MovieChat Forums > Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) Discussion > First talkie film?

First talkie film?

posted 18 years ago by misplacedfriday
9 replies | jump to latest

I know this movie doesn't really have any dialogue whatsoever but it did predate The Jazz Singer, was this the first movie to be made with more than just the score?

[–] sprydle 18 years ago

I don't think so there was a technology that predated talkies...i cannot however for the life of me think of it's name right now but it did allow for limited sound effects and music in the film rather than an accompying piano player.

"Kid, don't threaten me. There are worse things than death, and I can do all of them."

[–] cwwilker 18 years ago

Several movies used technology like phonographs to play sound along with the film. However this could sometimes be a problem...which is why syncronized sound (used in talkies) was deveoped.
The movie Singin' in the Rain deals with a lot of this history.

[–] Hyag 17 years ago

The technology was called Movietone.

From Wikipedia:
-------------------------
The Movietone sound system is a sound-on-film method of recording sound for motion pictures which guarantees synchronisation between the sound and the picture. It achieves this by recording the sound as an optical strip on the same strip of film used to record the pictures.

Movietone was invented in 1924 by Freeman Harrison Owens with his creation of the Movietone camera, and entered commercial use when William Fox of the Fox Film Corporation bought the entire system including the patents in 1926.

Fox hired Theodore Case (1888-1944) and Earl I. Sponable (1895-1977) to merge Case's sound-on-film patents with Owens's work, and with the German Tri-Ergon patents, to create the Fox Movietone system. One of the first feature films released in the Fox Movietone system was Sunrise (1927) directed by F. W. Murnau.
-------------------------

In Sunrise the sound effects were few in number. Chuch bell was the most important I think.

[–] Vulcan300 17 years ago

This movie's sound system was BETTER in fact, than The Jazz Singer. The Jazz Singer utilized sound-on-disc methods that employed a phonograph to play to the film, but sometimes the record could break and/or it would get out of sync. Sound of film is the ideal sound system because you can never lose your syncronization.

[–] blue-7 17 years ago

William Fox's intended use for the MOVIETONE sound on film system was for the newsreel. The Fox studio were the first to offer sound newsreels. Fox wanted to hold off using sound for feature films, giving them time to perfect the system. As Warner Bros. moved ahead with their VITAPHONE (sound on disc) system, so did Fox. Fox did a number of shorts with Broadway stars to test the system out. 7th HEAVEN, with Janet Gaynor was first shown with live musical accompliment, then returned with a Movietone music track. This was Fox's first use of the Movietone system to provide a musical track for one of their features. However, SUNRISE was the first Fox feature to make its debut with a Movietone music track for the New York roadshow engagement, which beat out THE JAZZ SINGER. However, the Warner Bros. had alread released the John Barrymore feaure DON JUAN the year before with a Vitatone music and sounds effects track.
The SUNRISE score does include a few non-sync voices, such as the crowd yelling at Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien to get out of the way when they hold up traffic with their kiss. There are also sounds of horns and of clapping. Hugo Riesenfeld, who prepared the score, did a masterful job -- the score was far ahead of its time -- and is perfect for the film. On the Fox DVD, this score has been cleaned up and sounds better than it ever has!

[–] d.doherty 17 years ago

In Europe the film was released without the Fox movietone score. And at its Hollywood premiere "Sunrise" had an entirely different score from Riesenfeld's, one compiled by the Fox Carthay Theater conductor.

"I'm not dying ...., I still have a few men to kill." - YOJIMBO

[–] blue-7 17 years ago

The Hollywood showing was after the New York one. After SUNRISE finished its Hollywood engagment and returned for its first Hollywood showing at "Popular Prices", it had the Movietone score. The Movietone score was used in all cities that had installed sound systems in their theatres.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] svalinanikola 8 years ago

True, true.