The 1927 silent film Sunrise and the 1948 western film Red River both contain a plot element that is crucial to the thematic elements of the movie: a scene where one of the main characters is trying to kill the other.

In Sunrise this scene occurs at the beginning of the movie when the couple is boating on the river. The husband who has been influenced by the city girl, has the intent of drowning his wife. A battle occurs within the man as he has doubts about going through with the murder, and the helpless wife can only watch in fear as he draws nearer. Ultimately, the husband decides he has made a grave mistake, and this sets up the course of the rest of the movie which focuses on the theme of a rebirth of love and relationships.

In Red River, the confrontation scene occurs at the end of the movie. Matthew Garth and his adopted-father Dunson are staged in a scene reminiscent of a classic western duel. Dunson has arrived it the town with the intent to kill him as he believes Matt has committed an act of betrayal against him. The conflict is only diffused by Matt’s love interest Tess as she screams at them both, making them realize that they still love one another, and highlighting a theme of forgiveness.

In both films, Dunson and the husband have the opportunity to kill their loved one, and neither follow through with it. On the other hand, the victims are depicted in different ways. Matt fist fights Dunson until Tess intervenes, but the wife is depicted in helpless manor. The contrast of the vulnerable wife to the strong and independent Tess highlights a thematic issue of the time period. Sunrise is depicting the male dominated world of the time, hence the helpless wife, but in Red River the conflict is ended only because of Tess’ actions. The shift from a vulnerable depiction of females to a strong and more individualized Tess reflects the wave of feminism and increase of female rights that occurred throughout the 20th century, and is still happening today.

The climactic confrontations in Sunrise and Red River result from strain put on the relationship of two individuals. The boat crossing scene is the result of the protagonist being lulled by an outsider from the city. Conversely, the confrontation in Red River is the result of a power struggle within a family. The fight in Sunrise was more emotional (guilt, fear, love) while Red River was more physical (the two duked it out). Still, both brought up and resolved emotions revolving around love.

Both take ample time to build into the scene. In Sunrise, the notion of murder is introduced by the city lady, and it persists in the viewers’ mind for the lengthy period of time it takes for the couple to finally get on the boat and to the middle of the river. Likewise, the threat of Dunson killing Matt was introduced long before the confrontation. This created high tension leading into both the scenes.

At the point of confrontation in Sunrise, the camera is angled over the husband’s back with the wife facing him at a diagonal. Similarly, when Dunson first comes to Matt, the camera is angled over Matt’s back with Dunson facing him at a diagonal.

The progression of the score is also similar in both movies. At the confrontation, both break from the recurring theme of the rest of the score into a section with darker tones and lower instruments (especially Red River in which the main theme was constantly repeated). There is also a trumpet section leading the melody on top of the two bands. The turning point in the scenes (where it is confirmed that the protagonist isn’t trying to kill) is symbolized by a bell tone. In Sunrise a literal bell is playing as the husband starts to sit down and row back, and the sound is non-diegetic. In Red River the bell tone sounds when Dunson throws Matt’s gun on the railing; however, this sound is contrastingly diegetic.

The forefront themes in the confrontation in Sunrise are love and faithfulness. By the end of the scene the man’s love and faithfulness to his wife were rekindled. Similarly, love and friendship where at stake in Red River. Despite Dunson and Matt’s conflicts, both came to realize that these ideals triumphed and that they couldn’t permanently hurt each other.

The first crossing in Sunrise and the the fistfight between Dunson and Matt in Red River are similar in the essence that they both involve the a struggle between two people who love each other dearly. The man in Sunrise and Matt in Red River both aggressively confront their problems by either attempting to kill the other or by revolting against their opponent’s original plans and doing the opposite. They differ in plot, however, because in Sunrise the man fails to carry out his plan while Matt actually executes it and gets others to eagerly join him. Yet, in the end, these crises provide the same results as both pairs eventually reconcile and forgive each other.

Most importantly, both share the theme of a pair who have worked hard towards a goal and lifestyle, only to have it turned around because one person loses faith. The couple in Sunrise lose their love for each other, and with that, the man decides to throw all that they have established together (a living, a farm, and a child) to pursue another lady from the city. On the other hand, Matt from Red River opposes his long-time companion by pivoting his team to Abilene, Kansas instead of the place Dunson had long planned to head all because of rumors that the railroad had reached there. Both characters were willing to give up everything to go towards unknown territory and set up a new entire future hastily all because of something that seemed a little more tempting in the moment. This provides an element of doubt in the plot, as the audience doesn’t know whether the pair will move on positively from this.

In Sunrise, the boat scene represents the struggle of the man between the temptation of the city and his loyalty to the country. The city woman who had been tempting the man into his life of sin is connected to money lenders from the city within the early scenes, and so her desires for him to strangle his wife are essentially equated with the pressure of a rural society to move to the city, giving up traditional values for city values, sacrificing simplicity for the complexity so characterized by the backlog of cars when the man and woman kiss later in the city. The ultimate decision for him comes early on the boat scene, and his attempted murder of his wife thus represents his struggle between these two. Therefore, his decision to not drown his wife represents his rejection of the call to the city.

While Sunrise was more of a myth meant to represent human universals, Red River matches more the definition of a national myth. This comes as a result due to the distinctly American genre of the Western, highlighting American ideals contextualized form a distinctly American experience of the frontier. Moreover, this story is set after the Civil War, leaving the South in complete economic shambles. As a result, the fighting between Wayne and Clift is not just a family squabble but is representative of the American experience of this time as a whole. The growth of his ranch is akin to the growth of the nation; the fighting over which direction to take the cattle evoking within the metaphor the understanding of a divided America with two very definitions for what direction the country should take. Therefore, the climatic fight scene ultimately represents this tension that came out in the same way as the Civil War; brother physically fighting brother. Thus the resolution of the movie can be seen as one of reunification, the ‘M’ being added to Dunson’s brand, showing Matt being finally welcomed to join Dunson as well as the establishment of the Chisholm trail representing the South economically joining the North.

The two movies Sunrise and Red River feature emotional confrontations between the two main characters – which is probably the best description for each set of two people considering both movies lack clear definitions of the protagonist and antagonist.

Between these two scenes, several obvious similarities emerge. Most importantly is the overall narrative purpose of these confrontations: the psychological toll of these fights cause the two characters involved to rekindle old emotional connections. Furthermore, both movies build tension for the confrontation. In Sunrise, the audience sees the man’s insane actions and looks, while in Red River, the confrontation is the climax of the movie. The effect of building tension in this manner allows the two fights to carry more emotional weight.

However, when comparing these scenes, what stands out more than the similarities are the differences. Most obviously and most importantly, the fight in Red River features external influences in the form of Cherry and Tess. When Cherry shoots Dundson, he inflicts physical harm that limits Tom’s capabilities throughout the fight, while Tess Millay compels both men to end the fight by invoking the connection she has with both men.

Beyond the difference in the use of external agents, the two movies differ when analyzing the power dynamics. In Sunrise, the wife never fights back against her husband even though he is threatening to kill her. She utilizes a subordinate position to beg for her life instead of standing up for herself. At the beginning of the fight in Red River, Matthew does not fight back either. He, however, has a different power dynamic, as he is allowing Dundson to beat him to demonstrate his refusal to fight his father figure but never takes a subordinate position. As the fight progresses, eventually Matthew retaliates, an action which then motivates Tess to intervene.

As mentioned, the narrative function of these related showdown scenes is actually to bring two people closer together. This purpose helps facilitate the theme of forgiveness, demonstrating that two people who clearly care for each other are able to reconcile, even after such intense confrontation.

 

Red River and Sunrise are two films that both feature internal conflicts between the protagonists and highlight the themes of love and pride. In Red River, the physical conflict between Dunson and Matt materializes the emotional conflict Dunson experiences as he struggles between his prideful, tyrannical nature and his love and friendship for Matt. The recurring notion of pride that presents itself as Dunson’s character flaw is the theme that is brought forth by the fight between Matt and Dunson. In the climax between the two characters, their lives, as well as their friendships are at stake. This internal struggle between pride and friendship is resolved by Tess’s intervention resulting in Dunson’s eventual recognition of his power complex and relinquishment of control. The final indication of resolution in Red River is Dunson’s offer to Matt of branding Matt’s initials onto the Red River Brand.

On the other hand, Sunrise highlights the mental conflict between the husband’s desire to be with his mistress and his guilt and growing love for his wife. In this climactic scene, the life of the wife is at stake, simultaneously putting the husband’s moral character at stake. Compared to Red River, the conflict in Sunrise was less physical and more internalized, as the conflict took place in the husband’s mind. The recurring theme of guilt is presented when the husband attempts to drown his wife but his guilt wins over and he ceases his advancements. In the case of Sunrise, the resolution of conflict is not as clear as it was in Red River, where Tess is the physical facilitator of resolution. Instead, viewers can see the change in the husband’s mind by the change of his movements from slow and daunting to his halting and sudden. The non-diagetic bell sounds also signal an abrupt change from the climax to resolution.

Together, Red River and Sunrise highlight the themes of pride and guilt which foster emotional turmoil within the protagonists and are resolved through changes in mindset and mentality.

The main similarity between the scenes in Sunrise and Red River is that they both involve one person determined to kill the other, but unable to go through with it. These scenes are extremely tense and involve the threat of physical violence (actual violence, in the case of Red River). However, in Sunrise the tension is slow and drawn-out as the man gradually moves to push his wife overboard. The score is heavy with ascending chords building to a crescendo, and the tension is suddenly broken by the bell tolling as the man snaps back to his senses. By contrast, the scene in Red River is action-packed and full of commotion from the dialogue, gunshots, and sounds of Dunson and Matt pummeling each other. The background music reflects this – it is dramatic, agitated, and fast-paced.

I think Sunrise is more effective because both the music and the acting (such as George O’Brien’s haunting eyes) hook the viewer’s attention as the suspense is deliberately stretched bit by bit. I felt the resolution of the Red River fight scene, when Dunson and Matt make up immediately after Tess tells them to, was a little abrupt – considering their conflict had been built up for the entire movie, it seemed unrealistic that it would dissipate that quickly.

The theme of Red River, which is resolved in the final scene, is the dynamic between father and son – specifically, the need for the son to carry on his father’s legacy. Dunson’s vow to kill Matt after he takes control of the herd reflects his feelings of being undermined when his son develops more power than him; he is not ready for Matt to take over his role yet. It is only after they fight and reconcile that Dunson accepts Matt as his successor and symbolically passes down the torch by drawing the new Red River D logo in the dirt.

The theme of Sunrise is renewal of love, and I would say the boat scene is the turning point in this regard as the man realizes he cannot bring himself to hurt his wife. From this moment on, his demeanor towards the wife is completely transformed as he does everything he can to win her affection back and repair their relationship.

While Red River and Sunrise are two completely different types of movies, one could argue that the climatic ending scene of Red River could be compared to the first water crossing scene of Sunrise. These scenes are the most similar in the threat of death that is present in both. The apparent in both the man in Sunrise and Mr. Dunson in Red River are clear. The text on screen in Sunrise explains the city woman’s plot to do away with the man’s wife and Mr. Dunson’s promise to kill Matt leave no room for doubt that murder is a possibility in both scenes. The man and Dunson also portray similar levels of insanity shown by the man’s brutish look as he clunks his way to his wife and Dunson’s decision to shoot Cherry on his way to Matt. While the scenes share their similarities, their differences help bring out the type of movies they are. Red River’s scene is actually physical, featuring a fistfight and gunshots that would seem out of place in a more timid film like Sunrise. Another difference is the balance of power between the two in conflict. Conflict is used loosely here because, in Sunrise, the man has total control. He could murder his wife due to his strength and position over her. Red River features two grown men who throw down their guns to engage in fisticuffs, both landing respectable shots on the other. What ends this conflict is the theme present in both scenes. Red River’s final fight ends in a “good woman” stopping both men from beating each other. The man in Sunrise is stopped arguable due to the innocence and goodness of his wife. The movies feature men on the wrong path eventually set straight by a woman’s heart.

It’s an average Thursday night in the dorms. Some of Trevor’s floor-mates are on their way out to a “fundrager” of sorts. While they’re waiting for the elevator, they stop in the lounge to give Trevor one final chance to come out with them. He refuses for the fourth time, choosing to stay in and watch a movie instead. Trevor had reluctantly promised his friend the night before that he would watch Call Me By Your Name with her, even though romantic dramas have never really appealed to him. After Trevor’s floor-mates leave the lounge and shuffle into the elevator, he and his friend sit together on the couch and begin watching the movie on her laptop.

Ten minutes in, and Trevor is already enthralled by every aspect of the film: the stunning scenery of the Italian countryside, the magnificent performances of Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, the beautifully melodic soundtrack; everything. The film’s quality far surpasses that of any romantic movie Trevor has seen before, and he absolutely loves it. He is completely immersed in the film, despite the fact that he’s watching it on a tiny Macbook screen in a musty dorm lounge.

Trevor’s blissful viewing experience comes to a crashing halt as the film approaches its end. As Oliver boards the train after saying his final goodbyes to Elio, Trevor’s heart sinks. The waterworks don’t come until Elio returns home, though. Elio’s father, fully understanding the unique, intimate relationship Elio has with Oliver, comforts Elio with one of the most touching, heartfelt monologues Trevor has ever heard in his entire life. He tells Elio about the importance of loving to one’s full capacity, of cherishing every moment experienced, and every emotion felt, even pain and sorrow.

“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster that we go bankrupt by the age of 30 and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make yourself feel nothing, so as not to feel anything—what a waste.”

This scene hits Trevor like a fucking truck. Reminded of a two-year long relationship he had with a girl back in his hometown, he begins to bawl his eyes out. He had one of the most special bonds of his young life with this girl, and with their breakup came many, many emotions. Suppressing these emotions so as to “heal faster”, was a complete waste, and he comes to this realization because of this very scene.

To love is to feel, and to feel is to live.

The year is 2012 and Alyssa walks into her seventh grade health class. She sees that there is a television sitting at the front of the classroom and she is suddenly filled with excitement; it’s movie day. Little does she know, the movie she is about to watch will affect the way she thinks about herself from then on. Her teacher begins class with a very short lecture on how one of the most important aspects of a person’s health is their mental health – specifically, their self confidence. This is the first time Alyssa has actually paid attention to what it means to have good mental health. The movie, “Penelope”, begins and as the story of Penelope and her pig nose unfolds, Alyssa finds herself weirdly connecting with the main character.

The next scene in the movie is where everything clicked together for Alyssa: Penelope has just been rejected by a guy and on the walk back to her room, she passes by a mirror and stops to stare at herself. As Penelope stares at herself in the mirror she begins to cover her nose with her hand to give herself a glimpse of what she would look like without the pig nose. Alyssa begins to feel tears forming in her eyes as she reflects back on all the times she has looked in a mirror desperately wanting to change something specific about herself. She remembers all the times she has thought about how different her life would be if she could change what she didn’t like about herself and comes to the conclusion that she is a lot like Penelope.

As the movie concludes, Penelope learns to love herself for who she is which causes the curse to break and her pig nose to vanish. Alyssa then decides that this is going to be important throughout her life. She has to learn to love herself if she wants to be happy. Every now and then Alyssa will watch Penelope again to give herself a reminder of how she wants to look at herself and the world (and sometimes just to cheer herself up on bad days). It will surely be her favorite movie forever.