Sunset Blvd was produced in 1950 and tells the tale of an aging Hollywood star and her lost youth and career.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Norma Desmond is much older than Joe and she has matured a lot since her screen debut and Hollywood is not kind to old stars. The film company has little interest in starting Desmond's career through the offered screenplay and this does little to propel Joe into the spotlight either.
In secret Joe works on a script with a younger writer Betty and the two of them fall in love. He is determined to leave Norma, but she fires a shot and he falls dead into the swimming pool at her lavish mansion.
The famous line arrives at the end with Desmond weaving down the steps and saying; "I'm ready for my close up" sealing her fate and showing how mentally unstable she has become.
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.
The character of Norma is treated with pity and pathos and although she does ultimately murder Joe, she is shown to be a product of the industry that she inhabits. An industry that eats her up and spits her out.
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.
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 on the other hand is portrayed as a mercenary man who is out for his own greed. He shows some sympathy for Desmond's frailty, but ultimately he is out to exploit her for her wealth. - 40723
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.
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.
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.
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.
Norma Desmond is much older than Joe and she has matured a lot since her screen debut and Hollywood is not kind to old stars. The film company has little interest in starting Desmond's career through the offered screenplay and this does little to propel Joe into the spotlight either.
In secret Joe works on a script with a younger writer Betty and the two of them fall in love. He is determined to leave Norma, but she fires a shot and he falls dead into the swimming pool at her lavish mansion.
The famous line arrives at the end with Desmond weaving down the steps and saying; "I'm ready for my close up" sealing her fate and showing how mentally unstable she has become.
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.
The character of Norma is treated with pity and pathos and although she does ultimately murder Joe, she is shown to be a product of the industry that she inhabits. An industry that eats her up and spits her out.
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.
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 on the other hand is portrayed as a mercenary man who is out for his own greed. He shows some sympathy for Desmond's frailty, but ultimately he is out to exploit her for her wealth. - 40723
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