Sunset Blvd was produced in 1950 and tells the tale of an aging Hollywood star and her lost youth and career.
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.
Lead man William Holden is the little know screenplay writer and Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson is the faded, jaded movie star with a forgotten career.
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.
Norma falls in love with Joe and Joe falls in love with her money and through this mutually convenient situation they coexist. He tries to leave eventually, but she attempts suicide and manages to coax him back.
Desmond believes that her career will flourish again, but she is more mature in years now and the film company has no interest in her script.
However, unbeknown to Norma he is working on a private script with young writer Betty and he falls for her. When he tries to leave Norma the dramatic climax of the film sees a shot fired and Gillis floating in a swimming pool with sirens all around.
At this point Desmond in her deranged, mentally unstable state delivers her classic line "I'm ready for my close up". She is unable to cope with reality preferring to switch to a fantasy world where she is at the center stage.
This is a tragic movie and reveals the inner darkness and corruption in the film industry. People become dispensable commodities and the film is testament to an actress with a mental illness who cannot accept that her youth and beauty are behind her.
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.
Her servants reinforce how important her look are to her and are always complimentary. They have learned to be this way. Youth and beauty are given priority over age and experience and they are a sad reminder of the values of our time. This gives the film a timeless perspective that will appeal to all.
Ultimately our sympathies lie with Desmond. All her possessions and material wealth can not help her instability and refusal to accept growing old gracefully. Her heartbreak and fear that she has lost her last chance at love lead her to commit the tragic acts that ensue.
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.
Lead man William Holden is the little know screenplay writer and Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson is the faded, jaded movie star with a forgotten career.
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.
Norma falls in love with Joe and Joe falls in love with her money and through this mutually convenient situation they coexist. He tries to leave eventually, but she attempts suicide and manages to coax him back.
Desmond believes that her career will flourish again, but she is more mature in years now and the film company has no interest in her script.
However, unbeknown to Norma he is working on a private script with young writer Betty and he falls for her. When he tries to leave Norma the dramatic climax of the film sees a shot fired and Gillis floating in a swimming pool with sirens all around.
At this point Desmond in her deranged, mentally unstable state delivers her classic line "I'm ready for my close up". She is unable to cope with reality preferring to switch to a fantasy world where she is at the center stage.
This is a tragic movie and reveals the inner darkness and corruption in the film industry. People become dispensable commodities and the film is testament to an actress with a mental illness who cannot accept that her youth and beauty are behind her.
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.
Her servants reinforce how important her look are to her and are always complimentary. They have learned to be this way. Youth and beauty are given priority over age and experience and they are a sad reminder of the values of our time. This gives the film a timeless perspective that will appeal to all.
Ultimately our sympathies lie with Desmond. All her possessions and material wealth can not help her instability and refusal to accept growing old gracefully. Her heartbreak and fear that she has lost her last chance at love lead her to commit the tragic acts that ensue.
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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