SUNSET BOULEVARD (DVD) (SPECIAL COLL EDITION/DOL DIG-NLA DVD

Sunset Boulevard
Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard ranks among the most scathing satires of Hollywood and the cruel fickleness of movie fandom. The story begins at the end as the body of Joe Gillis (William Holden) is fished out of a Hollywood swimming pool. From The Great Beyond, Joe details the circumstances of his untimely demise (originally, the film contained a lengthy prologue wherein the late Mr. Gillis told his tale to his fellow corpses in the city morgue, but this elicited such laughter during the preview that Wilder changed it). Hotly pursued by repo men, impoverished, indebted "boy wonder" screenwriter Gillis ducks into the garage of an apparently abandoned Sunset Boulevard mansion. Wandering into the spooky place, Joe encounters its owner, imperious silent star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). Upon learning Joe's profession, Norma inveigles him into helping her with a comeback script that she's been working on for years. Joe realizes that the script is hopeless, but the money is good and he has nowhere else to go. Soon the cynical and opportunistic Joe becomes Norma's kept man. While they continue collaborating, Norma's loyal and protective chauffeur Max Von Mayerling (played by legendary filmmaker Erich von Stroheim) contemptuously watches from a distance. More melodramatic than funny, the screenplay by Wilder and Charles Brackett began life as a comedy about a has-been silent movie actress and the ambitious screenwriter who leeches off her. (Wilder originally offered the film to Mae West, Mary Pickford and Pola Negri. Montgomery Clift was the first choice for the part of opportunistic screenwriter Joe Gillis, but he refused, citing as "disgusting" the notion of a 25-year-old man being kept by a 50-year-old woman.) Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running musical version has served as a tour-de-force for contemporary actresses ranging from Glenn Close to Betty Buckley to Diahann Carroll. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast William Holden as Joe Gillis Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond Erich Von Stroheim as Max Von Mayerling Nancy Olson as Betty Schaefer Fred Clark as Sheldrake Lloyd Gough as Morino Franklin Farnum as The Undertaker Larry Blake as Finance Man Charles Dayton as Finance Man Cecil B. DeMille as Himself

Crew John Meehan - Art Director Hans Dreier - Art Director Edith Head - Costume Designer Charles C. Coleman, Jr. - First Assistant Director Billy Wilder - Director Doane Harrison - Editor Arthur P. Schmidt - Editor Franz Waxman - Composer (Music Score) Richard Strauss - Composer (Music Score) Jay Livingston - Songwriter Ray Evans - Songwriter Wally Westmore - Makeup Carl Silvera - Makeup John F. Seitz - Cinematographer Charles Brackett - Producer Sam Comer - Set Designer Ray Moyer - Set Designer Gordon Jennings - Special Effects Farciot Edouart - Special Effects Harry Lindgren - Sound/Sound Designer John Cope - Sound/Sound Designer D.M. Marshman, Jr. - Screenwriter Charles Brackett - Screenwriter Billy Wilder - Screenwriter

Sunset Boulevard
Tackling the kind of movie "that never quite worked," Billy Wilder made one of greatest films about Hollywood. In his pungent satire of the industry's sordidness, Wilder turned Hollywood history back on itself, with the presence of silent film star Gloria Swanson as aging silent diva Norma Desmond and great silent director Erich von Stroheim as her butler eloquently commenting on the ephemerality of fame. Her writer/gigolo Joe Gillis incarnated corruptly desperate young Hollywood, dismissing forgotten greats like Buster Keaton as "waxworks" while imagining that he can escape unscathed from Norma's fantasy world. Shot in ultra-noir black-and-white in a 1920s Hollywood mansion, the looming ceilings, overstuffed rooms, and oblique lighting rendered Norma's environment alluringly sinister in its deteriorating decadence, while Joe's famous "entrance" -- floating face-down dead in Norma's pool while recounting his story in voiceover -- caustically upended narrative conventions. Greeted with raves, Sunset Boulevard became Swanson's cinematic triumph; William Holden's performance as Joe (replacing Montgomery Clift) reignited his own stardom. Despite offending the movie moguls, Wilder was rewarded with eleven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Actor, and Actress. Along with wins for Art Direction and Franz Waxman's score, Wilder, Charles Brackett and D.M. Marshman, Jr. took a Screenplay prize. Adapted as a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
 

Arthur P. Schmidt: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Editing (nominated) Billy Wilder: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Director (nominated) Billy Wilder: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Story and Screenplay (winner) Billy Wilder: Directors Guild of America, Best Director (nominated) Billy Wilder: Golden Globe, Best Director (winner) Billy Wilder: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) Charles Brackett: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Story and Screenplay (winner) Charles Brackett: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) D.M. Marshman, Jr.: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Story and Screenplay (winner) D.M. Marshman, Jr.: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) Doane Harrison: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Editing (nominated) Erich Von Stroheim: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominated) Erich Von Stroheim: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominated) Franz Waxman: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Drama or Comedy Score (winner) Franz Waxman: Golden Globe, Best Original Score (winner) Gloria Swanson: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actress (nominated) Gloria Swanson: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (winner) Hans Dreier: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (nominated) John F. Seitz: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Cinematography (nominated) John F. Seitz: Golden Globe, Best Cinematography - Black and White (nominated) John Meehan: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (winner) Nancy Olson: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Ray Moyer: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (winner) Sam Comer: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (winner) William Holden: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actor (nominated)

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Picture (nominated) American Film Institute, 100 Greatest American Movies (winner) Golden Globe, Best Picture (winner) Library of Congress, U.S. National Film Registry (winner) National Board of Review, Best Actress (winner) National Board of Review, Best Picture (winner) Telluride Film Festival, Film Presented (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: cc Full-screen format Dolby Digital: English Mono, French Mono English subtitles Commentary by Ed Sikov, author of "On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder" The Making of Sunset Boulevard Theatrical trailer Hollywood location map Photo galleries Morgue prologue "Edith Head - The Paramount Years" featurette "The Music of Sunset Boulevard" featurette DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 110 min Part of Series: Paramount 90th Anniversary Collection   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. The Corpse [2:45] 2. Money Trouble [7:35] 3. A White Elephant of a House [3:07] 4. "I Am Big. It's the Pictures That Got Small." [4:18] 5. The Salome Script [6:12] 6. An Invitation to Stay [2:53] 7. The Face of a Star [2:22] 8. Bridge With the Wax Works [3:51] 9. The Husbands' Bedroom [4:34] 10. New Year's Eve [3:30] 11. A Kept Man [8:42] 12. The Norma Desmond Follies [6:11] 13. Parading to Paramount [4:59] 14. A Meeting With Mr. DeMille [2:52] 15. Joe Sneaks Out [3:27] 16. Untitled Love Story [8:25] 17. Betty's Exit [5:20] 18. No One Ever Leaves a Star [8:44] 19. "All Right Mr. DeMille, I'm Ready for My Closeup." [8:36]