The power of fantasy and self-reflection also contributed to the theme and style of Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950), a film that marked the rise of modernism in the 1950s, and its interest in music. significant impact. Much of Waxman's score for Sunset Boulevard is subtle. The soundtrack is especially memorable for the scene near the end of the film, when Joe Gillis leaves Norma Desmond and walks out the gates of her home to be murdered by her. Waxman composed a riff from the theme song, beginning with "The Theme of Destiny" (his own label) in D minor. But, unlike the shrill-sounding original theme song, here the music is barely audible and the whole thing travels in "slow motion," with a disturbing effect that seems to suggest that Joe is trapped in a dream instead of self-awareness. As for the film's several climaxes -- especially at the end, when Norma goes mad -- Waxman turns to deliberately obtrusive music, exaggerated in power, first imitating Strauss' "Salome," and finally Ends abruptly on a startling major key. It's expressionist-style music, derived from '40s film noir, which has since reached its peak in a number of gloomy American "problem films."
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