SUNSET BLVD. –Plot, Industry Techniques and The Story of Norma Desmond
Sunset Blvd was a movie that came out in 1950 about the rise and fall of Norma Desmond and the silent film industry. This movie was a good example of the ‘unreliable narrator’ and it also showed how the Movie Industry has moved on from the silent films and production ways of the 20’s and 30’s, but that Desmond could not move on and began to suffer from narcissistic personality disorder as well as a major descent into madness. The story of Norma Desmond tells us just how different the two eras were despite it only being a 20 year gap. It is pretty clear that Norma still believed in the silent movie era by some of the lines she said in the movie. One of her most famous quotes in the entire movie was ‘We didn’t need dialogue; we had faces!’ as well as another quote she stated ‘I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.’ These two quotes proves to us the fact that she just cannot move on from the silent film era, which by 1950 was pretty much dead and gone.
Sunset Blvd was a movie that came out in 1950 about the rise and fall of Norma Desmond and the silent film industry. This movie was a good example of the ‘unreliable narrator’ and it also showed how the Movie Industry has moved on from the silent films and production ways of the 20’s and 30’s, but that Desmond could not move on and began to suffer from narcissistic personality disorder as well as a major descent into madness. The story of Norma Desmond tells us just how different the two eras were despite it only being a 20 year gap. It is pretty clear that Norma still believed in the silent movie era by some of the lines she said in the movie. One of her most famous quotes in the entire movie was ‘We didn’t need dialogue; we had faces!’ as well as another quote she stated ‘I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.’ These two quotes proves to us the fact that she just cannot move on from the silent film era, which by 1950 was pretty much dead and gone.
Behind
the scenes-wise, there were several interesting dilemmas that went into the
making of Sunset Blvd. In an interview, Billy Wilder said that William Holden’s
character of Joe Gillis was originally supposed to be played by another iconic
film star, Montgomery Clift. Clift is known for movies like Place in the Sun
(based on Theodore Dreiser; came out in 1951). Also, Sunset Blvd., according to
Wilder, was originally going to be a comedy! They were originally going to cast
Mae West, who is known for her comedy and vaudeville skills.
Another interesting thing is that Wilder used the same cameraman and lighting director from Sunset Blvd as he used in another very famous Wilder film, Double Indemnity, which was also a noir film and came out in 1944- six years earlier. The cameraman’s name was John Seitz, who almost was able to win an academy award on several occasions, but never quite got there. Seitz is well known for being one of the most well known Noir cameramen in the history of Noir film.
This film also shows an interesting point in that everything, including facial movements, body language and so on had to be greatly exaggerated. If you wanted to express sadness, you really had to look extremely sad. Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd is a great example of this because she was very aesthetically pleasing and photogenic during her time in silent films, and that is why everyone enjoyed watching her.
Another interesting thing is that Wilder used the same cameraman and lighting director from Sunset Blvd as he used in another very famous Wilder film, Double Indemnity, which was also a noir film and came out in 1944- six years earlier. The cameraman’s name was John Seitz, who almost was able to win an academy award on several occasions, but never quite got there. Seitz is well known for being one of the most well known Noir cameramen in the history of Noir film.
This film also shows an interesting point in that everything, including facial movements, body language and so on had to be greatly exaggerated. If you wanted to express sadness, you really had to look extremely sad. Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd is a great example of this because she was very aesthetically pleasing and photogenic during her time in silent films, and that is why everyone enjoyed watching her.
Finally, as a really cool nugget
of information, there are pictures of Gloria Swanson (the actress who played
Norma Desmond) all over the decrepit mansion that Norma Desmond lived in. These
pictures were taken when Gloria Swanson was in her prime when she used to do
silent films.
You can
find the interview I used with Billy Wilder at this URL: http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue10/features/wilder/
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