City Girl [Blu-ray]

Made at the very end of the silent film era in 1929, "City Girl" displays some of the best techniques developed during the silent era while also having the feeling of an early sound film. Nearly two hours in length, there are two distinct parts in this romantic drama: the first puts the spotlight on a young man from the country, played perfectly by the charming Charles Farrell (of "Seventh Heaven" fame) and displaying the old-fashioned qualities of a close-knit family and life on the farm. Attention to fine details as country-boy Lem meets city-girl, Kate, who works in a busy restaurant, reveals a great deal about their characters and feelings without the need for much dialogue. Lem has manners, says grace before a meal, and has an air of innocence about him, all of which attract the weary waitress who yearns for nature and animals as she struggles to live in the concrete jungle of Chicago where people are cold and cruel. This part of the story is very beautifully developed, slowly and gracefully, in the expert hands of director, F.W. Murnau, who then uses his experience and skill in German Expressionism to drastically change the mood in the second part of the story, when Lem brings Kate home as his bride, only to be severely criticized by his domineering and disapproving father. Suddenly, the idyllic romance shatters when Lem's father strikes Kate, but Lem is afraid to stand up to his father, thus leading to more tensions and heartache for the newlyweds. The entire film gets the viewer involved emotionally, both under Murnau's talented direction and the charisma of the leading actors. While Charles Farrell went on to enjoy fame in the sound era, often with "Seventh Heaven" co-star Janet Gaynor, Mary Duncan's much shorter career ended with "Morning Glory" in 1933, in which she co-starred with screen greats Katherine Hepburn and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Her role as Kate in "City Girl" allows her to express many different moods, making her the true star of this film, in my opinion. The bullying father is convincingly portrayed by David Torrence, whose successful career included many such sinister or powerful character roles.Famous German director, F.W. Murnau, who directed only 21 films before his life was cut short in an accident in the early 1930s, had an impressive record of creating many of our greatest silent movie classics: the highly-acclaimed "Sunrise", German productions "Faust", the Dracula horror classic "Nosferatu", "Phantom", "The Last Laugh" and finally "Tabu"; all of them different yet each an example of cinematic perfection.This DVD by Televista has a reasonably good picture quality throughout, appearing just a little washed-out at times, but the picture does not fit the frame, slicing off heads or ends of words in the intertitles. This is only a minor distraction, however, when the viewer becomes involved in the characters and their plight. The accompanying music also leaves a little to be desired, being a hotch-potch of various styles, from jazz to classical, but most of the time its tone does match the mood of the scenes.

This is one of director F.W. Murnau's last films. The plot involves a young man from the country traveling to Chicago to sell the family's wheat crop. Falls in love with a waitress (the City Girl) there, and brings her back to the family farm. The patriarch of the farm is aghast, hates her, and tries to drive her away. Some of the hired farm hands also try to move in on the City Girl. Climax of the film is a storm set to ruin the wheat crop before it can be harvested. Will it destroy the farm, as well as the happiness of Country Boy and City Girl?I didn't find this film exceptional, and it definitely isn't one of Murnau's best in my opinion, but it is worth watching. The musical score doesn't always fit and there are no extra features in this version. If you are a Murnau fan, its worth a look, however. Three stars just because its a Murnau film, two stars otherwise.

Be careful which one of these you buy. The Blue-Ray is the one that is restored, and the music is upbeat and matches the action of the movie. The Televista DVD is fuzzy, the picture is centered with much chopped off. The stereo doesn't fit with the action, or the scene changes., and the mood of the music is more serious. It's unclear if the one advertised as 'dual format - BlueRay + DVD' will actually play on a regular DVD player.

This is a great movie, but in the version I bought (Televista 2008) it's not a very good image transfer. Worth watching, though, for Murnau's wonderful artistry.

I find this to be one of Murnau's best films a hidden gem. Mary Duncan has a sex appeal thats is hard to explain and Charles Farrell plays the role perfectly with a boyish naive inocense. Again this movie appeals to me more than Sunrise because of its set in America and not Europe.

This is one of these restorations that looks like it was shot yesterday, the print used is visually rich and stunning, and I cannot say enough about it. Of course F. W. Murnau was the director, and it has his characteristic stylistic touch.

Great movie great copy thanks!

When you read that CITY GIRL is not in the class of Murnau's SUNRISE you haft to understand that the film was only partially completed when he walked away from it due to the studio wanting changes. Murnua, due to his land mark work on THE LAST LAUGH in Germany, had been invited by William Fox to come to Hollywood and produced anything that he wished. That film was SUNRISE, which was very expensive and though critically acclaimed it did not made a profit for the studio. Murnau's next film would be the now lost 4 DEVILS which was released in more then one version. Sound was taking over and so the studio had sound sequences worked into the film. Murnau's third film for William Fox was to be OUR DAILY BREAD which was finally released as CITY GIRL. At this period of time William Fox was fighting to keep his studio from being taken away from him. He lost control of the studio and all kinds of changes were wanted for CITY GIRL by those in control. Murnau finally walked away from it and went to the South Seas to make TABU, but he left detailed information for the Fox people as to what needed to be done to finish CITY GIRL. This was ignored and the film was largely reshot with sound sequences that had little or nothing to do with the Murnau vision. The sound version was released and was a complete flop. It had very limited screenings and was soon forgotten. What has survived is the Murnau version as far as he had completed it. So CITY GIRL is a Murnau Work-In-Progress if you will. We are very, very fortunate to have it at all and to be able to see it in an almost mint condition is wonderful! It would be so exciting to be able to see SUNRISE, 7TH HEAVEN and STREET ANGELS in prints that matched the beauty of CITY GIRL. CITY GIRL might be compared to what happened when the studio took THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS away from Orson Welles and diminished what was likely one of the screen's masterpieces.

City Girl, a film often overshadowed by F.W. Murnau's earlier silent masterpiece, 'Sunrise', is a brilliant film and really deserves a full re-evaluation. Happily, this stunning transfer by the Masters of Cinema series, allows just that.City Girl was released in 1930, just as the silent film began to fall into rapid decline with the advent of the 'talkies'. However, by this time Murnau really was a master of his craft, having cut his teeth with 1922's eerie 'Nosferatu', by the time he released 'Sunrise' six years later he had cemented his position as one of the world's most important (not to mention successful) filmakers. It was also, tragically, his penultimate film, as he was to die in a car crash the following year. Comparisons with 'Sunrise', then, are unfair, as Murnau wanted to create a different kind of film here.The story is a simple one. A farmer's son, Lem, is sent to the city to sell the families' harvest of wheat. Whilst on his eye-opening business trip, he meets Kate, a cafe worker. A wonderful sequence ensures, resulting in the girl being taken back to the farm with Lem as his wife. However, Lem's uncompromising father is deeply suspicious of this city girl, and the film follows Kate's attempts to become accepted by the father. The early interchanges between Kate and Lem are beautiful, and the scene with them playfully running through the wheatfields ahead of meeting Lem's family is one of the purest, happiest scenes ever committed to film.This film is a great starting point for anyone interested in silent cinema - there are title cards throughout, and with a fantastic soundtrack recorded in 2008, it is easy to forget you are watching a film 80 years old. The 1080p transfer by Masters of Cinema is truly breathtaking, I guarantee that only a few years ago no one would have ever imagined a film of this vintage could look so good. The image is clear and vivid, and really does give the impression of playing the original nitrate film through a projector, so stunningly sharp is the picture. Words can't do it justice - this really should be seen to be believed. It's no wonder Eureka Entertainment decided not to release this on DVD, the Blu-ray is that good. The menus continue the theme of quality, depicting a number of stills from the film. As far as extras go, there is a fantastic commentary by David Kalat, who obviously knows the subject inside out. Though I thought this would be a very dry commentary, I was pleasantly surprised - this interesting and informative commentary provides detail on everything you would want to know about the film. There is also a booklet inside, containing essays and some stills from the film.If you are already a fan of silent film, you will undoubtedly know of Murnau, and the quality of both the film and the transfer are both high enough for me to unreservedly recommend this title. If, however, you are new to silent cinema, this is an excellent place to start, and this release really does breath new life into this vintage classic.

Whilst not his most celebrated film, Murnau's 'City Girl' is a great watch, no proclaimed masterpiece, but significant in being a very late silent and his last American film. Often compared to 1927's 'Sunrise', it's running theme is that of the differences, and more evidently the simularities, between city and country life. It has a nice story - Kate (Mary Duncan), a street-smart waitress from the city dreaming of a life in the country meets the attention of a sweet and naive country boy called Lem (Charles Farrell), on his first trip to the city. They marry after two days, and head back to his home in the country, where his dominating father (David Torrence) crushes Kate's idea of a dream rural life. The film is superbly made and full of brilliant imagery and techniques, my only criticisms being Duncan's occasional overacting and a lack of zeal that has left this film in the shadow of 'Sunrise', in my mind the better film, but not by far.As usual with Masters of Cinema silent releases, the film is presented sensitevely restored with a very suitible score, accompanying the images with a nice country twang.

Everything about the film was beautiful - the cinematography, the storytelling, the acting and the score. The quality of the film is stunning for such an old film. How sad that silent film virtually disappeared as an art form.

Beautiful print and great service of an excellent movie.

Great movie