Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 11/11/2008 Run time: 110 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4717 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2008-11-11
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Billy Wilder's noir-comic classic about death and decay in Hollywood remains as pungent as ever in its power to provoke shock, laughter, and gasps of astonishment. Joe Gillis (William Holden), a broke and cynical young screenwriter, is attempting to ditch a pair of repo men late one afternoon when he pulls off L.A.'s storied Sunset Boulevard and into the driveway of a seedy mansion belonging to Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a forgotten silent movie luminary whose brilliant acting career withered with the coming of talkies. The demented old movie queen lives in the past, assisted by her devoted (but intimidating) butler, Max (played by Erich von Stroheim, the legendary director of Greed and Swanson's own lost epic, Queen Kelly). Norma dreams of making a comeback in a remake of Salome to be directed by her old colleague Cecil B. DeMille (as himself), and Joe becomes her literary and romantic gigolo. Sunset Blvd. is one of those great movies that has become a part of popular culture (the line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up," has entered the language)--but it's no relic. Wow, does it ever hold up. --Jim Emerson

On the DVD
The Centennial Collection’s edition of Sunset Boulevard includes a second disc of supplementary materials that deserves a review of its own. Over 16 biopics, short documentaries, still photo galleries, and more offer viewers the chance to look at Wilder’s masterpiece through a scrupulous critical lens. These extras will appeal to not only fans who want behind-the-scenes anecdotal gossip but also to those interested in how the film was made and the movie industry climate during the making of this "movie about the movies," as author Joseph Wambaugh calls it in his featurette, "The Noir Side of Sunset Boulevard." For fans of the actors there are two glimpses into the stars’ personal lives and careers, "Two Sides of Gloria Swanson" and "Mad About the Boy: Portrait of William Holden." Though archival interview footage of Gloria Swanson is more ample in the short "Sunset Boulevard Becomes A Classic," "Two Sides" features Swanson’s granddaughter, Brooke Anderson, who remembers Swanson as a kind-hearted, hard working, elegant health nut. Actress Linda Harrison, who worked with Swanson on set, remembers her graciousness under the spotlight. While these type of second-hand biopics typically feel residual, Swanson’s is unique in that it aims to separate the monstrous character in the film from the actual woman, due to Sunset Boulevard’s meta-narrative in which she plays an embittered version of herself, nostalgic for a past era. For production detail, there are more than enough shorts about Paramount studios, 1950s Hollywood, and behind the scenes still photos. These topics have been well-documented in books, however, and more interesting are the two shorts about the look and sound of the film. The documentary about Franz Waxman’s score starring his son, John, is fascinating, as it discusses Waxman’s beginnings in Germany studying classical music. Moreover, "Edith Head: The Paramount Years," follows her biographer through a photo tour of this legendary costume designer’s films and career path, in which she started as an wardrobe assistant and graduated to more advanced jobs after successfully dressing picky actress, Clara Bow.

Also highly notable are the featurettes "Stories of Sunset Boulevard" and "Sunset Boulevard Becomes a Classic," because of their mixture of interviews with actors (Nancy Olson as "Betty Schaefer"), critics (Andrew Sarris), and Wilder’s biographer, Ed Sikov. "Stories" opens with the facts surrounding the film’s original opening and its cut script, namely the morgue scene in which the corpses speak to each other. It then proceeds to describe how the opening scene we know and love, namely Joe Gillis floating face down in the swimming pool, was made before waterproof cameras were the norm. Ed Sikov’s commentary during the screening of the film, as well, is rich with details about Wilder’s directorial efforts. These insider notes and educational feauturettes inspire one to consider just how much consciously planned construction goes into a film that screens as a flawless story. --Trinie Dalton

Customer Reviews

A personal favorite
As a film critic says in one of the interviews on this splendid special edition, Billy Wilder not only had the craft, style and elegance we associate with classic Hollywood, he also had a biting wit that appeals to the sensibilities of today. This film has aged much better than it's central villian, the demented starlet portrayed to perfection by real-life demented starlet Gloria Swanson. William Holden's (literally) dead-pan narration as a two-bit screenwriter of B-movies is as sad and funny as it ever was.

The documentary on the disc does a good job of demonstrating just how unique the tone of this story is, how it perfectly navigates between funny and sad. Not everyone in Hollywood saw the funny side when it was released, and it lost to ALL ABOUT EVE at that year's Oscars. So what? With this disc, SUNSET BOULEVARD is finally getting it's due.

Besides the documentary, you can read two screenplay drafts of an excised opening sequence, explore 1950's Hollywood with an interactive map and watch the film with audio commentary by a critic and historian. All these features are secondary, of course, to the movie. It looks gorgeous. The black and white picture is rich and crisp, the sound is re-mastered and the story is as compelling as ever. The special features only do what all good special features should do on a DVD. They add to the richness of the film. You may already know that Eric von Stroheim (who plays a character who directed Gloria Swanson's character in silent films) directed Gloria Swanson in silent films. But did you know that the drugstore where all the screenwriter's hang out in the movie is the drug store where F. Scott Fitzgerald had a heart attack in 1940? One of the reasons I love this movie is because it is so rich with Hollywood history.

I can't recommend this disc highly enough. Kudos to Columbia for doing right by a classic, a real film lover's film. I love this movie and I love this disc! 5/5 stars.

Excellent
I first saw this film about a month ago expecting to see a campy, vampy classic the likes of which I hadn't seen since Mommie Dearest. Boy was I suprised! This film is not campy at all, it's a finely crafted work of art that fully engaged me in it's story of desperation. I was suprised by the richness and depth of characters all around, but espicailly by Norma Desmond. As over the top and outragous as Gloria Swanson is I never once didn't believe her. To achieve this level of believability and honesty from this character takes great craft. The story is dark and twisted with some new depth of character being revealed at the most suprising moments. Cinematography and lighting are astounding. I will never be able to forget the one close up shot of Norma on the movie set back lit by the sets lights. My breath was taken away and it was only one of many times.

Sunset Boulevard is a film that will stay with me forever and one that's become a classic for one really good reason: It's a flawless production.

Billy Wilder's Classic Film About Hollywood
Billy Wilder is one of my all-time favorite filmmakers and SUNSET BOULEVARD is one of my all-time favorite films. As soon as I discovered it would be on DVD, I jumped at the opportunity and am so glad I did.

The image quality on this DVD is first-rate. The DVD case indicates that the film is presented in "full screen" format, which is somewhat misleading. It gives the false impression that the film has been "formatted" to fit a standard television. While the image does fit the screen without black bars on the top and bottom, the original aspect ratio of the film has been preserved. That is because it is not a "wide screen" film. Like most films of the period it was shot in standard 1.33:1 (or 4:3), which is the same aspect ratio as a standard television set, so cinema purists need not be alarmed. In other words, there is no annoying "pan and scan" of the image or parts of the frame cropped off to fill the television screen.

For those unfamiliar with the film, it is a scathing portrait of Hollywood and how it discards people when it is decided that they are no longer "useful." The casting of the film is inspired. It was if the parts were written for them. Gloria Swanson was indeed a faded silent film star, who had all but disappeared from the movies (although she was still active in the entertainment business). William Holden, while not a down-and-out screenwriter as depicted in the film, was a once promising young actor whose career was stagnating. Erich von Stroheim did in fact work in Hollywood as a director. Put this in the "art imitates life category": an excerpt of QUEEN KELLY, von Stroheim's ill-fated film starring Gloria Swanson appears in one scene. The cast also includes filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille as himself (who also worked with Swanson during the silent era) as well as several stars from the silent film era (e.g., Buster Keaton) in small roles.

From it's bold introduction to its classic ending, SUNSET BOULEVARD is a well-crafted masterpiece. One will be hard pressed to find a dramatic misstep in this film. The structure is classic and the execution is flawless.

As part of the DVD's release, several extras are included. Some are standard like the inclusion of the film's theatrical trailer, English subtitles and a French language track (the guy doing Max actually sounds like von Stroheim -- perhaps it was). Other features add up to make this a must buy for fans of the film. One is a map of actual locations used in the film. For example, the exterior of Norma Desmond's home was not actually located on the 10000 block of Sunset Boulevard as depicted in the film. Actually, it was located on Wilshire Boulevard near the corner of Irving Blvd. (one block east of Crenshaw Blvd.). For people who don't know anything about Los Angeles this is about six miles away.

Ed Sikov's scene-by-scene commentary on the film is very good if not excellent. In it he provides many insights into the making of the film for those unfamiliar with that aspect. His presentation is generally well-organized and carefully thought out, if a bit dry.

One added feature that I really appreciated are two script versions of the original opening sequence of the film. When the film was first previewed for an audience, they reacted unexpectedly, prompting the filmmakers to change the beginning. Also included are silent images of the deleted footage from that sequence. The images are silent because some of the original sound was lost. For those curious about the deleted scenes, they should get a real kick out of reading the script. In Ed Sikov's audio commentary, he reads the dialog over the scene that replaced it.

The documentary on the making of the film while not as in-depth is perhaps more interesting. For one reason it includes an interview with Nancy Olson, who presumably is the only principal involved with the film that is still alive. Billy Wilder who of course, wrote and directed the film, died last March at the age of 95. One could only imagine what he would have said about the film over fifty years after its initial release. Needless to say, there are no archival interviews with any of the principals involved with the making of the film. Perhaps this was due to licensing issues, but would have certainly enhanced this DVD release. The closest the DVD comes to utilizing archive footage as it relates to the film, is the inclusion of a fine documentary on Edith Head, the costume designer who worked on numerous Billy Wilder films including SUNSET BOULEVARD. However, in the end, while one appreciates the "extras" in the film, it is ultimately the film itself that should be the primary motivation for buying this or any DVD.

Overall, this DVD is a good value for the money. You get an excellent transfer of the film with enough added features to warrant buying on DVD. A fan of the film or not, this DVD is definitely worth serious consideration.