Movie Information
Overall Rank: 127
Average Rating: 3.3/4
# of Ratings: 366
Theatrical Release Date: 08/04/1950
Blu-ray/DVD Release Date: 11/11/2008
Language: English
Genre: Mystery, Drama
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Billy Wilder
Actors: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Nancy Olson, Erich von Stroheim, Jack Webb, Fred Clark
Plot: A screenwriter is desperate for a job, when he finds himself in front of a legendary silent film era movie star. He writes script for her, but will it be good enough to make him famous? Or does he even want to be famous?
Quick Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
Logan D. McCoy - wrote on 07/04/2019
It's hard to decide which is better: "All Abot Eve" or "Sunset Boulevard." Either way, this remains one of the most timeless and chilling portraits of fading stardom, immortalized by Gloria Swanson's beguiling performance as a forgotten former star who's both living in and haunted by her past.
Rating of
3/4
Indyfreak - wrote on 09/18/2018
Billy Wilder's classic about fading stardom boasts one of the all time great 'psycho-biddy' performances in the shape of Norma Desmond (Swanson) who will stop at nothing to reclaim her extinguished celebrity status. A hack writer (Holden) unwittingly finds himself wrapped up in her delusions and has to balance that out with his own rising ambition. Darkly comical and shot more like a horror feature than a drama per se, SUNSET BOULEVARD also benefits from a lot of cameo appearances.
Rating of
4/4
mitchellyoung - wrote on 12/01/2012
Wilder's meditation on fame and stardom is firmly rooted in terrific noir moments. The creepy setting of a vacuous Hollywood mansion - an altar to celebrity past - is fitting in a tale that walks the line between tragedy and black comedy. Wilder's writing has never been sharper, as he is able to cut deep into reflection on human emotion and Gloria Swanson gives a captivating, withering performance.
Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
Sunset Boulevard
SteelCity99 - wrote on 04/21/2018
Billy Wilder had always been a very prolific director. From tense thrillers to romantic comedies, the main characteristic of his filmic style was that it gloriously portrayed, in a joyous way, the American lifestyle. Such elements would be irremediably exalted through plots regarding deception, malice, crime and the exquisite cinematic film-noir genre. With Sunset Blvd. he managed not only to create one of the best and most glorious American classic masterpieces with some of the most memorable, dramatic and stylish one-liners, but also to reveal what had been by then a possible myth of the obscurity of Hollywood. As scandalous and possibly offensive this timeless and dark masterpiece may have been for some people in particular, especially those belonging to Hollywood stardom and eternal …
Rating of
N/A
Waxfigur
cinegeek.de - wrote on 04/24/2016
Our Daily Free Stream: Billy Wilder - Sunset Boulevard. Billy Wilders Sunset Boulevard ist das Portrait einer vergessenen Diva der Stummfilmzeit, die zurückgezogen in einer grotesken Villa lebt. Wie im Exil sieht sie ihre alten Filme immer wieder an und träumt von einem Comeback. Sunset Boulevard ist ausserdem ein Liebesfilm und nur die Liebesgeschichte hält das Werk davon ab, zu einem Waxfigurenkabinett zu verkommen. Gloria Swanson in ihrer grössten Rolle spielt Norma Desmond. William Holden gestaltet die schwierige Rolle eines Schriftstellers, der nur halb so alt ist wie sie und sich aushalten lässt. Die Figur aber, die den ganzen Film zusammenhält und ihm sein Gewicht verschafft, ist der treue Butler Max, gespielt von Erich von Stroheim. Man sagt, der Film sei so nahe dran am …
Rating of
3/4
"Sunset Boulevard" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/05/2012
William Holden stars as a down on his luck screen writer who stumbles upon faded silent movie star Gloria Swanson whilst avoiding some repo men. He sees her as an opportunity to hustle a few bucks only to find himself mired deeper and deeper in her isolated, nightmarish little world. Another cynical classic from Billy Wilder, this film is a black hearted satire on Hollywood society and its obsession with image and self. Swanson is brilliant as the hilariously awful ex-starlet who surrounds herself with her own image, incapable of dealing with a world that has passed her by. Holden's character is not much more sympathetic as the self-interested operator, consumed with self loathing at his own parasitic relationship with the quite clearly insane old dame, and Erich Von Stroheim is creepy …
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