“All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” This is one of the most legendary lines in movie history, and until seeing this film I didn’t know where it came from. Want another famous scene? Try the opening of the film with a body floating in the middle of a swimming pool, as the narrator begins his sad tale.
Iconic is really one of the best ways to describe this film. The acting is incredible and the writing is bang on. The story is certainly bold for the time it was made- it’s a scathing critique of the way movie studios of the day worked. In all likelihood, this film probably should have been shunned, yet it was embraced.
Sunset Blvd. is the tale of a washed up screenwriter who, at the end of his rope, happens to stumble upon a former silent film star who had been exiled from the studio system with the advent of sound. Delusional, the actress still thinks she’s hot property and that the studios are begging for her return. She takes in the bumbling screenwriter and nearly turns him into her slave, controlling what he does and where he goes, all the while demanding he come up with a suitable script for her to return to Hollywood glory with.
I feel that it got the short end of the stick by not winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Dramatic, demented, and dynamic, Sunset Blvd. is a true work of cinematic art, despite a few slow parts (which has more to do with the break-neck pace of the films I grew up with). This is a film for those who love the craft. I highly recommend it.
“All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” This is one of the most legendary lines in movie history, and until seeing this film I didn’t know where it came from. Want another famous scene? Try the opening of the film with a body floating in the middle of a swimming pool, as the narrator begins his sad tale.
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