Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" is a portrait of a forgotten silent-movie star living a secluded life in a grotesque mansion, showing over and over again his old movies. Dreams come back to the screen. Sunset Boulevard is also a love story, and love enriches it to make it more than just a wax museum or a freak show. Silent film star Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson, is the best character of her life, with her greedy fingers, flamboyant fantasies, and stage-flavored demeanor left to the audience. left a deep impression. William Houghton plays a writer half Norma's age who volunteers to keep her in the care of her, and his virtuosity brings this complex role to life. But the highlight of the film is Norma's faithful butler Max, played by Eric von Stroheim. The character dilutes the gothic overtones of the film, making the film feel real and moving. "Sunset Boulevard" is drawn directly from real life, and many silent film stars recognized the specific details of the individuals involved when the film premiered. The most realistic character in the film is not Norma, but Max von Mayerling. Mayerlin was once a great silent film director, but now he has become a housekeeper, and his mistress is not only the female star he directed back then, but also his former wife. The character is apparently based on von Stroheim, who directed Swanson's Queen Kelly (1928), as well as Greed and The Merry Widow (1925) his works. However, he directed only two sound films before he was reduced to playing the Nazi machine in other people's films, even as a satire of himself. In "Sunset Boulevard," Desmond puts on a classic of her silent film for Houghton's young writer Joe Gillis, with Max operating the projector. The footage they showed was from "Queen Kelly." In this instant, Swanson and von Stroheim are playing themselves. Later, when Joe moved into the star's mansion, Max ushered him into a richly decorated bedroom, explaining: "This used to be the husband's room." Max's husband was himself. Desmond was married three times, and Max was her first husband. He has always loved her so deeply that he was even willing to return to her as a servant. He indulges her fantasies, fakes fan letters for her, and defends her great image wholeheartedly. Swanson's portrayal of Norma Desmond is brilliant, but at the same time risky, her stage-savvy sneer, snappy movements and exaggerated poses almost make her a comical character. For most of the film, Swanson keeps Norma on the brink of madness, only to make her lose her mind completely at the end. Such a character might not be convincing to us, and Max's presence just fills that gap. Because he believed, because he dedicated his life to her, so we believed. His love for her leads us to believe that there must be something to love about Norma, and that it is because Norma is worthy of love that Jo accepts her. Norma is certainly not a shrunken old woman, who in the film is only fifty years old, younger than actresses such as Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve. There is a scene in the film where Norma is doing a grooming with a magnifying glass in front of us, and we're amazed to see how smooth Swanson's skin is. The real-life Swanson is extremely health-conscious, never basking in the sun, a habit that undoubtedly protects her skin (she was fifty-three at the time of the filming). But in "Sunset Boulevard", it's not her body, but her mind, that she is old. She will always stay in the moment when she became popular, and she will always live in the past. Billy Wilder and his collaborator Charles Brackett were not only familiar with the archetypes of each of the characters, but also dared to bring them to the screen in a highly realistic manner. Wilder uses real names (Darryl Zanuck, Tyrone Power, Alan Ryder), real actors (Norma's bridge friends are silent films, respectively) stars Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson, and HB Warner), and even adopted a real plot (Norma to Paramount Studios) When visiting director Sicil Demir, Demir was filming Samson and Delilah (1949), a real film; besides, he called Norma a "child", which Also his usual name for Swanson). Butler Max told Joe: "There were three high-profile directors in that era, DW Griffith, Sicil Demir and Max von Mayerling. ' If von Meyerling was replaced by von Stroheim, that sentence would fairly fairly describe the latter's place in the cinema of the 1920s, at least in his own eyes. "Sunset Boulevard" remains one of the best films on the subject to this day because it sees through the fantasy world of the movie world, however, the heroine Norma fails to wake up from the dream. The silent film star's first time There is a classic conversation between the two when they meet the penniless young writer at her mansion. "You were a big star," he says. Norma's response is memorable: "I'm a big star now, too, in movies. got smaller. Few people remember Joe's next line: "I knew at the time that something was wrong with these two. According to the film's plot, Joe had good reason to accept the job of writing the screenplay for Norma. He was penniless, owed rent, and his car was about to be forfeited because he couldn't pay the loan. He didn't want to go back to Dayton to be a news reporter. He is not so resistant to selling his body. In Holden's performance, the character is both weak and self-loathing, and it is very subtle. Norma gives him a gift, he says he refuses, but he actually accepts it— —Gold cigarette case, platinum watch, suit, shirt, leather shoes. He pretended to be surprised when she arranged a party for two for him on New Year’s Eve, but of course he knew from the start that she wanted more than just a writer , but a young man who can convince her that he is still attractive. On the other hand, living with Norma is not so bad. Norma is not a boring old woman, and there is something interesting about her exaggerated poses. She also has The charming side, such as when she performs pantomime for Joe first as the bathing girl in Mike Sennett's film, and then as Chaplin's little tramp, is so poignant that one can't help but smile. Joe is willing to be taken care of by her. The only thing the film fails to do is to further the resonance between Joe and Max, who actually have a lot in common. Naturally, there is also a young blonde in the film. Her name is Betty (Nancy Olson), a Paramount playwright who meets Joe at the beginning of the film. Joe begins to sneak out of Norma's mansion and join Betty. Write a screenplay. Although Betty is engaged (fiancé is young Jack Webb) Webb]), but she still fell in love with Joe. Joe also has a crush on her, but he suppresses it, partly because he doesn't want her to find out the truth, partly because he likes the luxury life with Norma, and perhaps another reason, that he has Be fascinated by Norma like Max. His lines are sharp and sometimes brutal (Norma threatened to kill herself, but he told her: "Come on, wake up, Norma. Who are you killing yourself to? The audience disappeared twenty years ago.") , but also with a hint of pity. "Poor fellow," he said, "the parade is long gone, and she's still waving proudly." I've watched Sunset Boulevard over and over, and even analyzed it shot by shot at the University of Virginia. . However, when I recently rewatched it, I suddenly noticed that Sunset Boulevard was strikingly similar to the 1964 Japanese film Woman in the Dunes. Both films tell the same story: a man who is imprisoned by a woman in her home or lair, unable to escape. On the surface, men struggle, resist, and find ways to escape, but on an underlying level, they are willing to be prisoners and even enjoy it. The women in both films need a man to help them fend off the relentless onslaught of sand, and the "sand" Norma has to fend off is time. Of the great directors of Hollywood's golden age, only Billy Wilder made so many films that are still fresh and interesting today. The richness of his masterpieces is astounding: Double Indemnity, Ace in the Hole (1951), Passionate, Apartment Spring, Lost Weekend, Battlefield Soul ", "The Witness for the Prosecution", "Dragon and Phoenix"... and only he can occupy two positions on the list of the best ending lines in history: The ending line of "Passionate Like Fire" is "No one is perfect", And "Sunset Boulevard" ends with Norma Desmond's classic line: "It's just us, and the cameras, and the lovely people in the dark, and nothing else. Good, Demme. Mr. Le, I'm ready, take my close-up." (translated by Yin Yan) Dunes) are strikingly similar. Both films tell the same story: a man who is imprisoned by a woman in her home or lair, unable to escape. On the surface, men struggle, resist, and find ways to escape, but on an underlying level, they are willing to be prisoners and even enjoy it. The women in both films need a man to help them fend off the relentless onslaught of sand, and the "sand" Norma has to fend off is time. Of the great directors of Hollywood's golden age, only Billy Wilder made so many films that are still fresh and interesting today. The richness of his masterpieces is astounding: Double Indemnity, Ace in the Hole (1951), Passionate, Apartment Spring, Lost Weekend, Battlefield Soul ", "The Witness for the Prosecution", "Dragon and Phoenix"... and only he can occupy two positions on the list of the best ending lines in history: The ending line of "Passionate Like Fire" is "No one is perfect", And "Sunset Boulevard" ends with Norma Desmond's classic line: "It's just us, and the cameras, and the lovely people in the dark, and nothing else. Good, Demme. Mr. Le, I'm ready, take my close-up." (translated by Yin Yan) Dunes) are strikingly similar. Both films tell the same story: a man who is imprisoned by a woman in her home or lair, unable to escape. On the surface, men struggle, resist, and find ways to escape, but on an underlying level, they are willing to be prisoners and even enjoy it. The women in both films need a man to help them fend off the relentless onslaught of sand, and the "sand" Norma has to fend off is time. Of the great directors of Hollywood's golden age, only Billy Wilder made so many films that are still fresh and interesting today. The richness of his masterpieces is astounding: Double Indemnity, Ace in the Hole (1951), Passionate, Apartment Spring, Lost Weekend, Battlefield Soul ", "The Witness for the Prosecution", "Dragon and Phoenix"... and only he can occupy two positions on the list of the best ending lines in history: The ending line of "Passionate Like Fire" is "No one is perfect", And "Sunset Boulevard" ends with Norma Desmond's classic line: "It's just us, and the cameras, and the lovely people in the dark, and nothing else. Good, Demme. Mr. Le, I'm ready, take my close-up." (translated by Yin Yan)
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