Down-and-out playwright Joe Gillis (William Holden, "Sabrina"), while being chased by repo agents, gets a flat in the hills and ducks out of sight into the driveway of a vacated mansion (or so he thought). He gains chance entrance into the home because the gilded movie star mistakes him for someone she's employed to come and bury their deceased pet monkey. Discovering that he is a playwright, Norma moves him into the garage apartment with the requisition that he write "her story" for director Cecil B. deMille.
Sunset Boulevard is bewitching yet traumatizing, and is filled with high-pitched drama and lighting. Ms. Desmond is exaggerated in every respect: her speech is deep and invading, her wardrobe flamboyant, and her makeup frighteningly bizarre. She wears a peculiar cigarette holder which clips to her finger and trails an ethereal haze whenever she moves. She terms her contemporary card players as "waxworks." This is a movie about Hollywood people in the 1920's and an industry with thoughtless disregard for those who paved the way to its success.
The genius Director Billy Wilder created a dreamlike and haunting environment to cast his players. His use of symbolism, voice-over, and narration fills in the details of the script. The opening scene gives clue to what's to come with the street name, "Sunset Boulevard" shrouded by decaying leaves and debris indicating destruction and death. A perfect film noir is created with its murder victim floating facedown in the pool of a fashionable Hollywood villa, with reporters and police scrambling over the estate like hungry ants at a picnic. Wilder uses the murdered victim to narrate the scene and then flashback events leading up to the tragic climatic end of the personal lives and struggles of the players. This is a story about opportunists willing to sell themselves out for any price.
Unethical Joe Gillis can't stop himself from taking advantage of any doorway opened until he finally sells himself out for the grand life of ease as companion to the aging star. Even his relationship with his friend's girl, Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olson, The Absent-Minded Professor) is too much of a temptation, but redemption comes in the end when our hero turns his back on "Easy Street" and begins his final walk toward truth.
Sunset Boulevard is a film "large" in every aspect. It's atmosphere presides throughout and pervades the lives of each and every character. This movie knows no genre; it is unique unto itself, and is compelling and captivating from the opening scene. Glenn Close who played the lead in Broadway's Sunset Boulevard, says that Norma Desmond was one of the greatest characters ever created. Joe Gills describes her as "still sleepwalking along the giddy heights of a lost career, playing crazy when it came to that one subject -- her celluloid self."
Sunset Boulevard: Centennial Collection boasts of exciting featurettes including the following: Actors, producers, and writers comment on Billy Wilder's writing and directing style in "Sunset Boulevard: The Beginning." You'll learn film memorabilia like Mae West was first thought to play Norma Desmond, and Montgomery Clift to play Joe Gillis. "The Noir Side of Sunset Boulevard" gives commentary from noted detective/author Joseph Wambaugh (The Choir Boys) and describes some of the mystical innuendoes and symbolism strategically placed by Wilder, such as the poignant opening scene leading to a body in the water. Wilder diverted from the norm when his central female character was not a busty, breathy blonde but an aging, pathetic actress waiting for the next movie that would never come.
Actress Nancy Olson comments that "Sunset Boulevard Becomes a Classic" when it stands the test of time. She says that the one thing that makes a movie a classic is when the public begins to use catch phrases from a film. Two in Sunset Boulevard were: "I am big... it's the pictures that got small," and the famous statement, "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. De Mille."
"Two Sides of Ms. Swanson" shows Gloria as a yoga and health food devotee. She wrote the blockbuster book "Sugar Blues" that revealed the evils of sugar. She loved fashion and her trademark was to carry a long-stemmed red carnation. She was totally opposite from her character and dabbled in the arts, particularly in sculpting and painting. Her granddaughter Gloria Nelson said her motto was "You can do anything you want. Just do it."
"Stories of Sunset Boulevard" has commentaries about the movie, cast and director. "Mad About the Boy: A Portrait of William Holden" shows William Holden was probably one of the most popular stars in Hollywood, playing roles from soldiers to lovers. "Recording Sunset Boulevard" showcases the tantalizing and invading music that held the film together, created by genius Franz Waxman. "City of Sunset Boulevard" documents this L.A. area and takes you on location of the mansion and vicinity, showing the famous Schwab Drug Store which capitalized on the myth that Lana Turner was discovered there -- she wasn't.
There were two versions of the unused "Morgue Prologue Script Pages" which highlights conversations of the corpses in the morgue as they lie on tables awaiting identification. "Franz Waxman and the Music of Sunset Boulevard" is elaborated on by his son, John Waxman. Sunset Boulevard was one of his first films in Hollywood. Producer A. C. Lyles in "Behind the Gates: The Lot" elaborates on the conception of Paramount Studios, gives a brief history, and documents the owners of the property. The "Hollywood Location Map" gives a brief description of the film locations and the "Original Theatrical Trailer" was, of course, its preview.
"Paramount in the '50s - Retrospective Featurette" will walk you down memory lane as it documents some of its most memorable films. "Edith Head -- the Paramount Years" shows the quality and style of this great costume designer who was certain never to let her creations overshadow a scene, but rather to enhance it. She was the most interviewed fashion designer of her time and her career is studded with Oscars.
Overall, if you are a fan of the film, then Sunset Boulevard: Centennial Collection is the version to add to your collection.
