Sunset Boulevard [DVD] [1950]

Sunset Boulevard is one of the most perverse films ever made- it's barbed dialogue dripping with references to Hollywood (such as the one made to Gone With the Wind), a post-modern reference to Mrs Haversham in Great Expectations (Joe being a writer, you see)- which exist on the same level as the cameos from Keaton (as Joe's agent) & De Mille (as himself); Wilder even uses a Von Stroeheim silent starring Gloria Swanson in the scene where Norma & Joe sit & watch her youthful self on screen! Joe was originally meant to have been played by Montgomery Clift- who dropped out due to the fact he was in a similar relationship with an older woman, Libby Holman.

Sunset Boulevard is a masterful work of art, one that fits into a bleak worldview of Hollywood- think of Nathaneal West's novella 'The Day of the Locust' (the central artist is not unlike Joe), or bitter & bleak films with messy characters as seen in Ace in the Hole, The Bad & The Beautiful & In a Lonely Place. I have to disagree with the other review which states SB was 'made at a time when the big Hollywood Star Machine was beginning to grind to a halt'- there were plenty of stars still being created (Marilyn Monroe, Monty Clift ,James Dean, Marlon Brando- anyone???) & stars such as Bogart, Gable & Mitchum still existed- while the 'big Hollywood Star Machine' (?) would emit stars such as Steve McQueen & Clint Eastwood. Perhaps that comment alludes to the fact that many stars of the silent era became anachronisms & leftovers from a decadent era with the introduction of sound & a redefinition of the studio system (see an upbeat version of this in 'Singin in the Rain').

Sunset Boulevard explores the dark side of Hollywood, reminding you of Kenneth Anger's book Hollywood Babylon & its influence cane be found in recent films: the central conceit of a voiceover from a corpse would be borrowed for 'American Beauty', while the character names of 'Gordon Cole' & 'Betty' (Nancy Olson) would find themselves quoted in works by David Lynch: the former the name of Lynch's character in Twin Peaks; the latter the initial name of Naomi Watts in 'Mulholland Drive'- another treatise on the dark side of Hollywood...

Everything about this film is perfect- the dialogue ("You're a fifty year old woman- when are you going to grow up?"), Franz Waxman's music (as great as Bernard Herrmann's), John Seitz's cinematography (a decaying form of Film Noir- from the late era, see Paul Schrader's essay on Film Noir), the structure, the use of voiceover, the scene where Joe and Betty walk along to a backdrop of fake sets, the use of voiceover etc. Sunset Boulevard is an absolutely perfect film, in the same way that I find films such as The Seventh Seal, Cabaret, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Orphee, The Conformist & Mulholland Drive absolutely perfect.

The acting is of particular note- I had only been familiar with Holden in The Wild Bunch (well that & his sorry demise- it would be days before anyone discovered his body...)& I was bowled over by his charisma & good looks. Gloria Swanson delivers a brilliant performance as Norma Desmond- it's amazing she delivered a performance at all, as the material seems very close to the bone (& when looking at Desmond/Swanson you can see the youthful beauty in the fade of middle age- see the 'impressions' scene: what strikes you about Norma is how old she looks...). Erich Von Stroeheim is equally excellent as Max- who is complicit in Desmond's delusion (having once been her director, her mentor & her husband). I also love Nancy Olson as 'Betty Schaeffer' here- a picture of 50s all American A-line skirt wearing naivety- incapable of saving Joe from his destination facedown in the swimming pool (reminding me a little of Cybill Shepherd's character, Betsy, in Taxi Driver)...

Sunset Boulevard is one of the all time greats, a perfect film on just about every level & one that has become a beacon to the loose genre of films about films: The Player, The State of Things, The King of Comedy (I know that was about TV), Mulholland Drive, Two Weeks in Another Town, Body Double, Stardust Memories, 8 1/2 , Sex Lies & Videotape, La Ricotta etc...