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      Sunset Boulevard

      Released Aug 10, 1950 1 hr. 50 min. Drama TRAILER for Sunset Boulevard: Trailer 1 List
      98% 114 Reviews Tomatometer 94% 50,000+ Ratings Audience Score An aging silent film queen refuses to accept that her stardom has ended. She hires a young screenwriter to help set up her movie comeback. The screenwriter believes he can manipulate her, but he soon finds out he is wrong. The screenwriters ambivalence about their relationship and her unwillingness to let go leads to a situation of violence, madness, and death. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Jan 16 Buy Now

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      Sunset Boulevard

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      Sunset Boulevard

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      Critics Consensus

      Arguably the greatest movie about Hollywood, Billy Wilder's masterpiece Sunset Boulevard is a tremendously entertaining combination of noir, black comedy, and character study.

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      Audience Reviews

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      Shirley L Classic story of someone trying to break into the movie business and taken advantage of by an older star. I could have been a young woman being taken advantage of by an older male star for the same impact. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/24/21 Full Review Alec C In the world of Hollywood, the line between fact and fiction is kept blurry in the eye of the beholder! A desperate screenwriter gets entangled in the delusions of former film star Nora Desmond, which draws them both into a spiral of obsession, insanity and a detachment from reality. Darkly humorous but disturbingly relevant, we are caught up in the confusion and chaos that ensues which ends with no one getting a satisfying conclusion! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/21/24 Full Review Daniel N Definitely one of the greatest films about Hollywood, "Sunset Boulevard" sticks with you since the beginning and makes you want to know more, all of this with one of the best final scenes ever in movies. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/24 Full Review Merick H A masterpiece of cinema. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/24 Full Review Emilio B From my point of view, Sunset Boulevard touches on various uncommon themes and it does it creatively. It also has some twists here and there which I honestly did not expect. The characters are well-written and the performances by William Holden and Gloria Swanson are very good and impressive. The idea of having a forgotten silent film star and a screenwriter without a stable job as the main characters is very interesting. On one hand, she can afford to have a luxurious life, but her life feels incomplete without working on movies and being a protagonist. On the other hand, he has lost passion for the art and just writes to make a living. From here, the same message applies to both characters: to prioritize what really matters in life. For Norma, she has to accept that fame is not forever and she is no longer what she once was. For Joe, he must learn that money isn't everything, and it is certainly not more important than the relationships with the people you love. Although it didn't have me on the edge of my seat and it is not the type of film I love, I enjoyed Sunset Boulevard and would recommend it. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/24 Full Review James G Great acting! Storyline was very interesting Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/24 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Sunset Boulevard

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      Sunset Boulevard

      A scene from "Sunset Blvd." A scene from "Sunset Blvd." A scene from "Sunset Blvd." A scene from "Sunset Blvd." (L-R) Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond and William Holden as Joe Gillis in "Sunset Boulevard." (L-R) Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond and William Holden as Joe Gillis in "Sunset Boulevard." A scene from the film "Sunset Boulevard." A scene from the film "Sunset Boulevard." Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard." (L-R) William Holden as Joe Gillis and Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard." View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (114) Critics Reviews
      Wendy Ide Times (UK) Billy Wilder’s chillingly cold-blooded satire of Hollywood is one of his finest films — and indeed arguably one of the greatest movies of the period. Jun 27, 2023 Full Review Marjory Adams Boston Globe Smashing drama of the old-fashioned kind, plus elegant perceptive characterization of the modern school, combined to make Sunset Boulevard one of the greatest films of the decade. Oct 11, 2021 Full Review James Agee Sight & Sound It is Hollywood craftsmanship at its smartest and at just about its best, and it is hard to find better craftsmanship than that, at this time, in any art or country. Oct 11, 2021 Full Review Dilys Powell Sunday Times (UK) Sunset Boulevard is the most intelligent film to come out of Hollywood for years : lest the idea of intelligence in the cinema should lack allure, let me say that it is also one of the most exciting. Oct 3, 2023 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand ... the blackest of Hollywood’s self-portraits is an old dark house of a ghost story inhabited by the living shadows of its discarded stars. Apr 14, 2023 Full Review B.R. Crisler Christian Science Monitor Thematically, Sunset Boulevard is depressing fiction, but it isn't commonplace, and in its incidental realism, it has a peculiar, ingrown integrity. And for Miss Swanson, of course, it constitutes a veritable triumph. Aug 16, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis An aging silent film queen refuses to accept that her stardom has ended. She hires a young screenwriter to help set up her movie comeback. The screenwriter believes he can manipulate her, but he soon finds out he is wrong. The screenwriters ambivalence about their relationship and her unwillingness to let go leads to a situation of violence, madness, and death.
      Director
      Billy Wilder
      Screenwriter
      Charles Brackett, D.M. Marshman Jr., Billy Wilder
      Distributor
      Paramount Pictures
      Production Co
      Paramount Pictures
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Aug 10, 1950, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jul 1, 2013
      Aspect Ratio
      Flat (1.37:1)
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