Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2621 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-07
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
• Dubbed in: French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
More than half a century after its release in 1950, Sunset Boulevard is still the most pungently unflattering portrait of Hollywood ever committed to celluloid. Billy Wilder, unequalled at combining a literate, sulphurous script with taut direction, hits his target relentlessly. The humour--and the film is rich in this, Wilder's most abundant commodity--is black indeed. Sunset Boulevard is viciously and endlessly clever. William Holden's opportunistic scriptwriter Joe Gillis, whose sellout proves fatal, is from the top drawer of film noir. Gloria Swanson's monstrously deluded Norma Desmond, the benchmark for washed-up divas, transcends parody. And her literal descent down the staircase to madness is one of the all-time great silver-screen moments.

Sunset Boulevard isn't without pathos, most notably in Erich von Stroheim's protective butler who wants only to shield his mistress from the stark truths that are massing against her. But its view of human beings at work in a ruthlessly cannibalistic industry is bleak indeed. Nobody, not even Nancy Olson's sparkily ambitious writer Betty Schaefer, is untainted. And neither are we, "those wonderful people out there in the dark". Norma might be ready for her close-up, but it's really Hollywood that's in the frame. No wonder Wilder incurred the charge of treachery from his peers. It's cinematic perfection.

On the DVD: Sunset Boulevard lends itself effortlessly to a collector's edition of this quality. The film itself is presented in full-frame aspect ratio from an excellent print and the quality of the mono soundtrack is faultless: the silver screen comes to life in your living room. The extras are superb, including a commentary from film historian Ed Sikov and a making-of documentary which includes the memories of Nancy Olson. Interactive features such as the Hollywood location map add to the fun. --Piers Ford

Special Features
Commentary by Ed Sikov
The Making of Sunset Boulevard
Theatrical Trailer
Hollywood Location Map
Photo Galleries
Original Morgue Prologue
Script Pages
Edith Head: The Paramount Years featurette
The Music of Sunset Boulevard featurette
Aspect ratio: Full Frame
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Dolby Digital mono
Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, English. Arabic, Bulgarian, Croat, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Synopsis
Billy Wilder's masterpiece, a corrosive black comedy that remains the most memorable assault on the emptiness and vanity of the movie business, it stars William Holden as young, down-and-out screenwriter Joe Gillis. Narrated in flashbacks by the now-deceased scribe, the film unwinds the series of events that left him lying face down in a pool. Unable to sell his most recent chef-d'oeuvre, and in hock up to his eyeballs, Joe stashes his car in the driveway of what appears to be an abandoned mansion on Sunset Boulevard, while trying to elude some persistent repo men. Closer inspection reveals the decrepit property to be inhabited by grandiose former silent movie goddess Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), and her zombie-like manservant Max (Erich von Stroheim). Upon hearing that he's a writer, the lonely but still wealthy woman offers to pay him generously to stay at the house and work on her 'comeback' script on the life of Salome. Although spooked by the people and the surroundings, in desperate straits, Joe takes the job, little suspecting the madness of the netherworld he's entered. Wilder's merciless portrait of the dangers of a profession that trades in fantasy, cagily couples the cynical amorality of the never-was with the near-psychotic narcissism of the has-been to reveal the vacuity of wealth and the transience of fame.

Customer Reviews

"I'm ready for my close-up....."
She's ready, but are you ready for her? In this magnificent film, Billy Wilder bites the hands that feeds him. Gloria Swanson dazzles as desperate, faded silent movie star Norma Desmond, who is trying to claw her way back to the top after years of seclusion in her Hollywood mansion on Sunset Boulvard. However, her time has been and gone, and at fifty years old, this seems impossible. When Joe Gillis (Holden), an equally desperate screenwriter, happens upon her mansion while fleeing some debt collectors, he finds the perfect way to make some money by using Norma. However, will he be able to escape her wrath when she discovers the truth? After all, in the immortal words of Desmond, "No-one ever leaves a star, that's what makes one a star....."

"Back at that pool again. The one I always wanted"
I watched "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) for the first time a few days ago, after a friend lent it to me. I am very grateful to him because otherwise I probably wouldn't have rented it, or at least not anytime soon. And truth to be told, this is the kind of movie that you simply should watch as soon as possible. From my point of view, "Sunset Boulevard" is, like "Casablanca" and "The Maltese falcon", a classic.

This film is directed by Billy Wilder, and narrated by a dead man that appears in one of the first scenes floating in a swimming pool. It sounds strange, doesn't it? Despite that, it is very effective! The opening sequence is strong, but things get better and better as the story goes on. Despite that, a word of caution is in order: if you don't like black humour, don't watch "Sunset Boulevard", because this satire of the perverse side of Hollywood has it in spades.

One of the main characters is Joe Gillis (William Holden), a screenwriter without money that happens to hide from his creditors in an old mansion that seems to be empty. That is unfortunately not the case... The mansion is no less than the home of Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a rich woman that used to be a silent screen star, and that wants to be famous again. That appears to be the reason why she employs Joe to improve a very long script she has written for her comeback, and also the reason why she insists that Joe is to stay at her house in the meantime. Joe isn't fond of the idea of staying in the mansion with the old woman and her creepy butler, Max (Erich von Stroheim), but he has no money, so he has to accept. Joe Gillis is like a fly caught in a spider's web: from the moment he enters Norma's house he is doomed, he just doesn't know it yet.

What will happen? Well, you must watch this film to learn that. I can only promise you that "Sunset Boulevard" is the kind of movie you don't regret watching. It is entertaining, insightful, has great performances and includes some of the best lines I have heard in a movie. Again, a classic. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Belen Alcat

PS: If possible, remember to watch the extra features after seeing this film. One of them, a commentary by Ed Sikov, is specially good, due to the fact that it allows you to learn several interesting facts about the cast and the making of this movie.

PS 2: I wil include here some of my favourite quotes from this movie. I'm sure they will make you want to watch it :)

-Joe Gillis: "You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big".
Norma Desmond: "I am big. It's the pictures that got small".

- [Joe is reading Norma's script] Joe Gillis: "Sometimes it's interesting to see just how bad bad writing can be. This promised to go the limit".

- Norma Desmond: "We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!"

- Joe Gillis: "There's nothing tragic about being fifty. Not unless you're trying to be twenty-five".

- Norma Desmond: "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up".

Face down in Hollywood Babylon...
I think that 'Sunset Boulevard' is easily a contender for one of the greatest films of all time- which is no mean feat coming from Billy Wilder, the director of such classics as Lost Weekend, Double Indemnity, Some Like it Hot & The Apartment. Here it gets a wonderful DVD treatment, with interesting support features, one of which includes the original opening sequence (Joe Gilles recounting his tale in the morgue, the next step on from Fred MacMurry in Double Indemnity).

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...