tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post2358316033867167944..comments2023-07-01T05:05:31.938-04:00Comments on Films Worth Watching: Sunset Boulevard (1950) - Directed by Billy WilderJonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10656287096270976604noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-71044304781519987442012-03-08T09:52:33.095-05:002012-03-08T09:52:33.095-05:00One of my favorite films!One of my favorite films!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-55719892679931349102012-03-02T16:38:09.019-05:002012-03-02T16:38:09.019-05:00Bobby J. it sounds like you have a great depth of ...Bobby J. it sounds like you have a great depth of knowledge on Wilder. I love your comment. Yes there is a distinctive flair for Wilder, certainly the emphasis on dialogue, but also a subversive play in other aspects including visuals that tend toward the striking moments.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10656287096270976604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-64246698671888327822012-02-27T22:16:13.028-05:002012-02-27T22:16:13.028-05:00Excellent essay, thanks:
Stephen, try watching th...Excellent essay, thanks:<br /><br />Stephen, try watching the top tier stuff from just his first dozen years in a week...<br /><br />Five Graves to Cairo***<br />Double Indemnity****<br />The Lost Weekend****<br />A Foreign Affair***<br />Sunset Boulevard****<br />Ace in the Hole***<br />Starlag 17****<br /><br />then check out his run from '58 to '70...<br />Witness for the Prosecution***<br />Some Like It Hot****<br />The Apartment****<br />One, Two, Three****<br />The Fortune Cookie***<br />The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes****<br /><br />What I love about Wilder is the fusion between brilliantly wrought screenplays with some of the best dialogue and storytelling of the century, with the Classical Hollywood style favoured by Ford, Wyler, Hawks, et al. But Wilder always has visual flourishes throughout his films, his own personal signiture; the graphic close-up of the open eye and Birnam's fall down the stairs, the pool scene in Sunset, Norma's triumph finger-pointing whilst watching 'Queen Keely', Kirk Douglas' death fall, Charles Laughton's reflective glasses, ext, ext. Always telling the story visually.bobby J.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-83176918412448252322012-02-20T10:41:05.812-05:002012-02-20T10:41:05.812-05:00Wow thanks Maren for your great comment. I would h...Wow thanks Maren for your great comment. I would have to agree with you. Gillis' self loathing is quite apparent by the end. He's completely disgusted by himself and the whole set-up. Fabulous comment.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10656287096270976604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-18738137853915242002012-02-20T06:41:13.020-05:002012-02-20T06:41:13.020-05:00The motivation of Joe Gillis, why doesn´t he just ...The motivation of Joe Gillis, why doesn´t he just walk the door with Betty?<br />I.m.O: Self-pitying and self-loathing. While G.Swansons N.Desmond shows what fame and success can to to to a person, this shows the results of lack of that. And Wilder always let you realize what a writer he could have been, see how the sparks fly between him and Betty. So he, a professional writer, ends up swallowed by a story written by an amateur, no Salome without a John the Baptist.<br />Thanks a lot for such a well-written and -researched review, considering how famous SB is and how much has already been said it can´t be easy to find one´s own point of view.You did.<br />MarenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-47123601825742433432012-02-18T22:23:23.716-05:002012-02-18T22:23:23.716-05:00@ Stephen- Well at least we agree on this one! I t...@ Stephen- Well at least we agree on this one! I think Wilder made at least several masterpieces and these are undisputed for me as:<br /><br />Double Indemnity<br />Sunset Blvd.<br />Some Like it Hot<br />The Apartment<br /><br />However several others are brilliant, and Sam highlighted Ace in the Hole and The Lost Weekend that are a bit uneven in my opinion but very good. However, his most underrated work in my opinion, is the rapid fire satire, One Two Three with James Cagney absolutely unbelievable.<br /><br />@ Sam- Yeah I'm sure you've talked at length about this one before. It definitely is one that to get mentioned alot and for good reason. I'm surprised you don't like Some Like It Hot? Usually considered one of the greatest comedies of all time. Wondering how it will place on the countdown over at WITD?Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10656287096270976604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-75626160592995986852012-02-18T12:15:15.975-05:002012-02-18T12:15:15.975-05:00Also THE APARTMENT belongs in the masterpiece cate...Also THE APARTMENT belongs in the masterpiece category. Only SOME LIKE IT HOT never worked for me, though obviously it does for everyone else.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-32758399584642268832012-02-18T12:13:20.790-05:002012-02-18T12:13:20.790-05:00Wow, Stephen feels that Wilder is overrated eh? R...Wow, Stephen feels that Wilder is overrated eh? Really? Masterpieces? <br /><br />Try:<br /><br />Sunset Boulevard<br />Ace in the Hole<br />Double Indemnity<br />The Lost Weekend.<br /><br />And he's surely one of the greatest of all American directors.<br /><br />Yes, John, the film does indeed contain one of the all-time greatest scripts and all-time greatest performances. (Gloria Swanson) I said so much about this film at other threads over the past years that I feel I have petered out. But what a wonderful review and summary assessment of one of the greatest of all films, and one as corrosive and cynical as any other. But that's part of it's delicious appeal and endless fascination.<br /><br />You've written a master-class piece here Jon.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-78259473999020349662012-02-17T22:00:20.354-05:002012-02-17T22:00:20.354-05:00Personally I always feel that Wilder is overrated....Personally I always feel that Wilder is overrated. I need to see a couple of his most acclaimed still (The Apartment and Ace in the Hole) but none of the rest of his stuff really makes me think "masterpiece." Witness for the Prosecution is really fun, and Double Indemnity is good, but I really can't get behind Some Like it Hot.<br /><br />But this one is great. Here, at least, I agree with the consensus: one of the finest Hollywood films of its era. Gloria Swanson is amazing. And all the little Hollywood in-jokes are heartbreaking, particularly Buster Keaton's silent card-playing cameo. Good review!StephenMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16588260639227694557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-39688785903866324792012-02-17T09:55:22.126-05:002012-02-17T09:55:22.126-05:00Yeah David that's such a great symbolic moment...Yeah David that's such a great symbolic moment in a film containing so many great moments. Yeah Wilder definitely stakes a claim in that regard. Brilliant stories he crafted. Thanks for the comment!Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10656287096270976604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-17337657810122091882012-02-17T09:16:19.594-05:002012-02-17T09:16:19.594-05:00There is a single shot I remember,that is when the...There is a single shot I remember,that is when they are shooting a picture on the studio set,a microphone hit Gloria Swanson's head,which means her silent golden age has been smashed by sound.Wilder is the best story teller Hollywood ever had,no doubt about it.Davidhttp://www.tasteofcinema.com/noreply@blogger.com