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Post by naterdawg on Feb 25, 2017 6:34:15 GMT
I don't know about you guys, but I'm completely fascinated by Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, released in 1950. Starring a young William Holden--in one of his best roles--and silent screen siren, Gloria Swanson, in the part she was "born for," Sunset Boulevard oozes class from the first frame onward. Swanson gives an INCREDIBLE performance as silent superstar, Norma Desmond, slipping slowly into insanity as she plans a return to the big screen. Why she didn't win the Oscar is beyond me. I've heard that it was due to Bette Davis being nominated for All About Eve, and that their performances cancelled one another out. That's why Judy Holliday won for "Born Yesterday." I don't buy that. While it's true that Davis delivered an iconic role in Margo Channing, she paled in comparison to Swanson's Norma Desmond. There simply isn't any comparison.
As for Judy Holliday, don't get me wrong. I love her as an actress, but she didn't deserve to win for that part. And I think she knew it. Swanson was robbed.
Really, how many famous lines have come from this film? Here are just a few:
"You're Norma Desmond. Used to be big!"
"I am big. It's the pictures that got small."
"Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up, now."
"And all those lovely people out there in the dark."
"We didn't need words. We had faces then."
I could go on and on.
Anybody else have love for Sunset Boulevard?
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Post by Richard Kimble on Feb 25, 2017 6:44:24 GMT
As for Judy Holliday, don't get me wrong. I love her as an actress I don't care for her much. I don't like Born Yesterday either.
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Post by teleadm on Feb 25, 2017 15:13:47 GMT
I don't know if this is true or just a Hollywood legend that Mary Pickford was slating this as her big comeback, but when she read the script she was horrified and bailed out, and then "every" old silent sirens were asked and they too bailed out, and that bee-stung lips Mae Murray even tried to sue since she thought the script was offensive. Gloria Swanson was one of the last names on the list, but unlike the others she could see the dark humour and irony of the story. Guess what Gloria is more remembered than many of the other silent movie film sirens, and she had the long career in the public eyes, and she is fantastic in the Chaplin pastiche, her versatility surpriced me.
It's a fantastic movie about making movies. That happened to be Paramount this time around.
I think this was Erich von Stroheims Hollywood swan song.
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Post by naterdawg on Feb 25, 2017 15:31:23 GMT
I don't know if this is true or just a Hollywood legend that Mary Pickford was slating this as her big comeback, but when she read the script she was horrified and bailed out, and then "every" old silent sirens were asked and they too bailed out, and that bee-stung lips Mae Murray even tried to sue since she thought the script was offensive. Gloria Swanson was one of the last names on the list, but unlike the others she could see the dark humour and irony of the story. Guess what Gloria is more remembered than many of the other silent movie film sirens, and she had the long career in the public eyes, and she is fantastic in the Chaplin pastiche, her versatility surpriced me. It's a fantastic movie about making movies. That happened to be Paramount this time around. I think this was Erich von Stroheims Hollywood swan song. Yes, I'd read that Pickford had been offered Sunset Boulevard. I think what horrified her was the fact that Norma pretty much "Kept" Joe, and they lived together in the same house. Plus, going insane in the end probably didn't have much appeal for "America's Sweetheart." But what an ending, huh? Just incredible. I think Swanson was perfectly cast. She's almost serpentine in her movements, which is something I've always associated with silent films--the theatricality, the "bigger than life" personas. She deserved to win the Oscar that year, definitely.
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Post by teleadm on Feb 25, 2017 15:37:37 GMT
I don't know if this is true or just a Hollywood legend that Mary Pickford was slating this as her big comeback, but when she read the script she was horrified and bailed out, and then "every" old silent sirens were asked and they too bailed out, and that bee-stung lips Mae Murray even tried to sue since she thought the script was offensive. Gloria Swanson was one of the last names on the list, but unlike the others she could see the dark humour and irony of the story. Guess what Gloria is more remembered than many of the other silent movie film sirens, and she had the long career in the public eyes, and she is fantastic in the Chaplin pastiche, her versatility surpriced me. It's a fantastic movie about making movies. That happened to be Paramount this time around. I think this was Erich von Stroheims Hollywood swan song. Yes, I'd read that Pickford had been offered Sunset Boulevard. I think what horrified her was the fact that Norma pretty much "Kept" Joe, and they lived together in the same house. Plus, going insane in the end probably didn't have much appeal for "America's Sweetheart." But what an ending, huh? Just incredible. I think Swanson was perfectly cast. She's almost serpentine in her movements, which is something I've always associated with silent films--the theatricality, the "bigger than life" personas. She deserved to win the Oscar that year, definitely. Yes she certainly had a "larger than life" persona from then on, even up to Airport '75
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rick220
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Post by rick220 on Feb 25, 2017 17:24:22 GMT
I love this movie. In my top 3 of the 1950s, and in my top10 overall.
A film with a flashback voice-over from a dead guy. Erich von Stroheim as the servant. Von Stroheim and Swanson watching Queen Kelly on TV, the movie that caused an actual rift between the two in 1929. How meta can you get? Watching Queen Kelly on the telly! (It's the pictures that got small). Seriously, how meta can you get? Cameos by Buster Keaton, Harry Warner, and Anna Nilson, not just because, but because they are silent stars. And their dialogue? Can I say meta? So.much.more.
And John Seitz's cinematography is superb.
So yeah, I agree.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Feb 25, 2017 18:49:49 GMT
Watching Queen Kelly on the telly! (It's the pictures that got small). Seriously, how meta can you get? As much as I enjoyed the "Queen Kelly on the telly" turn of phrase, and if you'll forgive a minor nitpick, Rick, it's not on the tube that Norma and Joe watch the film; Max runs it from the projection booth over the living room ( "It kept him from giving us an accompaniment on that wheezing organ," Joe tells us), and it provides the wonderful backlit illumination for the iconic image of Norma rising defiantly to proclaim, "I'll be up there again, so help me!"
What your observations suddenly bring to mind, though, is - if memory serves - a complete absence from Sunset Blvd of even the mention of television. The only acknowledgment of its existence that I recall are broadcasting trucks appearing toward the end as the story returns to the present. Kind of intriguing when you think about it, considering the cynicism in which so much of the film is steeped. The considerably lighter All About Eve, 1950's other examination of the plight of an aging actress, goes out of its way to take a dig at the medium with Addison's snide reply to Miss Casswell's question about TV auditions: "That's all television is, my dear, nothing but auditions."
And in '54's A Star Is Born, studio head Oliver sneaking out of a home screening to watch a boxing match on TV elicits a teasing cry of "Traitor" from Norman. Seems suddenly odd that Wilder passed up opportunities for similar contemptuous disparagement.
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rick220
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Post by rick220 on Feb 25, 2017 19:23:00 GMT
I stand corrected. Thanks! This movie is so good it makes me see things that aren't there.
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Post by naterdawg on Feb 26, 2017 17:31:22 GMT
What I also find interesting about Sunset Boulevard is that Norma is only 50!
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Post by neurosturgeon on Feb 26, 2017 20:30:29 GMT
I was able to see "Sunset Blvd." on the big screen a few years ago at the Warner Grand in San Pedro, CA. They had a guest speaker who dis a slide show on the filing locations as a bonus.
It was unfortunate that it came out in the last great year of films and had too much Oscar competition. It was just about as perfect as a film could get.
Back in 2003, the Actors Fund did a stage readin of the film script of "All About Eve" with an all star cast. A year later, they did "Sunset Blvd." with Anjelica Huston as Norma, Patrick Wilson as Joe, Ben Kingsley as Max, Stanley Donen as C.B. de Mille. It was interesting.
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Post by telegonus on Mar 11, 2017 9:40:38 GMT
What I also find interesting about Sunset Boulevard is that Norma is only 50! Things moved at a different pace then, Naterdawg. I wouldn't say that fifty was like seventy today but it was nearer to sixty, which is borderline geriatric. The thing is, silent movies were regarded as quaint by the time Sunset Blvd was made; plus, we'd been through a major economic depression and a world war; and the movies had been "talkies" for a good twenty years, thus Norma Desmond was truly a relic of a bygone age, sort of comparable to the Victorians and Edwardians in the Twenties. Many were not that old as to their actual age but history had rather passed them by. As to authors, Brits in particular, some managed to survive and remain relevant. H.G. Wells, Thomas Hardy (as a poet), George Bernard Shaw and G.K. Chesterton come to mind, but I digress, or rather digressed. Boy did I digress!
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Post by gunshotwound on Mar 11, 2017 12:04:32 GMT
I knew about Sunset Blvd. long before I saw it due to my movie book collection. I was fascinated with looking at photos from the movie and reading about it. I could not wait to see it. I have never seen it in a theater and I saw it before VHS tapes came along, so I saw it on one of the 3 TV networks but I have no idea when.
I fell in love with the movie at once. To me Sunset Blvd. IS Hollywood. I love everything about it.
"Valentino said there's nothing like tile for a tango."
"If you need any help with the coffin, call me."
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Post by marshamae on Mar 11, 2017 13:00:22 GMT
As I think back in the film I'm amazed at the number of really arresting images come to mind . Joes last shot, Norma's last shot, the monkey, Max at the organ, tge New Years party at Norma's , tge bridge nights, her beauty treatments, riding around in the leopard print car, ....
It's just such a rich film. You simply can't take your eyes off it.
Swanson was remarkable. I've often thought that Hollywood wasn't ready ,that year to explore its past and present clashing in that relentless way. It was too seamy, too unfresh. Billy wilder was always ahead of the curve.
Mary Pickford always had a big old stick up her b$%#}. James Thurber has a lively article making fun of her way of pontificating to the public.he riffs off a quote from her about being a door keeper ,not an usher in the theater of your mind. He hilariously imagines the rowdy thoughts he ushers to a front rim seat , but not before calling Mary to task for putting herself in charge of public behavior. By me she's one of tge great Hollywood phonies. Joan Crawford turned into this person in the 50's and even the 60's , writing for Seventeen and other teen and ladies magazines about lady like behavior, etc. Arggh.
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Post by teleadm on Mar 11, 2017 16:26:37 GMT
There is a card game scene that involves Anna Q. Nilsson, when she was elder and to be frank forgotten. There is actually a plaque outside the house where she is suppused to have been born in Ystad south Sweden town and I'am OK with that! Now when an appreciation club member said on statly radio, that on the day she died, all american TV chanels stopped their original programs, and showed Anna Q. Nilsson films instead that evening, because she was that big in USA, I think that is a big fat lie, that one could say long before internet...
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Mar 11, 2017 23:59:10 GMT
A Great, Great film
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Post by LaurenceBranagh on Mar 12, 2017 4:58:29 GMT
One of my all-time favorites.
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Post by telegonus on Mar 12, 2017 8:19:12 GMT
The Hollywood party, the one with all the young people, was a good scene also, and a nice contrast to the stiff, formal, desiccated life at casa Desmond.
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Post by outrider127 on Mar 15, 2017 19:31:41 GMT
I don't know about you guys, but I'm completely fascinated by Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, released in 1950. Starring a young William Holden--in one of his best roles--and silent screen siren, Gloria Swanson, in the part she was "born for," Sunset Boulevard oozes class from the first frame onward. Swanson gives an INCREDIBLE performance as silent superstar, Norma Desmond, slipping slowly into insanity as she plans a return to the big screen. Why she didn't win the Oscar is beyond me. I've heard that it was due to Bette Davis being nominated for All About Eve, and that their performances cancelled one another out. That's why Judy Holliday won for "Born Yesterday." I don't buy that. While it's true that Davis delivered an iconic role in Margo Channing, she paled in comparison to Swanson's Norma Desmond. There simply isn't any comparison. As for Judy Holliday, don't get me wrong. I love her as an actress, but she didn't deserve to win for that part. And I think she knew it. Swanson was robbed. Really, how many famous lines have come from this film? Here are just a few: "You're Norma Desmond. Used to be big!" "I am big. It's the pictures that got small." "Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up, now." "And all those lovely people out there in the dark." "We didn't need words. We had faces then." I could go on and on. Anybody else have love for Sunset Boulevard? We saw it again last year, still holds up
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 18, 2017 23:44:23 GMT
One of the many films that get re-watched frequently here. It may turn up on the TV and tune in late so get out the DVD and watch it from the start OR it may be on one of the channels that have commercial breaks every 10 minutes so get out the DVD and watch it or just in the mood to see it so get out the DVD and (you know the rest).
It's just one of those movies what improve with multiple viewings. Some define them as, how you say ?. Classics !
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Jan 9, 2018 17:46:43 GMT
FINALLY saw this for the first time last night! Wow! Gloria Swanson, I heard you were good in this, but you really blew me away, just not like Joe, thankfully! This movie has so much going on at once and is full of lines and characters and cameos that you're left breathless. Gutsy and beautiful, ugly and gorgeous, simply amazing.
Does anyone else but me think Norma Desmond may have inspired the animators who designed Disney's Maleficent character in Sleeping Beauty? Those eyes, Max, those eyes....
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