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Summary: Wilder's masterpiece finally gets the treatment it deserves
Review: There is truth in Norma Desmond's assertion - "I *am* big - it's the *pictures* that got small!" We're living in the Platinum Age of acting - there have never been so many truly gifted actors around..."Sunset Boulevard" (strictly speaking, the title is "Sunset Blvd.") isn't one of them. It comes about as close to absolute perfection as one can imagine. There is personal irony in Norma's remark that "We didn't need [no stinking] dialog - we had faces!" Although Gloria Swanson was a major silent star who didn't make the transition to talkies, her turn as Norma Desmond is one of the great performances of sound films. It is superbly subtle and nuanced - not the one-note, over-the-top perfomance you might expect. "Sunset Blvd." is one of those rare films in which a sex scene would actually help the story. Unfortunately, it was made while the Production Code was still active, so Billy Wilder could only suggest what was unshowable. He does very well, especially when Joe attempts to comfort Norma after her attempted suicide and her "claws" drag Joe toward her. Note the subtle humor in Norma Desmond's address - 10086 Sunset Boulevard. In restaurant lingo, "86" means "It's spoiled" or "We're out of it." (That's why Maxwell Smart was Agent 86.) As a verb, to "86" something means to cancel or terminate it. Music lovers will appreciate that Franz Waxman had the good sense to steal from Richard Strauss. The first theft occurs when Betty leaves and Joe looks up at Norma on the balcony-we hear the opening notes of the opera, as the guard gazes at Salome, with whom he's obsessed. The second occurs near the end, after Norma has gone mad and is sitting at her mirror. Waxman quotes the "Salome's madness" chords when someone says the camera crew has arrived. "Sunset Blvd." could be remade-Willaim Shatner is rapidly approaching the loopiness needed to do a creditable job as "Norman" Desmond. (Please - no comments about weird movie characters named Norman.) The DVD transfer is exquisite, with rich blacks, clean whites, and wonderful range of gray tones. It's far superior to the mediocre laserdisk version.
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Summary: wonderful restoration
Review: This DVD release is a wonderful re-master of the film. The menu effects are sophisticated. The only disappointment was the amount of "Bonus Material"....but that's minor when compared with the overall quality of the DVD. Others can review the story and its elements. I'll just say this - you gotta have it! If you are a collector of Hollywood's Golden Era, you gotta have it!
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Summary: Best Dialogue
Review: This truly has some of the best dialogue of any movie ever. It's hard to make a movie about the movie business but "Sunset Boulevard" is really not about the movies but about age and class and celebrity and life and death. Small subjects. This is what DVD was made for -- to give those of us too young to experience a classic upon its initial release the chance to see it fresh and clear for the first time now.
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Summary: Near perfect presentation of a perfect film
Review: This is one of the best American movies of all time, undoubtedly, and you won't be disappointed by this transfer to DVD: gorgeous, crisp black and white, with little pixelation. I was slightly disappointed by the commentary track. The commentator, although knowledgeable in his subject, doesn't appreciate that most people watching the movie with commentary aren't seeing it for the first time. He will say things like, "And then Norma states a classic line," and will pause, and we wait to hear her say the classic line. Okay... but what's the point? This isn't the first time we've seen the movie, after all. I listen to commentaries to find out things I don't know, and in this respect the dvd is lacking. Overall, though, every movie lover will want 'Sunset Boulevard' in his or her collection, and there is no reason to pass on this edition.
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Summary: Paramount outclasses Criterion -- and everbody else
Review: "Sunset Boulevard" doesn't need any more amateur endoresments, its status as a classic long since established. The real news of this DVD release is the staggering job Paramount has done in mastering the film to video. I have never seen, even from the vaunted artistes at Criterion, a master to compare with this one. Paramount's soon-to-be-famous 2000 line resolution method has produced a version of this film with unmatched detail. Just take a look at the scenes inside Norma's mansion: you can pick up the brilliant details of Hans Drier's staggering art design as never before. Subtle variations in texture, tone and pattern emerge with startling clarity, and add, rather than detract, from the sub-textual meanings of the film. With this, and the lovely new DVD of "Roman Holiday", Paramount has set the bar at a new height for all the companies producing DVD's for the home market. Even Criterion needs to sit up and take notice. Too bad, though, Paramount didn't apply the same level of care to its DVD version of "To Catch a Thief": a glaring, overexposed eyesore which nearly trumps Hitchcock's glittering little amusement.
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Summary: Move pver Jack, Gloria's in town
Review: Gloria Swanson does the best acting of a psycho ever filmed, bar none. Satire of Hollywood must be seen to be believed. The extras are excellent. Even Buster Keaton shines in this. Mustsee DVD. Jack Webb plays 50's buddy to William Holden.
Get this one!!
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Summary: Dark Sunset
Review: Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard is a dark comedy about the decline of stardom and the inability of a vainglorious actress to realize that her star has faded and she has become a has-been. Gloria Swanson stars as Norma Desmond who was once a huge star in the silent film era, but was quickly forgotten once talkies took over. William Holden is Joe Gilles who is a failed screenwriter who stumbles upon Norma's crumbling mansion on Sunset Blvd while trying lose some repo men who are after him. Joe discovers that Norma is attempting a comeback with a screenplay she has written based on Salome. Joe sees a chance at a hit and he starts rewriting the screenplay for his own purposes as he becomes Norma's lover. Norma becomes more and more demented as the film progresses and eventually goes completely over the edge at the end of the film. The film is told as a flashback by Mr. Holden's character and one of the more inventive aspects of the film is that Mr. Holden's character is dead and is recounting the story from beyond the grave. Sunset Boulevard is one of the most revered films in movie history, but actually only won three Academy awards in 1950 despite being nominated for eleven with most notable of three being for Best Writing, Story & Screenplay in which Mr. Wilder shared it with co-authors Charles Brackett & D.M. Marshman, Jr.
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Summary: Still the best
Review: This is one of the greatest films ever made. If you don't know it, get it. If you do know it, get this splendid re-release. The commentary alone is worth the price.
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Summary: The mother of all backstage movies
Review: The mother of all backstage Hollywood movies that just never seems to age. One of the peaks in Billy Wilder's abundantly successful career is this fantastic film about a struggling screenwriter (William Holden) who takes refuge in the decaying home of a has-been silent movie queen (Gloria Swanson, in a career-reviving performance). He thinks he's hit easy street, but he soon realizes that this woman expects him to put out for her while helping her get ready for her giant comeback, a script about Salome that she has written herself. A cameo by Cecil B. DeMille himself helps lend weight to this great story, plus fantastic camerawork by John Seitz really allows the viewer to personally experience Swanson's fall into the darkness of insanity. Marvelous.
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Summary: 11 Oscar Nominations, AFI top 100 film now on DVD!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: 1950 Hollywood was producing some real outstanding films. "Sunset Boulevard" was nominated for 11 Oscars; Best Picture, Best Director - Billy Wilder, Best Actor - William Holden, Best Actress - Gloria Swanson, Best Supporting Actor - Erich Von Stroheim, Best Supporting Acress - Nancy Olson, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and won 3, Best ScreenPlay, Best Scoring & Best Black & White Art Direction. IN 1998 the American Film Institute (AFI) voted "Sunset Boulevard" as the 12th Best Picture (ahead All About Eve) of 100 American Films of the first 100 years. Due to its subject matter (attack on Hollywoods image) it was lost in the awards battle to "All About Eve" - a very good movie. Also voted as an AFI top 100 film (1998). For the first time on DVD this Paramount Collection "Special Collectors Edition" of Sunset Boulevard has been meticulously digitally remastered for our Home Theatre Viewing pleasure. Presented in a FULL SCREEN FORMAT (before WideScreen) the picture is crystal clear with Dolby Digital Sound. Summary: Norma Desmond (Swanson) aging star of silent films trys to make a come back using her own Screen play. Joe Gillis (Holden) failing young ambitious writer pretends to befriend & uses Desmond to finance his career by rewriting Normas Screen Play & becoming her lover. Desmonds protective chaufeur (Von Stroheim) tells Gillis that he must not betray Desmond. Gillis falls for young fellow writer Nancy Olson. Desmonds obsession of her stardom, movie come back, lover betrayal has driven her over the edge. The interesting part of this movie is whos character narration is used for the flash back storyline. The Many Extras Features Include; Commnetary by Ed ED SIKOV author of "On Sunset Boulevard - the Life and times of Billy Wilder", The Making of Sunset Boulevard Featurette, Hollywood Location Map, Edith Head - The Paramount Years Featurette, The Music of Sunset Boulevard Featurette, Theatrical Trailer, Photo Galleries,and Morgue Prologue. This is a great Hollywood movie which is appreciated and enjoyed more now then when it was released in 1950. So sit back and experience "Sunset Boulevard" a must have picture for your DVD library. Enjoy.
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