| Overall Grade: |
A- |
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| Story: |
B+ |
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| Acting: |
A- |
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| Direction: |
A- |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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Sunset Brilliance
by TonyM (movies profile)
Feb 28, 2008
This Billy Wilder film has the clever intro of being narrated by the deceased lead actor Joe Gillis (Played brilliantly by William Holden); I started to think that Wilder used Holden in his films not unlike Scorsese used De Niro (In his early career). Obviously the memorable, stand-out performance for me has to be Gloria Swanson playing Norma Desmond, the manic obsessive ex-superstar who can not let her star fade away gracefully. I know the manic image of Desmond has been played for jokes millions of times but that is because it sticks in peoples mind so deeply, once seen then never forgotten; it is built into the psyche’ of millions of film fans around the world. Erich von Stroheim as Max trying to keep his beloved mistress believing she is still as big a star as she ever was, is fantastic and understated with it; which seems superb against the over the top performance of Swanson. I read someone’s review on here and I realized that they were right when they said it was Hollywood looking in on itself for the first time. The people Wilder gets to do bit parts in this piece of Hollywood cinematic history, is a history lesson of Hollywood all by them selves; Cecil B. DeMille, H.B. Warner (One of the original Warner Brothers) and Buster Keaton. They all seem to be taking the new Hollywood in their stride; they are coming at it from a different perspective I suppose. But could you imagine Speilberg, Scorsese, Eastwood and Lucas all willing to do walk on parts while still trying to hang on to their collective dignity, I doubt it. A Fantastic achievement, Wilder does it again.(The film is over fifty years old WOW!!) |
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