Discuss ‘The film is a warning about the dangers of obsessive ambition and fame.’ Discuss. Billy Wilder portrays Hollywood as a toxic entity in his 1950 film noir, Sunset Boulevard. It follows protagonist Joe Gillis, a struggling yet ambitious screenwriter as he stumbles into the garden of Old Hollywood actress, Norma Desmond, whose grand mansion shields her from reality. Wilder uses his film to caution the audience and those within the film industry about the perilous consequences of excessive desire for success and stardom. Wilder criticises aspects of Hollywood through the illusion of success and the personal sacrifices in the pursuit of this success, leading to an inevitable spiral as a result of obsessive ambition. Wilder explores the …show more content…
Her mansion is a reflection of herself: stuck in the past of former glory days, unwilling to face reality. Wilder uses an intertextual link, having Joe compare the house to “that Miss Havisham in her rotting wedding dress and her torn veil, taking it out on the world because she’s been given the go-by”. Wilder uses this scene to provide a parallel between Charles Dickens’ Miss Havisham and Norma, who have both been dismissed from things they passionately believed in, and now must cling to an old past. Norma’s butler and former husband, Max von Mayerling, further shields her from reality by writing Norma letters and pretending to be her loyal fan. Therefore, Norma has become ignorant of her fall in popularity, seen when Joe first meets her, stating that “[she is] big! It’s the pictures that got small”. Through Norma, Wilder gives a voice to the victims of Hollywood’s toxic disposal of aged actresses and silent film stars. In contrast, Wilder's decision to have real-life director, Cecile B. DeMille, featured in his film, provides an opportunity to explore the hierarchy within Hollywood, warning the audience that Hollywood values positions greater than others. Accordingly, DeMille, as a male
Sunset Boulevard is a hollywood classic film that digs into the aftermath of the sound era caused. Sunset blvd came out on August 10, 1950. The film was directed by Billy Wilder, produced by Charles Brackett, and starred William Holden and Gloria Swanson. Sunset blvd shows us the aftermath of Norma Desmond and how she is stuck in the past of silent hollywood. The darkness and bitterness that many silent movie experienced after they were kicked to the curb once sound came. The film is has a classic dark drama/comedy that is one of the most acclaimed films in film noir history. The film touches on the loneliness and narcissism that silent legends were enduring. The mood of the film is immediately established as decadent and decaying by the narrator of a dead man floating face down in a swimming pool in Beverly Hills.
Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder in 1950 is based on how Norma Desmond, a huge Hollywood star, deals with her fall from fame. The film explores the fantasy world in which Norma is living in and the complex relationship between her and small time writer Joe Gillis, which leads to his death. Sunset Boulevard is seen as lifting the ‘face’ of the Hollywood Studio System to reveal the truth behind the organisation. During the time the film was released in the 1950s and 60s, audiences started to see the demise of Hollywood as cinema going began to decline and the fierce competition of television almost proved too much for the well established system. Throughout this essay I will discuss how Sunset Boulevard represents the Hollywood Studio System, as well as exploring post war literature giving reasons as to why the system began to crumble.
...le, abuse, pregnancy, money, accusations, sex, love, relationships, death, family and disagreements. These issues can be supported by scenes from the film but we could fail to appreciate the rest of this document. These statements are easily supported when viewing the film.
From the lavish mansions of Hollywood stars to the cigarette smoke filled offices of broke screenwriters, the 1950 noir movie Sunset Boulevard remains a timeless classic with a stunning story of an actress gone mad, and a screenwriter just trying to squeak by. This film is the first pre-1960’s flick that has left me with a feeling of awe. The first word that comes to mind after the credits begin to roll is just“wow!”. I was struck by the intriguing plotline and brilliant execution of the story. Not only is the film a classic for its gripping story, and twisted power dynamics, it also shows amazing camera work and brilliant acting.
“There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world! But that wasn't good enough for them, oh no! They had to have the ears of the whole world too. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Talk! TALK!” (Sunset Boulevard). The film Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder focuses on a struggling screen writer who is hired to rewrite a silent film star’s script leading to a dysfunctional and fatal relationship. Sunset Boulevard is heavily influenced by the history of cinema starting from the 1930s to 1950 when the film was released.
The noir style is showcased in Sunset Boulevard with its use of visually dark and uncomfortable settings and camera work, as well as its use of the traditional film noir characters. In addition, the overall tone and themes expressed in it tightly correspond to what many film noirs addressed. What made this film unique was its harsh criticism of the film industry itself, which some of Wilder’s peers saw as biting the hand that fed him. There is frequent commentary on the superficial state of Hollywood and its indifference to suffering, which is still a topic avoided by many in the film business today. However, Sunset Blvd. set a precedent for future film noirs, and is an inspiration for those who do not quite believe what they are being shown by Hollywood.
Films that are classified as being in the film noir genre all share some basic characteristics. There is generally a voice-over throughout the film in order to guide the audience's perceptions. These movies also involve a crime and a detective who is trying to figure out the truth in the situation. This detective usually encounters a femme fatale who seduces him. However, the most distinctive feature of the film noir genre is the abundance of darkness.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
In Nathanael West’s “The Day of the Locust,” multiple characters are introduced within Hollywood, California, which is widely regarded as the national capital of the film industry. One main character focused on throughout the novel is Tod Hackett, who West portrays as being superior to the fantasy observed around him. Many of the characters have traveled to Hollywood in pursuit of a personal, ambitious goal. However, there is a reoccurring theme of failure in their pursuits due to the fictitious personalities and actions they have created for themselves influenced by a setting full of artificialness.
Film Noir was extremely trendy during the 1940’s. People were captivated by the way it expresses a mood of disillusionment and indistinctness between good and evil. Film Noir have key elements; crime, mystery, an anti-hero, femme fatale, and chiaroscuro lighting and camera angles. The Maltese Falcon is an example of film noir because of the usage of camera angles, lighting and ominous settings, as well as sinister characters as Samuel Spade, the anti-hero on a quest for meaning, who encounters the death of his partner but does not show any signs of remorse but instead for his greed for riches.
Released September 29, 1950, Sunset Boulevard is a film noir of a forgotten silent film star, Norma Desmond, that dreams of a comeback and an unsuccessful screenwriter, Joe Gillis, working together. Ultimately an uncomfortable relationship evolves between Norma and Joe that Joe does not want a part of. Sunset Boulevard starts off with an establishing shot from a high angle shot with a narrative leading to a crime scene from a long shot (a dead body is found floating in a pool), this narrative throughout the film establishes a formalist film.
It’s a dark and rainy night. Our hero is hiding behind a wall with a revolver in hand. A crack of light, illuminates half of his face. He’s shaking nervously because he only has one bullet left. He turns the corner, and a sudden gunshot hits our hero. Who shot him? None other than his partner, who’s secretly in love with the very same dame that our hero fell for. You can consider this an example of a classic film noir ending. Film noir is a term used in cinema to describe a visually styled crime drama. Where did it come from? What are the key elements in a film noir? Why did this kind of cinema emerge when it did? What affect did it have in the film world? And finally, where is film noir now?
There are four crucial scenes of this film in which Hitchcock shows a change in perspective and identity through the mise-en-scène. Hitchcock’s signature motifs, style, and themes are conveyed through the mise-en-scène.
Sunset Boulevard (Wilder 1950) explores the intermingling of public and private realms, puncturing the illusion of the former and unveiling the grim and often disturbing reality of the latter. By delving into the personal delusions of its characters and showing the devastation caused by disrupting those fantasies, the film provides not only a commentary on the industry of which it is a product but also a shared anxiety about the corrupting influence of external perception. Narrated by a dead man, centering on a recluse tortured by her own former stardom, and concerning a once-promising director who refuses to believe his greatest star could ever be forgotten, the work dissects a multitude of illusory folds to reveal an ultimately undesirable truth. Its fundamental conflict lies in the compartmentalization that allows the downtrodden to hope and carry on. Sunset Boulevard carefully considers the intricate honeycombs of dishonesty and deception that constitute a human life, then dissolves the barriers and watches the emotions, lies, and self-contradictions slurry together and react in often volatile and destructive ways.
During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that, examining post classical at which time the relationship between them will become evident. It is my intention to reference films from both movements and also published texts relative to the subject matter. In order to illustrate the structures involved I will be writing about the subjects of genre and genre transformation, the representation of gender, postmodernism and the relationship between style, form and content.