Sunset Blvd is a classic American film noir filmed in 1950 and a lesson in what refusing to grow old gracefully can result in.
Its director, Billy Wilder, directed other iconic films and Sunset Blvd was awarded three oscars. The setting for the film, as the title may suggest, is the classic boulevard running through Beverley Hills in Los Angeles. For many this is associated with money, opulence and fame.
Leading actor William Holden plays the hack movie writer and Gloria Swanson stars as Norma Desmond, the aging actress that refuses to give up right until the fatal end.
Holden wants to be rich and famous and comes with the same dream of many a starry eyed writer drawn to the city. However, his debts are huge and the streets are not paved with gold. His checks bounce and his debts are never ending. Desmond needs to have a screenplay written which she hopes will jump start her career and Joe needs money. So they begin a mutually convenient relationship which quickly transpires into a romantic affair.
Desmond is deluded. She is much older now and the silent movie industry is long gone. Gillis exploits this to his advantage though and moves in to her mansion and her heart. She is in love with him and when she feels him slipping away then she tries to take her life.
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.
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.
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.
She is a sad reminder of an industry that worships the young over everything else. This is particularly poignant in this day and age of cosmetic enhancement and shows how an individual can suffer once they lost their film making appeal.
Desmond has several maids and each are gentle with her and try to hide the fact that she has aged and grown out of touch with reality.
The film Sunset Blvd provides an insightful look at the film industry and shows how wealth, fortune and fame can corrupt and destroy. Desmond's mental illness culminating at the end with Gillis' death shows how power has corrupted and then destroyed each character in different ways.
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.
Its director, Billy Wilder, directed other iconic films and Sunset Blvd was awarded three oscars. The setting for the film, as the title may suggest, is the classic boulevard running through Beverley Hills in Los Angeles. For many this is associated with money, opulence and fame.
Leading actor William Holden plays the hack movie writer and Gloria Swanson stars as Norma Desmond, the aging actress that refuses to give up right until the fatal end.
Holden wants to be rich and famous and comes with the same dream of many a starry eyed writer drawn to the city. However, his debts are huge and the streets are not paved with gold. His checks bounce and his debts are never ending. Desmond needs to have a screenplay written which she hopes will jump start her career and Joe needs money. So they begin a mutually convenient relationship which quickly transpires into a romantic affair.
Desmond is deluded. She is much older now and the silent movie industry is long gone. Gillis exploits this to his advantage though and moves in to her mansion and her heart. She is in love with him and when she feels him slipping away then she tries to take her life.
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.
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.
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.
She is a sad reminder of an industry that worships the young over everything else. This is particularly poignant in this day and age of cosmetic enhancement and shows how an individual can suffer once they lost their film making appeal.
Desmond has several maids and each are gentle with her and try to hide the fact that she has aged and grown out of touch with reality.
The film Sunset Blvd provides an insightful look at the film industry and shows how wealth, fortune and fame can corrupt and destroy. Desmond's mental illness culminating at the end with Gillis' death shows how power has corrupted and then destroyed each character in different ways.
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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