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Good concept, poorly executed.

Excellent but underrated film

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Right away you feel transported to another Dimension. A Hollywood Universe unlike you've ever seen before. Now Watch this film!

Accused by LB Mayer of biting the hand that fed him Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard is one dark, suspenseful but highly entertaining work of art. Arguably his finest script Sunset also gets career highs from pantheon cinematographer Joseph Seitz and composer Franz Waxman whose score not content to just provide background intricately attaches itself to the action, accenting one powerful scene after the next.Aspiring screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) is trying to stay one step ahead of the finance company out to repossess his car when takes shelter in an old movie star's run down mansion. Mistaken for an undertaker there to wake her dead monkey he's persuaded to stay in a room over the garage but the washed up silent star Norma Desmond has other designs for him. He chafes at the gigolo role but finds the lavish lifestyle hard to reject. When he connects with another writer as collaborator and romantic interest he decides to make a final break from the unstable Desmond.Holden's sardonic narration and Gloria Swanson's delusional Norma deliver Wilder and Leigh Bracket's biting script with emphasis in every word as morbid humor mixes with tragedy within the suffocating stage of the oppressive mansion along with the dour butler (perfectly played by Erich Von Stroheim) and the few visitors, actual former silent stars playing themselves, referred to by Gillis as "the waxworks."Also playing themselves are a sensitive but forceful Cecil B. DeMille and a shrewish Hedda Hopper as well as the Paramount Studio itself. There is also a fine supporting performance by Nancy Olsen as the late love interest but nothing surpasses the strident performance of Swanson that some may argue is over the top in spots while at the same time demanding it to be effective. Sunset Boulevard is an expressionistic masterpiece by one of Hollywood's best displaying it at its worst. Superb celluloid theatre.

This is GREAT FILM,You have old Hollywood and new Hollywood at that time all in one film.

This film was very well done with every aspect, from cinematography to plot. Gloria Swanson's wide-eyed facial expressions held such intensity that you could feel the crazy as if it were right next to you. The way the film is shot intensifies this mood even more: black and white that emits a powerful, severe feeling. I found the narration to be extremely effective; I felt very involved in the story as an audience member. All of the characters' (Max, Norma, Joe especially) psychological struggles were very fascinating to follow as well. The complexity hiding beneath the surface in this film is captivating.The plot is also odd but relatable in a way; I found the movie to be very applicable.. Not only do some recent movies parallel Sunset Blvd. (like Black Swan), but we can also see ourselves in Norma. As everyone knows, it is incredibly difficult to give up a dream you have worked so hard for, and although this film takes it to the extreme, we are warned of the devastating effects of a close mind not willing to see the greater picture. This film definitely critiques the Hollywood facade and illustrates the real effects of such a pressure cooker.