Sunset Boulevard: A Cinematic Masterpiece
In all of cinema’s history, there has never been or will there ever be another movie like Sunset Boulevard. The quintessential film-noir drama, this movie not only pokes fun at old Hollywood, but also broke new ground with techniques never used before in film. Sunset Boulevard also produced one of the most parodied lines from the silver screen, and had everyone creepily saying “I’m ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille.”
Sunset Boulevard is a sad tale of deception, greed, lust and jealousy. It begins and ends with a dead man floating in the pool of a crumbling old mansion. The dead man, we find out, is down-on-his-luck Joe Gillis, a Hollywood script writer, and also the narrator of this tale. Then Gillis takes us on a journey of how he got there through bad creditors, a car chase, a dead monkey and a very well timed landing at the home of Norma Desmond.
It is Norma Desmond herself that is the most hypnotic character in the film. A faded silent-screen star, Desmond has locked herself up in her secluded mansion. She lives in a world of delusion where her fans still remember her, and where her old director Cecil B. DeMille will produce the wretched script that she is writing.
Her eccentric behavior would only match that of, say, Michael Jackson today, and her neurotic tendencies seemed to know no limits. Nonetheless, she maintained a creepy glamour within the dusty walls of her Hollywood fortress that could be matched by no one.
While this film is both entertaining and striking, it is the history behind it that is truly remarkable. Gloria Swanson portrays Norma Desmond, which in itself, is pure irony. In fact, Swanson was a silent screen star in her youth, and all of the silent footage used in the film is actually of Swanson’s movies.
In a way, she was making a mockery of herself, though in reality, Swanson wasn’t an eccentric like Norma Desmond. This movie also features a number of real-life Hollywood royalty, such as director Cecil B. DeMille who portrays himself, as well as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper.
Besides the fact that this film makes a mockery of old Hollywood in an eerie sort of way, Sunset Boulevard also provides some great cinematography in 1950’s standards. Set designers were instructed to blow dust into the air before filming so the crumbling mansion would have a grimy feel on film.
The opening seen in the pool also has one of the best shots ever concocted in film history with the “fish-eye view” of the dead man in the pool. To create this famous scene, the director filmed it from above through the reflection of a mirror. Genius. Some of the best old tricks in Hollywood are the most simple, and this movie truly proves it.
If you have never seen Sunset Boulevard, then I highly recommend it. There is a reason that this movie won the Oscar for Best Art Direction, Best Music and Best Screenplay-find out for yourself. “Sunset Boulevard” is a reminder of how quickly beloved stars can fall, and that even though they may be forgotten, they are still big. It’s just the pictures that get small.
