At 75, "Sunset Boulevard" is ready again for its closeup

75 years since Billy Wilder’s <em>Sunset Boulevard</em>: The cruelty of the motion picture business

Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard was this unflattering portrayal of the film industry that provoked the ire of its upper echelons.

At 75, "Sunset Boulevard" is ready again for its closeup

Billy Wilder's caustic tale of Hollywood, obsession and murder, in which a fading star of silent pictures tries to recreate her fame, is back in its full dark glory.

A Moving Picture of Peak Hollywood | Sunset Boulevard at 75

In contrast to many of his fellow literati, the Irish poet Derek Mahon was also a compulsive movie buff, who wrote (both poems and prose) about his favourite films, including Sunset Boulevard (1950). Billy Wilder’s stylish, stinging dissection of cinematic glamour – Hollywood’s ruthless mix of talent, grandiosity, money, and dreams – famously brings Gloria Swanson and William Holden together: as Norma Desmond, an ageing star of the silent screen…

‘Sunset Boulevard’ at 75: Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett’s Sobering Exposure of the Dark Side of Hollywood • Cinephilia & Beyond

By Sven Mikulec You will not find in my pictures any phony camera moves or fancy setups to prove that I am a moving-picture director. My characters don’t rush around for the sake of being busy. I like to believe that movement can be achieved eloquently, elegantly, economically and logically without shooting from