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Sunset Boulevard

Released Aug 10, 1950 1h 50m Drama TRAILER for Sunset Boulevard: Trailer 1 List
98% Tomatometer 115 Reviews 94% Audience Score 50,000+ Ratings
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
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Sunset Boulevard

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Sunset Boulevard

What to Know

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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Critics Reviews

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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 Calum Cooper In Their Own League Its performances, music, cinematography and direction continue to awe-inspire even seventy three years after its release. Rated: 5/5 Jul 19, 2024 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 Read all reviews

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 Teddy B Mysterious and direct at the same time, 'Sunset Boulevard' is equal parts tragic and thrilling. The characterisation of Norma Desmond is absolutely captivating with Gloria Swanson's performance. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/03/24 Full Review Tony S Gloria Swanson plays a silent movie star who has been eclipsed by the talkies. Fabulously wealthy, she lives in a gigantic, but decaying mansion with her one servant. Enter William Holden, playing a down on his luck screenwriter. A Hollywood classic about classic Hollywood. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/22/24 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 Read all reviews
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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." (L-R) William Holden as Joe Gillis and Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard." (L-R) Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond and William Holden as Joe Gillis in "Sunset Boulevard." View more photos

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
Producer
Charles Brackett
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
Runtime
1h 50m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
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