Rating: 
Summary: It's hard to achieve film perfection - this nearly does!
Review: Billy Wilder's drama about a hack screenwriter and an aging movie star shouldn't really be as good as it is - but there is not a single film critic I've ever read or encountered who would say that this film wasn't in their top 10 of the finest films ever made.Gloria Swanson portrays Norma Desmond, a wealthy, aging silent film actress who yearns for a return to the screen. As luck would have it, a destitute screenwriter (William Holden) with the possible talents to assist her arrives at her doorstep. The script treatment that Norma has created is terrible. The script for Sunset Boulevard is pure gold! Holden is miraculously animated in this film (on the whole, I don't think he really put forth much effort in his craft). Swanson delivers the performance she was born to give (she was nominated for an Oscar). At the time, the part was considered poison for any actress who would take the role - as it would be acknowledging not only age in the actress, but a non-existent career. In short, the script was considered to be too close to home for most actresses beyond 30. Peppered throughout this film are some of the greatest casting roles ever delivered: Cecil B. DeMille plays himself wonderfully. Erich von Stroheim plays Max, Norma's devoted butler (von Stroheim was not an actor, but rather one of Hollywood's golden directors - and a scandalous one at that) and milks the role for all it's worth. Hedda Hopper, Buster Keaton and many others pop up in roles as themselves. Perhaps, though, the real stars of the film are Norma's mansion and her car (an Isoto Franchesa)upholstered in real leopard skin. Sadly the mansion has long since been demolished for the construction of Century City. Sunset Boulevard is to remain a classic forever. And it almost seems that the film was created to forever cement the image of "old" Hollywood, so that future generations could discover what real movie stars were and what it meant to have that kind of power.
Rating: 
Summary: A Bizarre, Disturbing Movie Experience
Review: Sorry,but I do not see what would make this movie 5 stars. It was creepy, and the whole time I thought, "Should I be laughing or taking this seriously?" It was just too weird and unbelievable. The thought of Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis actually having a relationship is difficult and even painful to think about. Thankfully this film was made in a time where the romantic interludes were kindly left to the viewers imagination. I forced myself to imagine that there actually was nothing physical between them; that way I could get through the movie. I guess I don't deal well with such dark films. The only thing I liked about it was Gillis' narration. Overall, I felt both the lead characters too strange to relate too or to understand. I cannot recommend watching this film, except to watch it as an example of Hollywood at its extreme weirdest.
Rating: 
Summary: Stands up well
Review: As an young male I probably am not the target audience for 'Sunset Boulevard'. However, I found myself become gradually engrossed in it one afternoon and it stands up very well today, over 50 years on. The story concerns bankrupt scriptwriter Joe (Holden) that comes across faded silent screen siren Nora Desmond (Swanson) in her lonely old mansion, resided over only by her creepy butler. Persuaded to stay and help her with her defunct movie script rather than pay off his debts. What follows is both dark, sordid and compelling as the couple's relationship becomes more and more twisted. Obviously meant as a satire on fickle Hollywood this is every bit as relevant then as it is now. Here Swanson is superbly grotesque, teetering on the edge of insanity as she deludes herself that she'll be back on the silver screen in her own movie before long. Alongside her Holden becomes just as unstable as he is faced with a choice between his glamorous yet doomed relationship with Swanson and a script writing career with the girl that he truly loves. This was a very good movie that holds you throughout.
Rating:
Summary: The One and Only!
Review: Not much is left to be said about this unique masterpiece that dared to portray the tragic, shadowy side of the Hollywood rat race. Not only is it a fascinating, almost hypnotic experience as a drama but, in addition......Gloria Swanson was essentially playing HER REAL-LIFE SELF! That's more or less the way she existed in 1950..... Then consider that Erich von Stroheim had actually been her real-life director and lover during their heyday....and you have another creepy by morbidly fascinating dimension to the film. And you know how corny William Holden's narration sounds? In a minor way, it detracts from the film BUT, as one astute writer pointed out, that's because Joe Gillis IS a HACK writer..not a genuinely talented one, and that's the way he would think and talk. And then there is Franz Waxman's exotic and decadent "Salome" music, everytime Norma starts to drift into her past...most noticeably in the amazing final scene. But why write or read about it??? GET IT AND WATCH IT, OVER AND OVER! And where the heck is the DVD? I hope that dufus Andrew Lloyd Webber doesn't have the rights to the film tied up with that extravagant ego-trip of a musical.
Rating:
Summary: Grand Guinol scathing satire of Hollywood and its oddities
Review: Sadly, the mastermind behind Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder has passed on recently, but his genius lives on in this dark comedic indictment of Hollywood and its star system. The film shot William Holden to stardom and he became a major player in the '50s and it also afforded Gloria Swanson her last piece of public honor and she made a dramatic comeback as faded screen star Norma Desmond. Both she and Holden earned Oscar nominations here as did supporting players Erich von Stroheim (Max the butler) and Nancy Olson (as a script reader and love interest of Holden's screenwriter Joe Gillis). The film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director (Wilder), but unfortunately it lost on all counts.....possibly because Hollywood felt bullied and intimidated by Wilder's not-so-rosy depiction of their little town. Wilder even received death threats during and after filming. Classic dialogue and forever memorable scenes abound (the chimpanzee burial scene is a keeper). This black comedy may seem too morbid and ghoulishly funny for some tastes, but it is one of my absolute favorites........
Rating:
Summary: SUPERB! SUBLIME! FANTASTIC! AMAZING! Nothing but PERFECT !
Review: "I am big. It is the pictures that got small." "No one leaves a star. That's what makes one a star." "All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up." By the former silent movie star Norma Desmond in "SUNSET BLVD." Billy Wilder's masterpiece is, in my opinion, one of the best examples why cinema can be considered a superior form of art. The spetacular "Sunset Boulevard" is here to remember us that sometimes Hollywood's movies can be so amazing that they become larger than life For those who have commited the sin of not watching it yet, I'll try to put it in a nutshell. The narrative is told in flashback by a film-noirish voice of the now dead screenwriter Joe Gillis [Willam Holden]. But the show here belongs to the legendary silent film star Norma Desmon [Gloria Swanson], who has not worked for several years and now is developing her own script based on the legendary story of 'Salome'. She lives in a reclusive mansion with her butler Max von Mayerling [Eric von Stroheim]. In order to have her script edited by a pro, she puts the writer up at her house. As the movie goes on, they start an obssessive relationship of love and hate and pitty. In the background there is the film industry with its ephemeral idols and eccentric stars. It seems to me that one of the most insteresting aspect of this film is the interrelationship between life and fantasy. For one, Gloria Swanson, the actress who plays the former silent film star, happens to be a real life former silent movie star. So this part looks very autobiographical. In the same way Norma experienced stardom, so did Gloria, and now, they both are decandent and have been ruled out from the industry due to the talkies. To make things more brilliant, her butler Max von Mayerling -- melancholically played by Eric von Stroheim -- is the the director who discovered and made her into a star at age of 16. [Now, can you guess??] Eric von Stroheim himself used to be a silent movie director and [ I'm pratically at a loss for words] he discovered Gloria. Still talking about the movie itself: there is another pole in the script. Part of the movie happens at the Paramount Studio --which, by the way, produced the movie. There Joe secretly works with the script reader Betty Schaefer, writing an original script that will buy his freedom from Norma. There also is Mr De Mille [playing himself] working, who Norma wants to direct her 'Salome'. These relationships filled with good-intentioned lies and jealousy will lead the characters to their tragedy. The more Joe involves with Norma, the more he sees how she has lost the touch with reality. She lives in a dream world where she is a star with millions of fans begging for her return. She receives letters -- thanks to her devoted butler -- asking for autographed photos. She watches her old movies and she is delighted with them. She meets her friends, former actors, weekly for playing cards. Her friends? Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilson and H. B. Warner. All of them real-life former silent movie stars. Joe calls them 'wax woks'. However, what Joe is blind to is how close to Salome's story is his. The metaphor gets clearer and clearer as the movie goes on. Joe doesn't foresee that he will end up with his John the Baptiste's head on a platter for her. The script penned by Wilder, Charles Braxett and D.M. Marshmam, Jr. is full of memorable moments and lines. Those I gave in the begining of my review are the most famous ones, but there are many unforgettable words. The direction is precise and and effective -- but we couldn't expect less from Wilder. The settings and lightings are fantastic. There is one sequence that is very telling to prove the tecnical and human greatness and beauty of the movie. When Norma is in sound stage 18 at Paramount waiting to talk with Mr De Mille, she is sat at his chair and one boom microphone -- a symbol of sound in Hollywood -- brushes her hat, she pushes away in disgust. But the best moment is when one eletrician focuses a soptlight on her and a crowd of fans conposed of technicians and extras gathers to admire abd pay homage to the age-old star iluminated by the shaft of light. All in all, this is a movie that deserves to be watched the more one can. If you haven't seen it yet, go for it. You haven't the faintest idea of what you are losing. If you have seen this, watch more and more, because every time it gets better and better.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Review: Joe Gillis (played by William Holden) is a screenwriter down on his luck: his latest creations have been turned down flat, his car is in danger of being repossessed, and his money is all but gone. When he turns into a seemingly abandoned mansion to escape creditors, he finds that the house is actually inhabited--Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), an aging, forgotten silent-screen starlet lives there with her servant Max Von Mayerling (Erich von Stroheim). Norma lives in a fantasy world, where her popularity is undiminished, and a comeback is right around the corner. Joe finds himself sucked into Norma's world, trapped by her money and her emotional neediness. Hating himself, and Norma, he struggles to find a way out, can tragedy be far behind? I must admit that I got this movie out of pure curiosity. It's one of those classics that (perhaps more than all others) is referenced or parodied in so many other movies and television shows, and it's easy to see why. The movie is acted with the intense emotions of a bygone era, even as it says goodbye to it. That said, though, this movie is not to be taken lightly. Before I knew it, I felt myself drawn along, compelled to watch the drama unfold, like the proverbial slow-motion train wreck. This is a gripping movie, one that you should see at least once in your life. I highly recommend that you see this movie!
Rating:
Summary: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Sunset Boulevard
Review: Born in the 70s and raised in the 80s, it's a constant struggle to fight against the tendency to view movies as just a source of visceral stimulation - as spectacles. It's a struggle to keep watching movies that don't have fantastic, juvenile Imitation Brand Plot Substitutes because growing up, that was all I knew. Movies like Sunset Boulevard are going to help change that, and I wish that they were still part of popular culture. I saw this last night and it was astonishing. For anyone who might equate old or God forbid even black and white with "boring," this movie is the cure. There's none of the easy titillation that's so easy to find today, but in a much more interesting and subtle way, Sunset Boulevard is very depraved and cynical. Even in the 50s, Hollywood was covering a culture of decay and depravity, of spiritual death, with the glossy veneer. Sunset Boulevard, on the strength of its sharp dialogue, expert direction, and dead-on performances, told a compelling story in an original way. It reminded me of Pulp Fiction, of all things, in the way you could feel that you were watching a director's vision unfold perfectly, like a meticulously planned 4 course meal. Looking back on old movies it's hard to view them in context, as what was original and creative then has usually become co-opted and cliched by now. But this film manages to still feel new, and there were some truly sublime moments, like the shot of Norma Desmond's bedroom doors, with light shining through the ripped-out locks, like two empty eyes keeping watch over her boy toy - and then abruptly extinguish. There's not much point getting into the plot, which is described in 50 other reviews here. Suffice to say, even the most sensory-deadened product of the "blockbuster" culture can enjoy Sunset Boulevard, even today - the writing, directing and acting are that rich and exciting. Why is this not out on DVD yet?!
Rating:
Summary: Out of Touch
Review: At his wits end and needing a job before getting his car repossed Joe Gillis (William Holden) has to get a job fast or sell what little he has and return to Ohio. After being chased and losing the repo men by turning into a vacant driveway of a huge home or at least he thought it was vacant. Upon discovering that the house isn't vacant but is occupied with a derranged washed up actress and her first producer husband who is now her butler. At first she thinks he is the mortian to take care of her dead chimp. When she finds out that he is a writter she offers him a job reading her script which he accepts afterall he needs money to keep his car and home. She wants him to stay at her home to complete the job. This is where she takes control of his life, moving him in, clothing him in the best attire money can buy and now to be a couple in her mind. In her mind she thinks she is still a big star, signing pictures for her fans. Gill plays the game with Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) for as long as he could. He gets fed up with her being stuck on hersef, yet feeling sorry for her because he knows that she is out of touch with reality. He decides he can't take it anymore and wants to leave only she doesn't want him to.
She has already did the sucided trick so that won't do her any good and he's tired of looking at her home movies and playing gin with her tired friends. He's young and he wants out. Only Norma isn't going to let him go quite so easily she kills him. The flashback scene at the beginning was great. I would look at this film again.
Rating:
Summary: SUNDOWN AT NORMA"S PLACE
Review: Title of Film: Sunset Boulevard
Year Released: 1950
Running time: 110 minutes long
Director/studio: Billy Wilder/Paramount Studio
Actors/Actresses: William Holden/Gloria Swanson Joe Gillis is experiencing writer's block as this black & white movie begins. He owes money on his car and tries to fool two men who have come calling for the car. When Joe takes the car out later on he sees the two men and decides to drive the other direction. As he does he happens upon a mansion that is run-down and unkept. The garage door is up so he pulls in to hide his only possession -- his car. As he enters the mansion, Max the butler, thinks he has come to help bury the lady of the house's pet monkey. Joe does not immediately correct this notion. Rather, he jaunts up the stairs and discovers Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) grieving over the loss of her monkey. Joe recognizes Norma and now the plot thickens. Norma is a has-been in Hollywood. She is old and has had several men in her life. She snags Joe into staying and begins a one-sided affair with him even though he is enjoying his new lifestyle. He eventually decides to break away from Norma and she becomes bitterly jealous. He sneaks out at night to meet his friend's fiance (who he has feelings for) and begins collaboration on a book with her. Norma can't stand the thought of losing her newest status symbol and lover. So, when Joe walks out she shoots him in the back with a pistol and kills him. This movie was narrated by Joe and had some flashbacks. It was a fun movie to watch. I really enjoyed the banter between Swanson and Holden. It was fun!
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