Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Average Rating: 9.3/10
Reviews Counted: 56
Fresh: 55 | Rotten: 1
Arguably the greatest movie about Hollywood, Billy Wilder's masterpiece Sunset Boulevard is a tremendously entertaining combination of noir, black comedy, and character study.
Average Rating: 8.2/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 0
Arguably the greatest movie about Hollywood, Billy Wilder's masterpiece Sunset Boulevard is a tremendously entertaining combination of noir, black comedy, and character study.
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Average Rating: 4.3/5
User Ratings: 48,801
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Movie Info
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 fished 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
Aug 4, 1950 Wide
Nov 26, 2002
Paramount Pictures
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Cast
-
William Holden
Joe Gillis -
Gloria Swanson
Norma Desmond -
Erich von Stroheim
Max Von Mayerling -
Nancy Olson
Betty Schaefer -
Fred Clark
Sheldrake -
Lloyd Gough
Morino -
Franklin Farnum
The Undertaker -
Larry J. Blake
Finance Man -
Charles Dayton
Finance Man -
Cecil B. DeMille
Himself -
Joel Allen
Second Prop Man -
Gertrude Astor
Courtier -
Ken Christy
Captain of Homicide -
Ruth Clifford
Sheldrake's Secretary -
Eddie Dew
Assistant Coroner -
Julia Faye
Hisham -
Al Ferguson
Phone Standby -
Kenneth Gibson
Salesman -
-
Len Hendry
Police Sergeant -
Tommy Ivo
Boy -
Stan Johnson
1st Assistant Director -
John Miller
Hog Eye -
Ralph Montgomery
First Prop Man -
Bert Moorhouse
Gordon Cole -
Jay Morley
Fat Man -
Ottola Nesmith
Woman -
Eva Novak
Courtier -
Robert E. O'Connor
Jonesy -
Billy Sheehan
2nd Assistant Director -
Sidney Skolsky
Himself -
Emmett E. Smith
Man -
-
-
E. Mason Hopper
Doctor/Courtier -
Bernice Mosk
Herself -
Frank O'Connor
Courtier -
Jack Webb
Artie Green -
Gerry Ganzer
Connie -
Gertrude Messenger
Hair Dresser -
Howard Negley
Captain of Police -
Howard Joslin
Police Lieutenant -
-
Virginia Randolph
Courtier -
John Cortay
Young Policeman
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All Critics (58) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (1) | DVD (28)
A tour de force for Swanson and one of Wilder's better efforts.
Top Critic...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.
One of Wilder's finest, and certainly the blackest of all Hollywood's scab-scratching accounts of itself.
Still the best Hollywood movie ever made about Hollywood.
What's not recognized enough is the indelible, self-sickened performance of William Holden as Desmond's boy-toy/hired hack.
This is the greatest film about Hollywood ever put on celluloid by Hollywood.
One of the great joys of the film is watching the way in which William Holden's naturalistic performance clashes with an actress and performance style from an earlier age.
On the new Blu-ray release: Beautifully restored. (The film) is awash in an embarrassment of riches. Only Holden's voiceover strikes me as particularly dated by today's standards.
Billy Wilder's tour of Hollywood's village of the damned finally gets its close-up on Blu-ray with an excellent A/V transfer and an overflowing extras section.
An uncompromising study of American decadence displaying a sad, worn, methodical beauty few films have had since the late twenties.
A must for fans of ruthless black comedy.
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.
Sunset Blvd. is both great entertainment and great literature
Tears away at the curtain that keeps reality away from fiction.
Many of its featurettes ... benefit hugely from the participation of co-star Nancy Olson.
if you have the dream to make it to Tinsel Town, you might want to check this flick out because Hollywood is as hard on dreams as it was back in the 1950s
The 'centennial collection' DVD's second disc includes a large number of featurettes.
Hollywood never made a better film about the industry eating its own. (Blu-ray edition)
Dark comedy. Film noir. Tragic romance. Hollywood satire. 'Sunset Boulevard' has it all.
The casting is perfect.
Audience Reviews for Sunset Boulevard
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Norma Desmond: I am big! It's the pictures that got small.
-
- Norma Desmond: All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.
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- Norma Desmond: I'm going to be bigger than peanut butter!
-
- Norma Desmond: And I promise you I'll never desert you again because after 'Salome' we'll make another picture and another picture. You see, this is my life! It always will be! Nothing else! Just us, the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark!... All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.
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- Norma Desmond: We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!
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- Norma Desmond: Alright Mr.Demille, I'm ready for my close-up.
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Foreign Titles
- Boulevard der Dämmerung (DE)
- Sunset Blvd. (UK)
