Sunset Boulevard (1950) | The Film Index

Film Record

Sunset Boulevard

Country: United States
Release: 10 AUG 1950
Runtime: 110 min
Original Language: English

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A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

Why It's Here

Billy Wilder’s cynical, Gothic masterpiece is the ultimate Hollywood film about Hollywood. It belongs in the index for its perfect synthesis of film noir visual aesthetics with an acidic critique of the studio system's commodification and discard of its stars.

What to Watch For: The use of film noir lighting conventions (venetian blind shadows, high contrast, claustrophobic framing) applied not to a crime syndicate, but to a decaying Hollywood mansion. Pay attention to the audacious narrative structure: it is narrated entirely in voiceover by a dead man floating in a pool.

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Sunset Boulevard

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