Sunset Blvd is a classic American film noir filmed in 1950 and a lesson in what refusing to grow old gracefully can result in.
It was directed by Billy Wilder who made many other classic movies and its name provides the basis for its setting. The title is the famous Boulevard in Los Angeles and the playground of the rich and famous movie stars.
The movie stars William Holden as screenplay and down on his luck bum and Gloria Swanson is the faded, glamorous Norma Desmond who used to be a big star in the silent movie industry.
The plot centers around Holden in character as Joe Gillis, a young screenplay writer who is down on his luck. He owes money and has dreams of grandeur, which his pay check can not compete with. He meets Norma Desmond, a now aging star of the silent screen, and given his limited options he agrees to write a screenplay for her to relaunch her career.
Desmond falls in love, but Joe is only using the relationship as a stopgap until the big time. He eventually gets tired of being a kept man and tried to leave, but Norma's suicide attempt has him returning out of guilt.
She thinks that she can be a successful actress again, but the years have not been kind and she is trying to rise in an industry that rewards youth and beauty over everything else.
Joe is writing another script with another actress and he develops an attraction to her. He tells Norma that he is leaving and she prevents this by firing a single shot and killing him dead in her swimming pool.
Her last line, often quoted is "I'm ready for my close up" showing how her mentally unstable mind is likening the events to being in a film and distorting what is actually happening.
The film is tragic, timeless and unique and presents the challenges of growing old gracefully in the movie industry.
Norma's character is pitiful and self deluded and it is hard not to feel sympathy for her. The film industry has made her into a star, but now she is forgotten by many and lives a reclusive life in her mansion on Sunset Boulevard.
The servants she has treat her gently and pander to her need to look youthful. In this day and age of botox and plastic surgery the film is an uncomfortable reminder that there are some things that can't be bought.
Sunset Boulevard is suitable for all ages and is a thought provoking look at the lives of the rich and famous. Desmond's lavish mansion, swimming pool and servants are things that are associated with making it in life, but her mental instability arising from her lost youth makes all these material possessions meaningless.
Gillis is greedy and heartless and shows how people can exploit others to get what they want. The film, Sunset Blvd, is well worth watching and ultimately evokes sympathy for the characters.
It was directed by Billy Wilder who made many other classic movies and its name provides the basis for its setting. The title is the famous Boulevard in Los Angeles and the playground of the rich and famous movie stars.
The movie stars William Holden as screenplay and down on his luck bum and Gloria Swanson is the faded, glamorous Norma Desmond who used to be a big star in the silent movie industry.
The plot centers around Holden in character as Joe Gillis, a young screenplay writer who is down on his luck. He owes money and has dreams of grandeur, which his pay check can not compete with. He meets Norma Desmond, a now aging star of the silent screen, and given his limited options he agrees to write a screenplay for her to relaunch her career.
Desmond falls in love, but Joe is only using the relationship as a stopgap until the big time. He eventually gets tired of being a kept man and tried to leave, but Norma's suicide attempt has him returning out of guilt.
She thinks that she can be a successful actress again, but the years have not been kind and she is trying to rise in an industry that rewards youth and beauty over everything else.
Joe is writing another script with another actress and he develops an attraction to her. He tells Norma that he is leaving and she prevents this by firing a single shot and killing him dead in her swimming pool.
Her last line, often quoted is "I'm ready for my close up" showing how her mentally unstable mind is likening the events to being in a film and distorting what is actually happening.
The film is tragic, timeless and unique and presents the challenges of growing old gracefully in the movie industry.
Norma's character is pitiful and self deluded and it is hard not to feel sympathy for her. The film industry has made her into a star, but now she is forgotten by many and lives a reclusive life in her mansion on Sunset Boulevard.
The servants she has treat her gently and pander to her need to look youthful. In this day and age of botox and plastic surgery the film is an uncomfortable reminder that there are some things that can't be bought.
Sunset Boulevard is suitable for all ages and is a thought provoking look at the lives of the rich and famous. Desmond's lavish mansion, swimming pool and servants are things that are associated with making it in life, but her mental instability arising from her lost youth makes all these material possessions meaningless.
Gillis is greedy and heartless and shows how people can exploit others to get what they want. The film, Sunset Blvd, is well worth watching and ultimately evokes sympathy for the characters.
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