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William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark ... see more see more... , Lloyd Gough , Franklin Farnum , Larry J. Blake , Charles Dayton , Cecil B. DeMille , Joel Allen , Gertrude Astor , Ken Christy , Ruth Clifford , Eddie Dew , Julia Faye , Al Ferguson , Kenneth Gibson , Creighton Hale , Len Hendry , Tommy Ivo , Stan Johnson , John Miller , Ralph Montgomery , Bert Moorhouse , Jay Morley , Ottola Nesmith , Eva Novak , Robert E. O'Connor , Billy Sheehan , Sidney Skolsky , Emmett E. Smith , Archie Twitchell , Yvette Vickers , E. Mason Hopper , Bernice Mosk , Frank O'Connor , Jack Webb , Gerry Ganzer , Gertrude Messenger , Howard Negley , Howard Joslin , Arthur Lane , Virginia Randolph , John Cortay

Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard ranks among the most scathing satires of Hollywood and the cruel fickleness of movie fandom. The story begins at the end as the body of Joe Gillis (William Holden) is f... read more read more...ished out of a Hollywood swimming pool. From The Great Beyond, Joe details the circumstances of his untimely demise (originally, the film contained a lengthy prologue wherein the late Mr. Gillis told his tale to his fellow corpses in the city morgue, but this elicited such laughter during the preview that Wilder changed it). Hotly pursued by repo men, impoverished, indebted "boy wonder" screenwriter Gillis ducks into the garage of an apparently abandoned Sunset Boulevard mansion. Wandering into the spooky place, Joe encounters its owner, imperious silent star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). Upon learning Joe's profession, Norma inveigles him into helping her with a comeback script that she's been working on for years. Joe realizes that the script is hopeless, but the money is good and he has nowhere else to go. Soon the cynical and opportunistic Joe becomes Norma's kept man. While they continue collaborating, Norma's loyal and protective chauffeur Max Von Mayerling (played by legendary filmmaker Erich von Stroheim) contemptuously watches from a distance. More melodramatic than funny, the screenplay by Wilder and Charles Brackett began life as a comedy about a has-been silent movie actress and the ambitious screenwriter who leeches off her. (Wilder originally offered the film to Mae West, Mary Pickford and Pola Negri. Montgomery Clift was the first choice for the part of opportunistic screenwriter Joe Gillis, but he refused, citing as "disgusting" the notion of a 25-year-old man being kept by a 50-year-old woman.) Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running musical version has served as a tour-de-force for contemporary actresses ranging from Glenn Close to Betty Buckley to Diahann Carroll. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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98% liked it

53 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 50 min.

Directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date: August 4, 1950

Keywords: old, silent

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DVD Release Date: November 26, 2002

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Stats: 3,400 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,400)

  • c0up
    February 6, 2012
    c0up
    'Sunset Boulevard'. A landmark film. Norma Desmond. A character like no other.

    Billy Wilder has created something special in this beautifully written and directed, genius of a "Hollywood story". From the first moment the camera pans out from SUNSET BLVD and along it with delicat... read moree precision, you know you're in for a treat.

    Gloria Swanson brings the amazingly rich, larger than life character of Norma Desmond to life wonderfully. Norma Desmond is obsessive, extremely manipulative and delusional. A washed up Hollywood starlet that has her former fame carefully maintained in the bubble that is her home by the creepy, but caring Max; the world in which William Holden's Joe gets roped into.

    When her world is slowly shattered by the truth, well, the delusion reaches even greater heights.

    A love story, a mystery and a look at the dark side of fame.
  • fb1664868775
    November 14, 2011
    fb1664868775
    A film that I can watch over and over, it is hilarious and sad all at the same time. William Holden's best performance and ofcourse Gloria Swanson is electrifying in a truly frightening portrayal of an actress past her prime.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    July 30, 2011
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Well, of course is good, it's a character drama above all else. I'm just not very fan of certain plot devices put there in order for the movie to, well, move on. The last thing i would do is giving my back to a demented person with a gun, but i guess that's the way it has to be.
  • cosmo313
    June 22, 2011
    cosmo313
    This film about a struggling writer who becomes involved with a dangerously delusional washed up movie star is a film where everything about it, and all the pieces that make it up are top notch. This just may be one of the greatest films ever made. It's certainly one of the most ... read moreinfluential.

    There had been plenty of films about Hollywood (or some facet of it) before this came out, but this one marked a turning point by being one of the darkest and most cynical take on the world of film. It's still pretty high on that list today. It is a satire too, and ranks with perhaps solely Network on as being the most bitter satire out there.

    This isn't really a horror film, but it sure as hell feels like one. Everything looks and feels really creepy and unnerving, and sometimes the tension is ratcheted up to its highest level. We the audience would like to feel pity for Norma Desmond, for the horrible way in which she's became ignored and cast off, but we can't because she's so out of touch that there's no really good way to get through to her. Whomever shows any sort of affection inevitably finds themselves forever trapped on a slippery slope.

    As I said above, everyrhing about this is just wonderful, but I especially loved the music, lighting, set design, and cinematography. Of course, the performances and direction are brilliant as well, but I really became hooked by the dreary set up of things, and the noirish quality of it all. That this was art imitating life only makes things more powerful and gripping.

    Do not hesitate to see this film. It in no way feels overrated. Sure, it doesn't seem so original now, but trust me, it's far better than all of its imitators.
  • TomBowler
    March 28, 2011
    TomBowler
    Great direction, fantastic script and an emotionally ripping ending. Full review later.
  • SirPant
    February 7, 2011
    SirPant
    Sunset Boulevard is cinema at its best. Everything about this film is glorious, from the acting, the directing, the script, to the set design to the make-up, everything here reeks of class and elegance. I also don't believe any other film has been narrated as well, and as for Nor... read morema Desmond, she is with out a doubt one of cinemas greatest creations. Just brilliant and still brilliant after over 60 years.
  • danperry17
    January 17, 2011
    danperry17
    Seriously, Billy Wilder never missed. In another noir classic to go with Double Indemnity, he gives us a wonderfully simple story of the fleeting encounter of a disillusioned, up-and-coming writer and a delusional, fading silent film star. In many ways, this is a film about films... read more themselves, what with all the narration - talking over the action the way story cards used to and revealing the shift in emphasis in a film to the wriitng and the story, and away from the simple moving picture itself. If not for Gloria Swanson's overacting - she does a good crazy, but sometimes, too crazy! - this might have been another five-star outing for the director who, increasingly, is approaching the title of "my favourite."
  • FrizzDrop
    December 6, 2010
    FrizzDrop
    One of the most intellectually beautiful films made (especially about Hollywood), Wilder captured the spirited decline in the value of silent picture stars, Hollywood's obsession with youth and bravado, and an early look at the relationship between a benefactress and her kept man... read more, so diluted down from a simple vain creature and her employee, and into a puppet and its master. The lithe performance of Holden, so amazingly sly in his machismo, and Swanson mirroring herself and an image of extravagance and greed, were not only complimentary but made into a power struggle that kept a gasp at arm's length. Truly a masterpiece of epic proportions.
  • ajv2688
    October 26, 2010
    ajv2688
    It's very cool that Wilder made a movie about the silent film star, and this movie has some great moments, but overall I wasn't that impressed with it. The romance was predictable and there are some slow boring scenes as well. Overall pretty good, but I'm not sure I'd call it a... read more classic.
  • bookmunki
    October 19, 2010
    bookmunki
    There is a reason why some films are deemed classics. This is the definitive Hollywood movie on Hollywood. The film is impeccable, containing all the right elements - noir, satire, humor, romance, mystery, glamor, seediness - a brilliant admixture of darkness and light. There ... read moreis nothing I would change in this absolutely timeless cinematic achievement. Bravo!!!

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Critic Reviews

Don Druker
August 14, 2007
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

A tour de force for Swanson and one of Wilder's better efforts. Full Review

William Brogdon
June 28, 2007
William Brogdon, Variety

...They rate a nod for daring, as well as credit for an all-around filmmaking job that, disregarding the unpleasant subject matter, is a standout. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
September 29, 2005
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Still the best Hollywood movie ever made about Hollywood. Full Review

Michael Atkinson
July 29, 2003
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

What's not recognized enough is the indelible, self-sickened performance of William Holden as Desmond's boy-toy/hired hack. Full Review

James Berardinelli
April 3, 2003
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

This is the greatest film about Hollywood ever put on celluloid by Hollywood. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Remains the best drama ever made about the movies because it sees through the illusions, even if Norma doesn't. Full Review

Thomas M. Pryor
January 1, 2000
Thomas M. Pryor, New York Times

While all the acting is memorable, one always thinks first and mostly of Miss Swanson, of her manifestation of consuming pride, her forlorn despair and a truly magnificent impersonation of Charlie Cha... Full Review

Scott G. Mignola
January 2, 2011
Scott G. Mignola, Common Sense Media

A must for fans of ruthless black comedy. Full Review

Tony Macklin
March 9, 2009
Tony Macklin, Bright Lights Film Journal

Sunset Boulevard's entire point of view is based on a gimmick. Whether one considers it an "artistic cheat" or a valid and audacious device depends up his ability and desire to suspend his disbelief. Full Review

Ryan Cracknell
December 8, 2008
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views

Tears away at the curtain that keeps reality away from fiction. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Norma Desmond: I am big! It's the pictures that got small.
    • Norma Desmond: There's nothing else. Just us, and the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark. All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my closeup.
    • Joe Gillis: You used to be big.
    • Norma Desmond: I am big. It's the pictures that got small.
    • Joe Gillis: I knew there was something wrong with them.
    • Norma Desmond: We didn't need dialogue. We had face.
    • Norma Desmond: All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up!
    • Norma Desmond: I Am Big! It's the Pictures that have gotten smaller.
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Sunset Boulevard Trivia

  • Mary Pickford and Mae West were among some of the stars considered for the lead role in which Billy Wilder movie? Mae West was insulted that she would be considered for such a role.  Answer »
  • What is this quote from: "Mr Demill, I'm ready for my close up."  Answer »
  • Mae West was the first choice for the Gloria Swanson role in Billy Wilder's 'Sunset Boulevard.'  Answer »
  • Which of the following silent comedy stars appears in the Billy Wilder film Sunset Boulevard?  Answer »
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