had been done for a feature film (i.e. "Sunrise" was to SOF what "Don Juan"
was to SOD).
 
The short story on which the film was based is "Die Reise nach Tilsit" by
Herman Sudermann, published in the anthology "Litauische Geschichten" (1912 I
think).  There's a scholarly edited reprint done in Glasgow during the '80s
(again, I think; haven't read it since I was an undergrad) and was remade by
the Nazis under that title, directed by Veit Harlan (of "Jud Suss" infamy) in
1939.  In this version, Murnau's "woman from the city" is Frau Sapieska, a
Polish Jew.  Incidentally, I've been trying to get hold of it for years; if
anyone knows of a source, preferably video, but a 16mm/35mm copy somewhere in
Europe and importable to the UK at reasonable cost would do.
 
Hope this helps
Leo
 
----------------------
Leo Enticknap
Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture
*** look at our website on http://www.ex.ac.uk/bill.douglas/ ***
University of Exeter, UK
 
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