The Jazz Singer (1927)

I wasn't sure what to expect here.  I knew it wasn't a full talkie, and I knew the synced sound was mostly used for musical performances.  The word "talkie" is important here, btw - The Jazz Singer isn't the first sound film in the broadest sense.  Sunrise had an on-film soundtrack consisting of the score and a few effects, such as applause (and I think thunder, but maybe the cinematography just made me remember thunder...), as did a few other films.  What Jazz Singer pioneered was discernible words coming out of people's mouths in a feature film.  This only happens twice as spoken dialogue, but both times are impressive.  The first synced dialogue ever: "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet!"  How perfect is that?

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

I'd never heard of this movie before I began assembling this list.  Not sure how it fell under the radar - I guess its memory was trampled by Metropolis and The Jazz Singer, which came out the same year.  But the name kept popping up as I did my research - not usually at the top of the list, but on every list.  And I thought, "Huh."  And then upon closer inspection, I saw that it was directed by F. W. Murnau, famed German expressionist director best remembered for bringing us this image.  And I thought, "Huh."  So, we watched it.  And I thought, ...well you get it.  The point is, why didn't anybody mention this one before?

The Jazz Singer

This post is also a bit late, seeing as we watched this on Friday night.  But I have a good excuse on this one - my sister was in town for the weekend from Colorado and I spent most of it with her, including all day Sunday at Disneyland and California Adventure.  :)

Okay, so, the Jazz Singer.  The first talkie!  Well, sort of.  This movie was not at all what I expected.  And I hated it.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

We watched this movie nearly two weeks ago, and I've just not had a spare moment to sit down and write my review.  But I have some time now, so I say better late than never.

Now I just have to try to remember what my original thoughts/impressions were.  :D

If you're like me, you probably assume that a movie with this kind of title must be a religious Adam and Eve sort of tale.  And if that's what you think, then you're wrong.  Haha.  Robin told me I was wrong but I didn't believe him.  So I was surprised when the movie started and sure enough, it's got nothing to do with Adam, Eve, or the Bible.  Thankfully.