Twilight Boulevard
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Twilight Boulevard |
| Original title | Sunset Boulevard Sunset Blvd. ( ) |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1950 |
| length | 110 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 (earlier from 16) |
| Rod | |
| Director | Billy Wilder |
| script |
Charles Brackett , Billy Wilder , DM Marshman, Jr. |
| production | Charles Brackett |
| music | Franz Waxman |
| camera | John F. Seitz |
| cut |
Arthur P. Schmidt , Doane Harrison |
| occupation | |
Than herself
| |
Sunset Boulevard ( Sunset Boulevard ) is an American film drama of Billy Wilder from the year 1950 , located in sarcastic manner with the mechanisms of the dream factory Hollywood apart sets. The American Film Institute ranks Twilight Boulevard # 12 among the best American films of all time.
action
Joe Gillis lies dead in a swimming pool. The police, the press and the television are on their way to the scene. Gillis tells from the afterlife how it came about.
Gillis, the screenwriter of several B-movies in Hollywood, is completely penniless. Nobody wants to accept his scripts. That is why Gillis is toying with the idea of resuming his previous work as a journalist in the province. At one of the producers he meets production assistant Betty Schaefer, who sharply criticizes his treatment . Gillis' financial position is so precarious that he has not been able to pay the installments for his car for four months. On the run from his creditors Gillis gets happened upon the estate of silent film - Diva Norma Desmond. Isolated and forgotten from the outside world, she lives with her butler Max von Mayerling in the shabby but still splendid villa. Norma initially believes that Gillis has come to bury her recently deceased chimpanzee .
When Norma learns that Gillis is a screenwriter, she asks him to edit the script she had written for the story of Salome . She is confident that Cecil B. DeMille will film it with her in the title role and that this will be her great return to the big screen. This conviction is also reinforced by the fact that Max takes calls from Paramount and supposedly talks to DeMille about the film. Little does Norma suspect that the studio only wants to use her car, an Isotta Fraschini from the 1920s, for filming. Since Norma often receives fan mail, she believes the whole world is waiting for a new Norma Desmond film. Gillis later finds out that Max is the author of the letters, thereby reinforcing Norma's madness that she is still a big star. It also turns out that Max was Norma's discoverer, director and one of her husbands.
Due to his financial worries, Gillis accepts Norma's offer, first moving into the apartment above the garage, then into the bedroom of the landlady's former husbands. Gillis becomes more and more dependent on Norma and is forced to witness her imitation of Charlie Chaplin or bridge games with other forgotten movie stars (including Buster Keaton , Anna Q. Nilsson and HB Warner ). In addition, she regularly shows her successes from the silent film era in the in-house cinema. The whole house is crammed with photos and other relics from Norma's heyday. Looking at the swimming pool, Gillis ponders that in the past, in the heyday, stars like Rod La Rocque , Mabel Normand and Vilma Bánky used to come and go here. Norma herself keeps reminding us that the actors used to convince with the power of their portrayal and that someone like Greta Garbo didn't need a dialogue.
After a bizarre New Year's Eve party, which Norma has arranged just for Joe and herself in the style of great silent film dramas, Gillis leaves the property exasperated. He visits his friend Artie Green, who is having a big party. There Gillis meets Betty Schaefer again. She is Artie's fiancée. Norma then cuts her wrists and forces Joe to come back to her. After all, he is reluctant to become her lover too.
During a visit to the Paramount film studio, where Samson and Delilah is currently being shot, the star director DeMille tries gently to teach his former leading actress Norma that there will be no new film by him with Norma Desmond. Norma can not be dissuaded from her convictions and as a result subjects herself to merciless ordeals, consisting of diets, massages and beauty treatments, in order to improve her appearance for the upcoming film. Meanwhile, Joe begins to write his own script with Betty. They fall in love with each other. Norma finds out that the two are secretly meeting and therefore informs Betty that Joe is her lover and that she will be able to support her. Betty appears at the mansion, where Joe tells her the whole truth and tells her that a relationship between them cannot have a future.
Gillis now wants to leave Norma for good. When he packs the suitcase and wants to leave the house, she shoots him. Gillis falls into the swimming pool that Norma had previously repaired for him. When the reporters and television people arrive and set up their cameras to cover the incident, Norma believes - now completely maddened - that it is the beginning of filming for a new, major Norma Desmond film. Under Max von Mayerling's "direction", which she believes to be DeMille, Norma thinks she is walking down the stairs of her palace as Salome.
background
The Sunset Boulevard in West Los Angeles is closely associated with the American film industry and the name Hollywood, since there 1911 the first studio of the city, the Nestor Motion Picture Company was opened. At the beginning of the 20th century, most filmmakers lived in modest houses and apartments. That all changed during Hollywood's golden era in the 1920s , when the star system and studio system established themselves and actor salaries skyrocketed. In the area around Sunset Boulevard, numerous villas were built in which the stars of this era resided. As from the beginning of 1930 the year talkies increasingly prevailed, this meant the end of career for many silent film actors.
Billy Wilder , who was very interested and enthusiastic about American culture as a teenager, fled the Nazis via France to the USA in 1933 and lived there in Los Angeles. He found that many of the old mansions on Sunset Boulevard were still inhabited by former silent movie stars, although their fame had long since faded and they had no connection with the cinema. Wilder wondered how these people would spend their twilight years and developed the story of Twilight Boulevard from this idea .
The historic Schwab's Drug Store , one of the locations of the film, was located on Sunset Boulevard and was a meeting place for actors and filmmakers of old Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1950s. In film circles it was called the "headquarters".
script
Twilight Boulevard was Billy Wilder's seventeenth and final collaboration with screenwriter and producer Charles Brackett . Work on the script began in the spring of 1948. Since Wilder was not yet satisfied with the course of the plot, he hired journalist DM Marshman, Jr. in August after reading his review of his film Kaiserwalzer in Life Magazine .
Marshman suggested adding the character of Joe Gillis to the story and focusing on his relationship with Norma Desmond. Due to the large age difference of around twenty years between the two protagonists, this was a daring undertaking for the time.
In order to keep those responsible at Paramount Studios in the dark about the details of the plot for as long as possible and to avoid the strict controls of the Hays Code , the team of authors only delivered excerpts of the script. Some lines of text had to be rewritten or deleted at the request of the censorship authority.
The production company informed Wilder that he wrote on an adaptation of the novel A Can of Beans ( A can of beans ). This book didn't even exist. The deliberately inconspicuous and harmless title was supposed to cover up the real theme of the film, the satirical and merciless settlement with the Hollywood system, in order to prevent any protests from the studio bosses. Since Wilder was one of the most sought-after and renowned directors in Hollywood after his success with Frau ohne Conscience and The Lost Weekend , Paramount gave him largely a free hand.
When filming began, only a third of the script was finished and even Wilder didn't know how the film would end later.
occupation
Norma Desmond
Casting the film was not easy. Mary Pickford was briefly considered. In a "fit of madness," as Wilder later reported, he and Brackett paid her a visit, but found that she didn't like the script and required too much control over the project. Pola Negri, on the other hand, was out of the question because of her strong Polish accent. Mae Murray , whose fate had partly inspired the writers for the character Norma Desmond, was taken with the role, but apparently the actress was mentally not as stable as it would have been necessary for the film work. Mae West also turned it down on the grounds that she was too young to play a former silent movie star in her mid-50s. West's rejection had a decisive influence on Norma Desmond's characterization. The role, which was originally designed to be much more cheerful and down-to-earth, has now gradually developed into a tragic and broken figure.
After all , it was director George Cukor who brought Gloria Swanson into conversation. Wilder later admitted that the only reason he had not considered them was because he thought they were out of reach. Swanson had enjoyed great success during the silent film era. Her career was similar to that of the film character Norma Desmond. Unlike them, however, Swanson had accepted the end of her acting career and was now working for various New York radio stations. Although she hadn't actually planned an acting comeback, she expressed interest in the role.
However, when asked to audition, she complained to George Cukor by saying, “I made twenty films for Paramount. Why do they want me to audition? ” And asked Wilder if he would question her acting talent. Cukor talked Swanson into conscience and convinced her that Norma Desmond was the role of her life she would always be remembered for ( “And if they ask for ten auditions, you go to ten auditions or I'll shoot you personally ! " ) Billy Wilder said in an interview in 1975 " There was a lot of Norma in her, you know. "
Joe Gillis
Montgomery Clift was initially planned for the role of Joe Gillis . Wilder had already thought of him when writing the script. However, Clift surprisingly canceled just two weeks before filming began. The most likely reason for his departure is his relationship with sixteen years older Libby Holman. He feared that the part of Joe Gillis could be interpreted as a parody of him, Clift. Ironically, he justified his refusal to Wilder with the fact that it was impossible for him to convincingly portray a love affair with a woman who was twice his age.
Under considerable time pressure, Wilder and Brackett started looking for a new leading actor. The then 24-year-old Marlon Brando was invited to an audition, but was not known enough to the producers. After Fred MacMurray turned down the role because he did not want to play a gigolo and Gene Kelly was unavailable, they turned to William Holden , an aspiring young actor who was under contract with Paramount.
Max von Mayerling
The role of the butler Max von Mayerling was taken over by Erich von Stroheim . Like Wilder, he came from Austria and was one of the most influential and controversial directors in Hollywood in the 1920s. In 1943 he had already played successfully in Wilder's Five Graves to Cairo . Some of the character of the butler bears a certain resemblance to his actor Stroheim. For example, he was actually Swanson's director for the film Queen Kelly , which he is showing on Sunset Boulevard to Norma and Joe. The fact that Mayerling, as a once successful filmmaker, now ekes out a dreary existence as a servant, finds its equivalent in reality. After filming Queen Kelly was abandoned in 1929, Stroheim often had to earn a living as an actor in B-Movies . The name "Mayerling" is said to have been a malicious comment by Wilder on the fact that Stroheim was thrown out of the MGM studio by studio boss Louis B. Mayer in the 1920s . In later interviews, Stroheim was disparaging and extremely negative about his involvement in Boulevard der Twilight . He repeatedly referred to his role as "that goddamned butler role" .
More roles
For the character of Betty Schaeffer, Wilder was looking for an unknown and natural-looking actress who would contrast with Norma Desmond's exaggerated demeanor. He chose Nancy Olson , who had only previously made a film and was recommended to him by Cecil B. DeMille. In 1951, Olson was nominated for an Oscar for the role of Betty Schaefer.
With the actors Buster Keaton , HB Warner , Anna Q. Nilsson , the director Cecil B. DeMille and the gossip journalist Hedda Hopper , Wilder was able to win numerous authentic actors and industry insiders for his film. Only the former actor William Haines declined a guest appearance, although he had been asked personally by Swanson.
German dubbed version
In the German dubbing , which was produced at Ultra Film Synchron GmbH in Munich in 1951 , Joe Gillis was spoken by Paul Klinger , Norma Desmond by Till Klockow , Max von Mayerling by Walter Holten and Betty Schaefer by Elfie Beyer . Wolfgang Preiss ( Dr. Mabuse ) can even be heard in four smaller roles.
| role | actor | Voice actor (1951 version) |
|---|---|---|
| Norma Desmond | Gloria Swanson | Till Klockow |
| Joe Gillis | William Holden | Paul Klinger |
| Max von Mayerling | Erich von Stroheim | Walter Holten |
| Betty Schaefer | Nancy Olson | Elfie Beyer |
| Cecil B. DeMille | Cecil B. DeMille | Anton Reimer |
| Artie Green | Jack Webb | John Pauls-Harding |
| Film producer Sheldrake | Fred Clark | Anton Reimer |
| Police captain | Howard Negley | Wolfgang Preiss |
| Homicide Squad leader | Ken Christy | Wolfgang Eichberger |
| Assistant director 1 | Stan Johnson | Wolfgang Preiss |
| Assistant director 2 | Bill Sheehan | Til Kiwe |
| Seller in the fashion store | Kenneth Gibson | Wolfgang Preiss |
History of origin
Filming began on April 11, 1949. The film had a budget of about $ 1,500,000. The interior shots of the Desmond mansion were shot in a studio on Irving Boulevard, with the Getty Mansion on Wilshire Boulevard serving as the facade. The swimming pool was built specifically for the film and came back into use five years later in Nicholas Rays ... because they don't know what they're doing .
The final two acts of the script, which still had the working title A Can of Beans , were written on set. For this reason, work on the film had to be temporarily interrupted. Von Stroheim gave a lot of advice and suggestions for improvement during the shoot. The scene where Desmond Gillis shows one of her old films - Queen Kelly - is based on one of his ideas. He is also said to have asked Wilder to include a scene in which, as Max von Mayerling, he washes Norma Desmond's underwear to underline the sadomasochistic component in the relationship between the two. Wilder liked the idea exceptionally well, but he was right to fear difficulties with the censorship and rejected the proposal. On the other hand, Stroheim's idea that it was Max von Mayerling who wrote the fan mail to Norma met with Wilder's approval.
Filming went relatively smoothly. The only major problem was the fact that Erich von Stroheim was a butler and chauffeur, but did not have a driver's license himself. Once he drove his car, an Isotta Fraschini , against the famous Paramount entrance gate. The car was therefore pulled by ropes in all of the following scenes.
In addition, there was a momentous argument on set between long-time partners Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, which led to the end of their long-term, creative partnership. Brackett went too far with Wilder's ruthless portrayal of the downside of Hollywood. Above all, the scenes in which Norma Desmond submits to terrible cosmetic tortures in order to be suitable for film, he rejected. Wilder and Brackett then vowed never to make a film together again.
When the shot of Betty and Joe kissing for the first time was shot, Wilder made fun of dragging the scene out unnecessarily. Holden and Olson kissed continuously for several minutes. After all, it was Holden's wife, Brenda Marshall , who shouted "Cut!"
Gloria Swanson stayed in her role for the entire two months of the shoot, according to her daughter. Swanson burst into tears at the end of the last scene of her going down the stairs, insane (barefoot so as not to stumble in her high heels).
Filming was completed on June 18, 1949.
- Input sequence
Billy Wilder had originally planned a different opening sequence for the film, and shot it completely. The hero of the film Joe Gillis is being taken to the Los Angeles morgue, he has just been shot. The dead laid out there begin to talk about how they died. This is how Joe Gillis tells his story. The real plot of the film begins.
Wilder often told why he had to change that: In a first preview, in which the finished film was shown in front of a test audience, the audience began to laugh when a small sign was tied to Gilli's feet with a ribbon. The audience simply imagined how it should tickle. From then on the whole opening sequence was laughed at. With that, however, the dramatic introduction to the story that Wilder had planned was broken. He walked out of the screening room and sat desperately on the stairs. A spectator, who didn't know who he was, came out laughing and asked him: "Have you ever seen such nonsense?" "No," answered Wilder, "never!"
He then changed the entire opening sequence. The scene with the morgue was completely deleted and the story now begins with the dead Gillis in the swimming pool, the entrance scene that later became so famous. The bonus material on the Paramount DVD contains remnants of the scenes from the morgue that were found later.
Technology and equipment
It was shot on 35 mm film Boulevard der Twilight . It was the last major Hollywood production to use the highly dangerous celluloid film. The cameraman John F. Seitz, who had already worked with Wilder three times, used various techniques (filter, dust, fog) to underline and emphasize the sometimes eerie atmosphere of the backdrop (see also stylistic devices ) .
Gloria Swanson's costumes were designed by Edith Head , who took inspiration from early 1940s fashion to give Desmond a slightly out of date look. Making this "exotic" (Swanson) wardrobe was "the greatest challenge of their career" for Head . Von Stroheim and Nancy Olson wore their own clothing to increase the authenticity of their characters.
During the filming, Wilder noticed that the intended age difference between Gillis and Desmond was not sufficiently visible. When the suggestion was made to make Swanson look older, she replied, "Can't you put make-up on Mr. Holden to make him look younger?"
The set designer Hans Dreier was responsible for the production. He had already pursued this profession in the days of silent films and furnished the villas of many of the Hollywood stars of the time.
The score for Boulevard der Twilight was composed by Franz Waxman . In addition to Norma Desmond's theme , which is based on a tango , and Joe Gilli's theme , slightly alienated pieces of music in the style of the 1920s and 1930s as well as classical music ( toccata and fugue in D minor ) are used.
Stylistic devices
Twilight Boulevard is a classic example of film noir . Features of this style include the high-contrast black and white image, the symbolic use of light and shadow and low-key lighting . The film takes place in an urban setting and mostly at night. It seems to be raining all the time.
At the center of the action is Joe Gillis, a man who gets caught in a vortex of jealousy and madness and is ultimately murdered. Norma Desmond plays the role of the femme fatale . The off-narrator and the use of flashbacks are also characteristic of a film noir . Because of its dark and oppressive atmosphere, writer Richard Corliss called Twilight Boulevard Hollywood's definitive horror film.
References to reality
Twilight Boulevard deals with the darker side of Hollywood and shows the tragic life of a former star who was forgotten by the audience. Many elements of the plot are based on reality. References to actual events are made in the dialogues, e.g. B. the murder of the black dahlia . People mentioned in the film include DW Griffith , Alan Ladd , Charlie Chaplin , Rudolph Valentino , John Gilbert , Greta Garbo , Bebe Daniels , Betty Hutton, and Barbara Stanwyck . In contrast, Darryl F. Zanuck , Olivia de Havilland , Tyrone Power and Samuel Goldwyn prohibited the use of their names in advance . Zanuck, Garbo and Power were named anyway. In one scene, Norma says that today's film stars only have Garbo expressiveness - but in 1950 Garbo had been away from film for almost ten years, which underlines once again how Norma has cut himself off from the world. Numerous parallels and allusions can also be drawn in the characters' biographies. The character of Norma Desmond, for example, has a lot in common with Gloria Swanson. The Spiegel quoted Billy Wilder in 1951 as saying, “If I had chosen a different role for the role, everyone would have said: that's the Swanson story. So I got her myself for the lead role. ”The same applies to the butlers Max and Erich von Stroheim (“ At that time there were three directors who were believed to have a great future: Cecil B. DeMille, DW Griffith - and me ”). The aging Hollywood diva's name is likely derived from the names of actress Norma Talmadge and director William Desmond Taylor. Mae Murray also served as a role model for her person.
The silent film featured in a scene from Twilight Boulevard is Erich von Stroheim's 1929 Queen Kelly, starring Gloria Swanson. The unfinished film was a financial fiasco at the time and wasn't released in the US until 1985. All pictures that can be seen in Norma Desmond's house are private or advertising photos of her actress.
Cecil B. DeMille, who worked several times with Gloria Swanson in the early 1920s and was believed to be her sponsor, plays himself. The Paramount studio set where Desmond visits him is the setting for the monumental film Samson and Delilah , the was in production at the time. The nickname young fellow , which DeMille used for Desmond in the original version, is also authentic.
The former silent film actors Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson and HB Warner can be seen in other guest roles, who meet in Desmond's house to play bridge and are contemptuously referred to as wax figures by Gillis .
Another relic of old Hollywood is Schwab's Drug Store , which has several important scenes. They were filmed on and in front of the original location. In the 30s to the 50s, this was an important meeting point for filmmakers, around which numerous legends have grown and which was called "The Headquarters".
The film also contains many swipes at the job of the screenwriter, who is represented in the film by the male main character Joe Gillis (in early versions of the script Dan Gillis) and the idealistic Betty Schaefer. Above all, the low reputation of this profession is criticized by Wilder. The script Joe and Betty are writing (Untitled Love Story) really exists. It is Billy Wilder's script for The Blue Sky from 1932. Gillis lives in the Alto Nido Apartments on Franklin Avenue, as does Eugene Walter, a successful screenwriter in the 1930s.
Success and aftermath
The first version of the film began with a scene in which Joe Gillis' body was taken to a morgue. There he starts a conversation with the other corpses that are there and tells them about the circumstances of his death. This surreal introduction unsettled the audience at the first test demonstration in a small town in the Midwest. The film was mistaken for a comedy. According to Wilder, the entire hall burst into roaring laughter - a reaction he hadn't intended.
After a second test screening went similarly, Wilder decided to re-shoot, although personally he preferred the original version and thought it was one of his best work. The shooting of the new opening scene presented the crew with a technical challenge. In the said scene, Joe Gillis' body is seen floating in the swimming pool from below. Since underwater photography was not yet fully developed at the beginning of the 1950s and the corresponding cameras gave unsatisfactory results, a mirror was placed on the floor of the swimming pool and the reflection was filmed. This attitude is one of the most famous and most cited motifs in film history today.
The final version of Twilight Boulevard premiered in Poughkeepsie . The reactions were mostly positive. A few days later, the founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Louis B. Mayer , showed the film at a dinner that was attended by around 300 celebrities, including Mary Pickford, Charles Rodgers, Buster Keaton and Barbara Stanwyck. Of the main actors, only Erich von Stroheim stayed away from the event.
After the performance, the audience was almost unanimously enthusiastic and particularly impressed by Gloria Swanson's performance. Louis B. Mayer himself, however, insulted Wilder as a polluter and traitor who had brought shame on the industry to which he owed his fame ("They should be tarred and feathered!"). Billy Wilder replied: "I am Mr. Wilder, and why don't you go fuck yourself?" On August 11, 1950, Twilight Boulevard premiered at New York's Radio City Music Hall . The reviews were consistently positive and the film became a huge hit with audiences, breaking several box office records. He grossed over five million dollars worldwide. The German premiere took place on April 7, 1951.
Although there had been films about Hollywood since the 1920s, including What Price Hollywood? and A Star Rises , Boulevard der Twilight was the first to deal with the industry in such a cynical and self-critical manner and to reveal the dark side of the dream factory. He was soon followed by similar productions such as Stadt der Illusionen , The Star , I'll Cry Tomorrow . By the late 1990s, most copies of the film were in poor condition. Paramount then commissioned an extensive restoration, which was completed in 2002. Twilight Boulevard is now considered a classic in film history and one of Wilder's best works as a director.
musical
The plans for a Sunset Boulevard musical had their origins back in the 1950s . Gloria Swanson then took the initiative and commissioned the British composers Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley to write the music. Gerald Palmer acted as producer, José Ferrer was discussed as director. In 1957, the project failed due to resistance from the production company Paramount, which owned the rights to the material. The music was already composed at this point.
In the early 1990s , the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Don Black and Christopher Hampton was finally realized. The premiere took place in 1993 in London . In 1994 it was performed on Broadway . Since then, Glenn Close , Petula Clark , Helen Schneider , Debra Byrne and Betty Buckley have starred in the role of Norma Desmond.
Reviews
- Lexicon of International Films : "The masterfully staged and photographed, brilliantly played film ironically scratches the glamor myth of Hollywood and is at the same time a part of it."
- Ulrich Behrens on Filmzentrale.com: “In a way, 'Sunset Boulevard' is Wilder's most important film. Wilder settles accounts with those, no, not from whom he lives, because he lives from the audience, from the public and above all from his ideas, his ingenuity, his actors - but from those who sometimes or more often walk over corpses whom they lived. Perhaps the film was a necessary step for Wilder in order to be able to do everything else he did afterwards, a kind of clarification to Hollywood, to the audience, also to himself and his own experiences as a young screenwriter. A great, biting, ironic, dramatic film. "
- prisma -online wrote: “With the tragic story of the aging diva - played outstandingly by the actual diva Gloria Swanson - who catches a young screenwriter, Hollywood legend Billy Wilder staged a masterful self-criticism and at the same time a brilliant reflection on the glamor world of Hollywood in 1950 with a strongly pessimistic tendency. Wilder worked here once again with screenwriter Charles Brackett , who, along with Wilder and DM Marshman, Jr., received an Oscar for best book. There were further Oscars for the equipment and for the best music by Hollywood legend Franz Waxman . "
- The New York Times , 1950: "'Sunset Boulevard' is this rare mixture of an exciting break in filming, great performances, masterful direction and unobtrusive camera work that immediately captivates the audience and holds them in suspense until the harrowing climax."
- Time : "The film shows Hollywood as a jungle fortress of rampant opportunism, the highest goal is success for which every means is right and no price too high."
- Der Spiegel : “The key film Sunset Boulevard comes so close to the cruel Hollywood reality that the film colony was shocked. Charlie Chaplin, whom Gloria Swanson copied once in this film, passed the verdict after a “preview”: “Tasteless”. And for his part improvised an imitation of the Swanson as she imitates him. "
- Sight & Sound , 1950: "'Sunset Boulevard' is one of those rare films that is so full of accuracy, cleverness, mastery and pleasure that it can be discussed endlessly."
- The Sunday Times , 1950: "Sunset Boulevard is the smartest movie Hollywood has made in years."
- BBC Films, 2003: "The best movie ever made about the narcissistic hellhole that Hollywood is."
- Adolf Heinzlmeier and Berndt Schulz in Lexicon "Films on TV" (extended new edition). Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 104: “Wilder's film homage to old Hollywood, not without ironic features.” (Rating: 3 stars = very good)
- 6000 films. Critical notes from the cinema years 1945 to 1958 . Handbook V of the Catholic film criticism, 3rd edition, Verlag Haus Altenberg, Düsseldorf 1963, p. 52: "Scourges certain customs of the film industry in a masterly manner."
- Filmkuratorium.de : “'Sunset Boulevard' is a film from Hollywood about Hollywood. With a tragicomic undertone, he casts an extremely cynical look at the film business in general, the pathologies and neuroses of the 'dream factory' in particular - a 'swan song' as it is often called. "
Awards
In 1950, the film received two National Board of Review awards for Best Actress (Swanson) and Best Picture.
In 1951 Twilight Boulevard was nominated for eleven Oscars , including Best Picture , Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Actor (William Holden), Best Supporting Actor (Erich von Stroheim), Best Actress (Gloria Swanson), the Best Supporting Actress (Nancy Olson), Best Black & White Camera (John F. Seitz), and Best Editing (Arthur P. Schmidt and Doane Harrison). The film won the trophy in the categories of Best Production Design (Hans Dreier, John Meehan, Sam Comer and Ray Moyer), Best Music (Franz Waxman) and Best Original Screenplay (Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and DM Marshman Jr.)
The winner in the Best Film category was Alles über Eva, a film that also critically dealt with the fading fame of actors, but was set in the theatrical environment.
At the Golden Globe Awards in 1951, Twilight Boulevard was recognized for Best Drama , Best Director , Best Actress (Swanson), and Best Music . The film was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor , Best Cinematography, and Best Screenplay .
The script won the 1951 Writers Guild of America Award.
Twilight Boulevard won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Film in Japan in 1951 .
In 1998, the American Film Institute voted the film at number 12 of the best American films of all time, and in 2007 the film landed at number 16 on the list of the same name.
In 1989, Twilight Boulevard was one of the first 25 films to be included in the National Film Registry , the list of American films that are considered particularly worth preserving.
In 2005, Franz Waxman's film music was ranked 16th among the 25 best film music of all time.
The lines "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." ("Yes, Mr. DeMille. I'm ready for my close-up") and "I am big! It's the pictures that got small. " (“I'm big, it's the films that are no longer big today.”) Came in 2004 on the 7th and 24th place of the best movie quotes.
DVD release
- Sunset Boulevard . Paramount Home Entertainment 2004
Soundtrack
- Franz Waxman : Sunset Boulevard. Original motion picture score . Varèse Sarabande / Colosseum, Nuremberg 2002, sound carrier no. VSD-6116 - First complete recording of the film music by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the direction of Joel McNeely
Web links
- Sunset Boulevard in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Twilight Boulevard in the German dubbing index
- Extensive review of the film on film scene
- Discussion of the music on Film Music World
- Detailed information about the film
Individual evidence
- Sunset Boulevard - The Movie Website ( Memento from October 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ AFI's 100 Years… 100 Movies. In: afi.com. American Film Institute, accessed September 9, 2011 .
- ↑ The actor-turned-director-turned-actor-again, who had indeed been one of the great silent-filmmakers, winced at playing a character so self-referential and demeaning, but he needed the money. He called it "that goddamned butler role" for the remaining seven years of his life.
- ↑ Twilight Boulevard. ( Memento of the original from January 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Entry in Arne Kaul's synchronous database, accessed on October 12, 2007.
