Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Sunset Boulevard (1950) — This is the perfect Old Hollywood movie. There’s great acting, a great story, masterful writing, and enough touches of authenticity to make it utterly believable. This is a story of never-was who decides to use an old has-been only to discover that she is much better at using him. There’s betrayal and [implied] sex and it’s all set against the glitz and glamour of the movie business. But this is a story of people who have been used up by the movies. Gloria Swanson is great as washed-up actress Norma Desmond and William Holden is excellent as unscrupulous screenwriter Joe Gillis. Most of the movie is set in a Desmond’s run-down mansion which serves as an amazing visual metaphor for a once spectacular thing forgotten and neglected by time. The bizare atmosphere of the movie cranks up the suspense as the first scene of the movie tells you things do not end well. Billy Wilder made an amazing film.
Persistence of Vision 