Sunset Blvd. (1950) 8.6
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity. Director:Billy Wilder |
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Sunset Blvd. (1950) 8.6
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity. Director:Billy Wilder |
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| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| William Holden | ... | ||
| Gloria Swanson | ... | ||
| Erich von Stroheim | ... | ||
| Nancy Olson | ... | ||
| Fred Clark | ... | ||
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Lloyd Gough | ... | |
| Jack Webb | ... | ||
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Franklyn Farnum | ... |
Undertaker
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Larry J. Blake | ... |
1st Finance Man
(as Larry Blake)
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Charles Dayton | ... |
2nd Finance Man
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| Cecil B. DeMille | ... |
Cecil B. DeMille
(as Cecil B. De Mille)
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| Hedda Hopper | ... |
Hedda Hopper
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| Buster Keaton | ... |
Buster Keaton
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Anna Q. Nilsson | ... |
Anna Q. Nilsson
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| H.B. Warner | ... |
H. B. Warner
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The story, set in '50s Hollywood, focuses on Norma Desmond, a silent-screen goddess whose pathetic belief in her own indestructibility has turned her into a demented recluse. The crumbling Sunset Boulevard mansion where she lives with only her butler, Max who was once her director and husband has become her self-contained world. Norma dreams of a comeback to pictures and she begins a relationship with Joe Gillis, a small-time writer who becomes her lover, that will soon end with murder and total madness. Written by alfiehitchie
In Hollywood of the 50's, the obscure screenplay writer Joe Gillis (William Holden) 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. While trying to escape from his creditors, he has a flat tire and parks his car in a decadent mansion in Sunset Boulevard. He meets the owner and former silent-movie star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), who lives alone wit her butler and driver Max von Mayerling (Erich von Stroheim). Norma is demented and believes she will return to the cinema industry, and is protected and isolated from the world by Max, who was his director and husband in the past and still loves her. Norma proposes Joe to move to the mansion and help her in writing a screenplay for her comeback to the cinema, and the small-time writer becomes her lover and gigolo. When Joe falls in love for the young aspirant writer Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olson), Norma becomes jealous and completely insane and her madness leads to a tragic end.
"Sunset Boulevard" is a bitter and tragic masterpiece of the genius Billy Wilder that exposes how Hollywood uses people and forgets them when they get old and are considered decadent by the industry. Further, it also shows the consequences of the lack of adaptation of a former star to the end of a successful career, being forgotten by fans and the industry, and the price that some persons accept to pay to join this business. The last time I saw this film was on 22 September 2002 and even having watched "Sunset Boulevard" for maybe five or six times, I still get excited with most of the scenes and I dare to say that it is in my Top 10 movies ever. The DVD has an interesting documentary called "Sunset Blvd.: A Look Back" (a.k.a. "The Making of Sunset Boulevard" with the presence of a still impressively beautiful Nancy Olson telling peculiarities about this awesome feature. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "Crepúsculo dos Deuses" ("Dusk of the Gods")