Sunset Boulevard (also known as Sunset Blvd.) is a 1950 American film noir directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett. It was named after the boulevard that runs through Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California.

The film stars William Holden as an unsuccessful screenwriter, Gloria Swanson as a faded silent movie star who draws him into her fantasy world, in which she dreams of making a triumphant return to the screen and Erich von Stroheim as her butler. Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough and Jack Webb play supporting roles. Director Cecil B. DeMille and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper play themselves, and the film includes cameo appearances by leading silent film actors Buster Keaton, H. B. Warner and Anna Q. Nilsson.

Praised by many critics when first released, Sunset Boulevard was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won three. It is widely accepted as a classic, often cited as one of the most noteworthy films of American cinema. Deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the U.S. Library of Congress in 1989, Sunset Boulevard was included in the first group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 1998, it was ranked number twelve on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best American films of the 20th century, and in 2007 it was 16th on their 10th Anniversary list.

It's kind of twisted that a lot of Oscars over the years have been denied because of films miracously coming in the same year. This and Eve, Mockingbird and Lawrence(poor Peter), Chinatown and Godfather II, the mess that was 1937, etc.

Anyways this is one I still need to see. I doubt it'll match Eve's poweress for me but we'll see.

B+


Not loving it as much as most do, but it is a very solid flick. Gloria Swanson is simply ecellent in it and should have won the Oscar for her performance. I simply cannot imagine anyone else pulling off a better performance that year. The screenplay is excellent too. I wasn't that impressed by the rest of the cast, though.

Slightly overrated classic that is really only great at times because of Swanson's performances - the rest of the film doesn't live up. The crazed Norma Desmond has got to be one of the most bizarre and memorable characters in all of cinema, and Swanson really made it all happen. The story leaves something to be desired, even if it is well-written, as there's not a whole lot happening, and the acting, while good, never even comes close to Swanson's performance. That may be more due to Swanson than the others, but no one else really impressed. Certainly not all Oscar-calibre performances, as all of the main four were nominated. The direction is solid but not really impressive - I only got a sense of the bizarre through Swanson's performance, not the direction - and the jabs at Hollywood, while humorous, are pretty tame. Still, a memorable flick, though not one of the best of all time.

I saw this last night. It's pretty great. Surprisingly a lot funnier than I expected. Swanson does a really good job with the physical comedy here, her facial twitches and reactions are perfect, bordering the line of hilarity and insanity without dipping into ridiculousness.

I have to echo the praises of the script - The narration really really added to the film, it was snazzy and Hollywood and perfect. William Holden's deliveries of course account for that too, his performance stands out much more than would normally be expected under Swanson. Stroheim and Olson also do their jobs in smaller roles, never resorting to slapstick for the first or cliche for the second.

And I think the last 15 minutes is nearly unmatchable. Not that Swanson wasn't very good up to that point, but when she starts going wide-eyed and internal, she reaches an entirely different level. The shooting is still riveting even though it was spoiled from the opening frame. (the body in the pool is one of the most perfect shots ever by the way)

Oh, and the set design in this movie is fantastic. The house becomes a character as fleshed out and memorable as any other.

Pretty much flawless. A