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.

Previously released back in 2005 by Eureka! both as a 2-disc release and a later single disc re-issue as part of the flagship Masters of Cinema series, Sunrise has now been announced for a Masters of Cinema re-release in a new version on both Blu-ray (for the first time anywhere in 1080 HD) and 2-disc DVD, which will an all-new alternate version recently discovered in a Czech archive of a higher visual quality than any other known source.

Featuring restored high-definition transfers of both the American Movietone and the silent Czech versions, the original English intertitles on the Movietone version and optional English subtitles on the silent Czech version, and the original Movietone score (mono) and alternate Olympic Chamber Orchestra score (stereo) soundtracks, both editions will also have the following extra features:

• 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.

Sunrise will be released on UK Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD on 21st September 2009 by Eureka! as part of the Masters of Cinema series at the RRP of £22.99 for the DVD and £24.99 for the Blu-ray.