Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson
Certificate: PG
Genre: Noir, Drama
Awards: Best Screenplay, Best Music, Best set decoration

Starting off with the end result of the film may be quite normal nowadays but in 1950 it was very original. The narrator AKA Joe Gillis (Holden) then takes us to the beginning where he is a struggling screenwriter in the unforgiving world of Hollywood. When fleeing from the tax people, Gillis finds himself in a deserted looking house. However it revealed to be the home of Norma Desmond (Swanson), a silent era actor who has gone slightly crazy in her retirement.

Played completely seriously with a noir voice over, Sunset Boulevard makes itself interesting and enthralling. As it is a satire of the movie industry there are plenty of real life directors such as Cecil B. Demille as himself and Erich von Stroheim playing Desmond's servant. There are also cameos from Buster Keaton and H.B warner.

A dark and twisted look at stardom and the film world in general, it also has a tint of lunacy that just shows how Hollywood is weird, wacky and dangerous.

*****Brilliant