Sunset boulevard film noir analysis

Sunset boulevard is a 1950 american film noir directed and cowritten by billy wilder, and. For examples, in the film of sunset boulevard by billy wilder 1950, the evilness and the guilt was a scene where norma desmond gloria swanson found out that joe william holden went out very frequently at night. A guide to film noir genre roger ebert january 30, 1995. Some call the movie horror because of many of its classic lines, and because of its ghoulish themes a dead man narrating the story for one. Essay about film noir and billy wilders sunset boulevard. Film noir and billy wilders sunset boulevard film noir, a term coined by the french to describe a style of film characterized by dark themes, storylines, and visuals, has.

A fascinating early script draft for sunset boulevard, billy wilders classic 1950 film noir with gloria swanson and william holden. Sunset boulevard film noir analysis chinatown film noir analysis. It is a picture with spooky shadows and visuals throughout its duration. What follows is an excerpt from my biography of wilder, on sunset boulevard. Why was sunset boulevard shot in black and white when. The shadowy contrasty skyis a key element of noir isthis shot. An analysis of the reception of sunset boulevard in postwar america. Sunset boulevard is a 1950 film noir directed by billy wilder. What is the significance of the chimp in sunset boulevard.

Sunset boulevard is typically classified as a quintessential film noir, a genre used to refer to highlystylized 1940s and 50s crime films saturated with a fatalistic, cynical mood. Cinema styleedith head gets gloria swanson ready for her closeup in sunset boulevard. Sunset boulevard 1950 is a classic black comedydrama, and perhaps the most acclaimed, but darkest filmnoir story about behind the scenes hollywood. M, the maltese falcon, the third man are exactly film noir. Film noir, a term coined by the french to describe a style of film characterized by dark themes, storylines, and visuals, has been influencing. As the police begin converging on the house joes voice narrates, in flashback style, the events leading up to his.

Sunset boulevard incorporates elements of film noir in its essentially realistic style, inverts the established patterns of the backstage movie, and draws upon. At andrew lloyd webbers opening night party for his musical version of sunset boulevard 1950, billy wilder provided that answer to a woman asking about the role of the mysterious dead chimpanzee introduced early in the film. Overall, fight club can be classed as a neo noir mainly due to the smoky street scenes, majority of low key lighting and typical cigarettes and female character with a few characteristics of a usual femme fatale. A movie which at no time misleads you into thinking.

When asked if sunset boulevard was a black comedy, he replied. Now she would help create another iconic film noir. Film is not reality, but a refraction through its ideology 689, which means that the end of sunset boulevard is simply the end, or an attack on the motivated happy ending that david bordwell wrote about in the case of film noir section of the classical hollywood cinema 76. Intro to film noirsunset boulevard lighting lighting. Why was sunset boulevard shot in black and white when color. The lifeless body of a young man, joe gillis holden floats in the swimming pool of a palatial mansion. Wilder preferred to leave analysis of his screenplays and films to others. The noir feel isintroduces immediately aswe see the old fashionedcards drive past in low keyblack and white lighting.

Wilder used to tell gloria swanson that her character, norma desmond, was in a sexual relationship with the chimpanzee. Sunset boulevard study guide contains a biography of billy wilder, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Sunset boulevard preliminary draft with original opening scenes and montgomery clift listed on cast sheet, 1948. The establishing shot in sunset boulevard billy wilder, 1950 films portray to the audience what the male protagonists are going to go through.

The lighting in sunset boulevard is used as a symbol that represents loneliness and a yearning hopefulness to become successful. Sunset boulevard, the 1950 film noir classic directed and cowritten by billy wilder, did a lot to change that and other myths of old hollywoodlike. The best of film noir what writers can learn from sunset boulevard. He also imho made the greatest film noir ever double indemnity.

The following analysis reveals a comprehensive look at the storyform for sunset boulevard. Billy wilders sunset boulevard is the portrait of a. Sunset boulevard, directed by billy wilder in 1950, is considered to be the greatest film about hollywood ever put on celluloid by hollywood. Sunset boulevard is a 1950 american film noir directed and cowritten by billy wilder, and produced and cowritten by charles brackett. Why sunset boulevard still captures the eyes of the world today norma desmond, played by gloria swanson, is standing proudly at the bottom of the stars ready for her closeup that will never come. Why sunset boulevard still captures the eyes of the world. Film critic pauline kael on sunset boulevard staggs.

A guide to film noir genre roger ebert roger ebert. The film starts with a high angle shot of a black concrete street. Sunset boulevard depicts hollywood as a place where dreams go to dieor to be fulfilled for a little while before winding up drowned in the nearest pool. In hollywood of the 50s, the obscure screenplay writer joe gillis is not able to sell his work to the studios, is full of debts and is thinking in returning to his hometown to work in an office. The film noir exhibit will showcase several important subtopics including the styles and films that served as influences, common conventions found in film noir, the significant directors and individuals associated with film noir, a comparison between hollywood and european styles, as well as. Wilder critiqued hollywoods toxic star machine, its. New ulm anyone ready for closeup analysis of sunset boulevard should attend the film s screening, tuesday. We look at the deeper meaning of billy wilders noir classic sunset boulevard. Cinema styleedith head gets gloria swanson ready for her. The film opens up with close up shot of the curb sunset boulevard which serves as both name of the movie and the street. Sunset boulevard 1950 is a classic black comedydrama, and perhaps the most acclaimed, but darkest film noir story about behind the scenes hollywood, selfdeceit, spiritual and spatial emptiness, and the price of fame, greed, narcissism, and ambition. Essay about film noir and billy wilders sunset boulevard bartleby.

Sunset boulevard is sunset boulevard really a film noir. Sunset boulevard employs many elements of film noir, but its seamless fusion of genres cements the film as one of the most beloved american films ever made. The establishing shot mostly used in film noir movies start off with symbolic features of trouble. Costume design is always important in a film, but it is vital in sunset boulevard. With it, swanson transforms herself into norma desmond, one of the most iconic film characters of all time. Although the film does not have every film noir aspect, these small, simple factors along with a few others make it a neo noir. The movie combines melodrama and film noir to give us a deliciously scathing satire on the movie making industry. Film noir is generally associated with a dark type of film in the era following wwii. The film stars william holden as joe gillis, a struggling screenwriter, and gloria swanson as norma desmond, a former silent film star who draws him into her demented fantasy world, where she dreams of making a triumphant return to the screen. Sunset boulevard is that, both literally and thematically.

The rare classic film noir not to be adapted from preexisting material, sunset boulevard opens with the lifeless body of william holdens joe gillis floating facedown in a. Any one of these films might crop up in our analysis. Sunset boulevard opening scene analysis cinemaoceania. For examples, in the film of sunset boulevard by billy wilder 1950, the evilness and the guilt was a scene where norma desmond gloria.

Unlike most of the analysis found herewhich simply lists the unique individual story appreciationsthis indepth study details the actual encoding for each structural item. An analysis of the reception of sunset boulevard in. Film noir, by translation alone, means dark film, and by that measurement sunset boulevard certainly fits the genre. A french term meaning black film, or film of the night, inspired by the series noir, a line of cheap paperbacks that translated hardboiled american crime authors and found a popular audience in france. For examples, in the film of sunset boulevard by billy wilder 1950, the evilness and the guilt was a scene where norma desmond gloria swanson found out that joe william holden went out very frequently at night which she also found out that he is seeing another woman who is betty nancy olsen. A harsh atmosphere of danger, doubt, anxiety, and suspicion that anything can go wrong, gray area of realism, hopelessness, and defeat are the characteristics of film noir. The general population of postwar america liked the film while executives in hollywood despised it. Movie analysis of sunset boulevard film studies essay. Sunset boulevard opening scene analysis in the opening sequences of sunset boulevard sets up a couple of key expatiation about the film. While trying to escape from his creditors, he has a flat tire and parks his car in a decadent mansion in sunset boulevard. A simply typed warning from wilder and screenwriter charles brackett graces the cover page.

Sunset boulevard opens with a slain man recounting how he was murdered, the audience is about to learn about the mystery through a flashback on fame, fortune, love and deceit. Sunset boulevard 1950 is a classic black comedydrama, and perhaps the most acclaimed, but darkest filmnoir story about behind the scenes hollywood, selfdeceit, spiritual and spatial emptiness, and the price of fame, greed, narcissism, and ambition. Sunset boulevard 1950 is one of the seminal works in all of cinema. Sunset boulevard is twice as chilling a film when you realise that desmond made paramount studios a. Movie analysis of sunset boulevard film studies essay uk essays. Billy wilder uses the black and white colors to the film s advantage. The mood of the film is immediately established as decadent and decaying by the posthumous narrator a dead man floating facedown in a swimming. Low lighting is portrayed when scenes are shot inside and the urban night is the usual exterior setting. The new ulm film society will show the 1950 film noir at 6 p. Which elements are enough to accept something as a film noir.

Even his last movie, fedora, although not a masterpiece, is still a great movie. Sunset boulevard presents many themes that are common with the genre film noir, but also introduces some differences from the typical movie in that genre. It is a classic black comedydrama, and perhaps the most acclaimed, but darkest film noir story about behind the scenes hollywood. Movie analysis of sunset boulevard film studies essay sunset boulevard, directed by billy wilder in 1950, is considered to be the greatest film about hollywood ever put on celluloid by hollywood.