The great Murnau's first Hollywood film is an extraordinarily potent
fusion of American romanticism with Teutonic fatalism, and ranks
among the summits of silent cinema. On the one hand, it's a tour de force
of cinematic virtuosity, employing elaborate camera movements,
dissolves and superimpositions, and shaping its studio-built city
into a rich back-drop for the emotional drama. On the other, it's a
deeply humane love story, beautifully played by Gaynor and O'Brien,
and transforming melodramatic cliches into something entirely
personal and very moving. Gilbert Adair called it "the most
exquisitely beautiful film in the world". Certainly its
technical mastery remains 100% modern; no director has ever surpassed
it.
