How does Sunset Boulevard represent the Hollywood Studio System?

During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that,

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder 1950) explores the intermingling of public and private realms, puncturing the illusion of the former and unveiling the grim and often disturbing reality of the latter. By delving into the personal delusions of its characters and showing the devastation caused by disrupting those fantasies, the film provides not only a commentary on the industry of which it is a product but also a shared anxiety about the corrupting influence of external perception. Narrated by a dead man, centering on a recluse tortured by her own former stardom, and concerning a once-promising director who refuses to believe his greatest star could ever be forgotten, the work dissects a multitude of illusory folds to reveal an ultimately

Sunset Boulevard is a drama/romance black and white film. It was released to the public on August 10, 1950 in New York City. The film was directed by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett. The film was named after the boulevard that runs through Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California. Film stars William Holden as Joseph C. Gillis, an unsuccessful screenwriter, and Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, a faded silent film actress who drags him into her fantasy world where she dreams of making a great comeback to the big screen, with Erich von Stroheim as Max Von Mayerling, Norma’s devoted servant. Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough, and Jack Webb also make an appearance in this film and play supporting roles. Sunset Blvd. was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won three. The film was noted to be “culturally and historically” by the U.S. Library of Congress in 1989. Sunset was also included in the first group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Sunset Boulevard was ranked number twelve on the American Film Institute’s list of the one hundred best American films of the twentieth century in 1998.

The movie Sunset Boulevard written by Billy Wilder highlights the screenwriter’s potential of making a reflexive film more than focusing on the style and aesthetics. The movie revolves around the life of a fallen silent movie star, Norma Desmond, and her fame delusions. With the introduction of the sound in the film industry, she is brushed off and forgotten not only by her associates but also by her dear fans. This lifestyle change caused her to be drawn into the world of superstardom and luxury that she developed for herself in mind. Her universe involved her mansion full of photos framed of her memories and herself in her past. She identifies very strong with her condition that once it is

Hollywood cinema is primarily subjected to telling stories. The inclination of Hollywood narratives comes not just from good chronicles but from good story telling. The following essay will discuss Hollywood’s commercial aesthetic as applied to storytelling, expand on the characteristics of the “principles of classical film narration” and evaluate alternative modes of narration and other deviations from the classical mode.

As the audience knows well already since the very first scene, Sunset Boulevard does not have what one would call a “happy ending.” In this sense, the movie gives itself away as film noir considering the fact that all such works of cinema which fall in this style category are known to have dark themes predominantly sending a message of hopelessness and meaningless existence. With Joe’s lifeless body floating around in a swimming pool in mind throughout the entire movie, audiences of this motion picture are filled with a sense of pointlessness for Joe’s life, since his personal resolutions and growth as a

As the need for entertainment grows, so does the vice of stardom. We have seen the wreck some stars have made of their lives, addicted to the attention Hollywood brings. And from it came also such classics as Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and Juno. One thing is for certain; Hollywood studios is the name that carried the movie industry from the drawing board to a the big

Being one of the world’s most popular art forms, it was inevitable that these archetypes would find their way into film as well. In this essay I will argue that the

I received your essay submission and I have read it carefully. I have to say your essay is very interesting because it gives good information on Hollywood and what was the California Dream during that respective time. I also found your essay interesting because you summarize specific history on Hollywood, California. Your essay is also interesting because you compare film studios from New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Long Island to the modern corporate film studios located in Hollywood, California. I also like how you give good information about the history Universal City and use it as an example of Hollywood’s modern corporate film studios. On the other hand, a little piece of advice you could use to improve this essay

The "star system" was a method of developing and advancing the popularity of Hollywood movie stars. The system, which began during the height of the Hollywood studio system era, emphasized the image of the actor instead on the actual acting. The movie studio's profits were driven by the popularity of the stars that appeared in their films. According to Rocco, the stars had long term contracts with the movie studios that paid them a weekly salary, and the stars were identified with specific types of characters that would often be repeated in many movies. Belton stated that "the star provides the studio with a tangible attraction, an image that can be advertized and marketed, offsetting the less tangible qualities of the story, directing,

“Sunset Blvd” is not subtle in stating illusion will win out over reality. After all, Norma Desmond, the aged silent movie star who deludes herself into believing that she will be famous again, kills Joe Gillis, our involved narrator and voice of reason. But before we analyze the dramatic pool scene, which dispels any idea that “Sunset Blvd” sides with reality, we must first look at the characters, the embodiments of dreams and of reality in this movie. Norma Desmond, who dreams of rising to greatness again, refuses to believe that time has passed and that she no longer has any fans. Max, her butler and first husband, feeds into this facade by writing her fan mail, encouraging her

The main similarity in Sunset Boulevard and a typical film noir movie is that it was very melodramatic and over the top. Many film noir films have very dramatic storylines and characters. Whenever something sudden and striking would happen, the director would zoom in on the characters face in a very melodramatic manner. The girl in the film, Norma, is very over the top whenever anything bad happens to her. When the main character, William, is about to leave she threatens to kill herself and at one point even cuts her wrists screaming and crying that she “would do it again.” A lot of times Norma talks to herself in a very dramatic manner including after she slaps William in the face and storms off. William’s whole death is melodramatic in the fact that she only shot him because he was leaving her and she would rather he not be alive if he’s not going to be with her. Her psychotic break at the end of the movie is not out of nowhere, but is still flung on you out of the blue in a very sudden, melodramatic sense. The music is common with dramatic movies with the almost stereotypical, “dun, dun, duns” in the soundtrack whenever something serious and unexpected happens. Things move very quickly in this movie as well as other film noir films. For example, he moves in with a woman he hardly knows, she falls in love with him almost instantly, and he almost kisses an engaged woman the second time he meets her. This fast pace, melodramatic theme is common in all film noir movies, especially in Sunset Boulevard.

What makes for a classic Hollywood film? Increasingly, films have evolved to the point where the standard by which one calls a “classic Hollywood film” has evolved over time. What one calls a classic film by yesterday’s standards is not the same as that of today’s standards. The film Casablanca is no exception to this. Although David Bordwell’s article, “Classical Hollywood Cinema” defines what the classical Hollywood film does, the film Casablanca does not exactly conform to the very definition that Bordwell provides the audience with in his article. It is true that the film capers closely to Bordwell’s definition, but in more ways than not, the film diverges from Bordwell’s definition of the typical Hollywood film.

Brackett and Wilder began working on the script for Sunset Blvd. in 1948, but they weren’t satisfied with the final cut. They hired an extra helping hand and were impressed by the critiques given. Trying to keep the full details of the story from Paramount Pictures and avoid the censorship of the Breen Code, the duo summited a few scripts at a time. The script contains many references to Hollywood and screenwriters, a lot of Joe Gillis’ cynical comments were based on this. Wilder preferred to leave analysis of his screenplays and films to others.

It was not until the mid-1910’s did the film industry shift “towards a model that prized business legitimacy. This shift ultimately marginalized the woman filmmaker” (Mahar 133).