ipl-logo

Sunset Boulevard Sparknotes

489 Words2 Pages

Billy Wilder’s 1950 melodramatic feature film Sunset Boulevard explores the dark side of Hollywood, where fame and fortune can lead to deception and madness. Wilder contends that those within the glamorous film industry will eventually receive the repercussions of their actions, however, things like karma work in funny ways. The lavish lifestyles celebrities seem to have can often draw in those who desire more, little do they know what truly lies beneath the surface. Sometimes desperation to reach that inner circle can lead to drastic choices being made, ones that cannot go without consequences. But ultimately, it simply comes down to the fact that the Hollywood life isn’t for everyone, because despite the many ruined by success, there are still the few who flourish in it. …show more content…

Joe Gillis, the film's protagonist and narrator, can’t seem to let the Hollywood dream go. Despite his numerous failed attempts at being a successful screenwriter, he still persists, even when “this year [he’s] hungry”. Audiences may mistake this drive as ambition, however, as the film progresses and Joe continues making questionable choices, it begins to appear as if he’s simply trying to grasp at a fantasy that won’t come true. On the other hand, someone like Norma Desmond, who was left behind after the change from silent films to talkies, isn’t chasing the dream but rather living in it. Despite being ostracised by the very people who initially supported her career, Norma still wants back. Little does she know, her next fifteen minutes of fame will also be her last. Furthermore, desire for a life in Hollywood may be fruitful, however the lengths some people will go to in order to get it will come back to haunt them

Show More
Related
154 Words | 1 Pages

Through its macabre subtext and circular structure, Billy Wilder's ‘Sunset Boulevard’ encapsulates the nihilistic world of 1950s Hollywood, with essences of pessimism and cynicism ingrained in post-war America. The posthumous narration of protagonist Joe Gillis presents fame as a poisoned chalice that can leave you literally dead. Wilder highlights the human’s inherent desire for love and the detrimental consequences as it gets equated with infatuation with self-image and possession within interpersonal relationships. He explores how artistic integrity is ultimately attainable, and that both true sacrifice and indulgence are a necessity in this art making. The silent film star, Norma Desmond unveils the fleeting nature of fame, her mistaken

Read More
1001 Words | 5 Pages

Wilder’s film Sunset Boulevard tells the twisted tale of an aged silent film starlet unable to come to terms with the loss of her fame. It is clear from the start of the film that the actress, Norma Desmond, is not quite in

Read More
932 Words | 4 Pages

Released September 29, 1950, Sunset Boulevard is a film noir of a forgotten silent film star, Norma Desmond, that dreams of a comeback and an unsuccessful screenwriter, Joe Gillis, working together. Ultimately an uncomfortable relationship evolves between Norma and Joe that Joe does not want a part of. Sunset Boulevard starts off with an establishing shot from a high angle shot with a narrative leading to a crime scene shot in long shot (a dead body is found floating in a pool). The narrative throughout the film established a formalist film. Cinematography John F. Seitz used lighting and camera angles in such a way to create a loneliness and hopefulness atmosphere.

Read More
323 Words | 2 Pages

In Ray Bradbury's "Pedestrian," the author illustrates how an overreliance on technology strips individuals of their humanity by portraying a gloomy society where human connection, creativity, and individuality are sacrificed at the altar of technological advancement. only one house on the whole street was lit. Leonard Mead’s house stands out as the only illuminated one in the entire neighborhood. “he would see cottages and homes with their dark windows.” The quote says all other homes he would see after walking for hours would have dark windows, meaning none were illuminated.

Read More
776 Words | 4 Pages

The tension between artistic vision and commercial success is a recurring theme throughout the film, as the characters navigate the changing landscape of the industry. Don, in particular, struggles with the idea of sacrificing his art for the sake of a lucrative career, but ultimately realizes the value of making a film that he can be proud

Read More
525 Words | 3 Pages

This scene captured Norma’s delusion of still being a film star. There is mise-en-scene throughout Sunset Boulevard. Crane shots, as well as deep focus and high contrast lighting, were used in many of the living room scenes in Norma’s home to show how obnoxious her home was with all the

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

Many films of the silent movie era are melodramas, which was a term used back then purely as a descriptive word to describe a movie and not a ‘negative’ term the way we use the term today. Chaplin’s film is a melodrama that invokes the emotions of his audience. Some elements of melodrama are present in Chaplin’s film The Gold Rush, the characteristics of a melodrama aid in analysing how melodramatic a silent movie is. An element of melodrama is, a situation - an occurring conflict in the film created by the screenwriter to evoke an intense emotional response from the viewers.

Read More
271 Words | 2 Pages

In the second half of the novel, “Moonlight Shadow”, the theme of death and loneliness continues. For example, Satsuki jogged to the river where she and Hitoshi hung out, when she meets a woman named Urara. Urara tells Satsuki to come back to the river on a certain day because she will have “a vision...something that happens only once every hundred years or so.” On the appointed day, Satsuki returned to the river and witnessed an unbelievable vision: “There was HItoshi. Across the river, if this wasn’t a dream, and I wasn’t crazy, the figure facing me was Hitoshi.

Read More
1562 Words | 7 Pages

Characters such as Tod and Homer come to Hollywood expecting to receive all that they desire. “The Burning of Los Angeles,” is

Read More
843 Words | 4 Pages

The book ends with a huge mob of people at a movie première. These people are the “People who came to Hollywood to die” and according to Marcus Mordecai they are there because they get the chance to see the celebrities that have achieved what they want desperately themselves. This connects to the “Star System” they had in the 1930s where managements advertised their stars to be these perfect, nearly godlike creatures, giving the public unrealistic impressions (Dirks 2). At this event the people in the mob can finally show how angry and frustrated they are that their dream did not come true, they are no longer the people that just hang around the streets (West 2-3).

Read More
708 Words | 3 Pages

Sunset Boulevard (1950), directed by Billy Wilder, is a black and white film, where Norma Desmond, a famous actress of the silent film era, cannot come to terms with her career’s end. Desmond meets a guy named Joe Gillis, a struggling writer who is in financial trouble. The two come to an agreement that Gillis will polish up her script, which Norma believes will be her ticket back to the big screen, and Norma will take care of Joe financially. The one thing Norma and Joe have in common is that Hollywood has deemed both of them as undesirable. Norma experiences delusions of grandeur, and Joe cannot get his scripts picked up by a studio.

Read More
689 Words | 3 Pages

Barton Fink, a film by brothers Ethan and Joel Coen, is meant to be a study of contrasts and contradictions. Set just before the start of World War II the story centers on the lives of two characters, the eponymous Barton Fink and his next door neighbor, the “common man” insurance salesman Charlie Meadows. Barton is presented as a young playwright from New York City whose desire is to produce “a new living theater, of and about the common man.” His craft represents “high art” but is convinced to come to Hollywood by the promise of a high salary to produce “low art” film scripts. He comes off as cold, uncaring, and perhaps a bit neurotic.

Read More
460 Words | 2 Pages

1. I believe that death is something you should not dread or be afraid of. Eventually, we all die and it's just apart of life. Morrie said " Everyone knows they're going to die, but nobody believes it. " I think Morrie ‎was right and that is why everyone is scared of death because they don't believe that it will happen.

Read More
1504 Words | 7 Pages

In the film Sunset Boulevard many characters struggled with wishes, lies and dreams of fame and fortune. The film states the corruption in Hollywood and that people will do anything to get ahead. With hope and delusion each character tries to gain happiness, while only being self-destructive and isolating themselves. The characters ultimately deny their problems and confuse those around them. One character in the film who struggles with her wishes, lies and dreams is, Norma Desmond, a washed up actress.

Read More
1504 Words | 7 Pages

In the film Sunset Boulevard many character struggled with wishes, lies and dreams of fame and fortune. The film states the corruption in hollywood and that people will do anything to get ahead. With hope and delusion each character tries to gain happiness, while only being self-destructive and isolating themselves. The characters ultimately deny their problems and confuse those around them. One character in the film who struggles with her wishes, lies and dreams is, Norma Desmond, a washed up actress.

Read More

More about Sunset Boulevard Sparknotes

Open Document