Sunset Blvd was produced in 1950 and tells the tale of an aging Hollywood star and her lost youth and career.
It was directed by Billy Wilder who made many other classic movies and its name provides the basis for its setting. The title is the famous Boulevard in Los Angeles and the playground of the rich and famous movie stars.
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.
The plot centers around Holden in character as Joe Gillis, a young screenplay writer who is down on his luck. He owes money and has dreams of grandeur, which his pay check can not compete with. He meets Norma Desmond, a now aging star of the silent screen, and given his limited options he agrees to write a screenplay for her to relaunch her career.
Desmond falls in love, but Joe is only using the relationship as a stopgap until the big time. He eventually gets tired of being a kept man and tried to leave, but Norma’s suicide attempt has him returning out of guilt.
Desmond believes that her career will flourish again, but she is more mature in years now and the film company has no interest in her script.
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.
Her last line, often quoted is “I’m ready for my close up” showing how her mentally unstable mind is likening the events to being in a film and distorting what is actually happening.
The film is tragic, timeless and unique and presents the challenges of growing old gracefully in the movie industry.
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.
Desmond has several maids and each are gentle with her and try to hide the fact that she has aged and grown out of touch with reality.
Sunset Boulevard is suitable for all ages and is a thought provoking look at the lives of the rich and famous. Desmond’s lavish mansion, swimming pool and servants are things that are associated with making it in life, but her mental instability arising from her lost youth makes all these material possessions meaningless.
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.
Do you throw it away’ You could, but there are better options, like piano restoration. online dvd rental The trick to landing more gigs lies in your ability to satisfy the masses. Quinn, Medicine Woman (DVD) Review


June 6th, 2010
Max Mack
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