Sunset Boulevard Explained: The Hollywood Nightmare 

Gloria Swanson was only 51 when she made this. That feels young to me now, at 62. It's weird to watch a movie when you're young and think she's so old, then age yourself and think she's pretty young for being "old".

Swanson had real balls and brilliance to take this on.

6:42 "I always heard you had some talent." "That was last year, this year I'm trying to earn a living." That explains a lot of 'artists' decisions.

Nobody deserved the Best Actress Award more than Gloria Swanson, any other star would have reduced this movie to a mere parody but it was her brilliant acting that will survive many generations of actors. This was brilliant casting and all glories to Gloria Swanson. By denying her the award the Academy showed its true colors! An absolute travesty

I can't believe that Wilder got away with having the story take place around Paramount Studios, and not some generic name.

This film is more than a social commentary on Hollywood. It's a tale of broken dreams. Nearly all characters in the film have unrealized dreams - aging actress, struggling writer, unloved ex-husband. This is contrasted by a woman (Betty) who accepted the dim reality of her Hollywood career and moved on, settled with a job behind the camera. A brilliant film is where it connected with the audience, and made us think, reflect on our lives. Sunset Boulevard achieved this, and it earned a place rightfully in National Film Registry.

I love how gloria was actually very bright and a dignified actress. She was never chasing fame, she adapted to the times and she had a very modern and healthy life.

I was totally unprepared by how amazing this movie would be when I saw it Billy Wilder is amazing

What I love about Gloria Swanson's performance was how well she understood and projected her character to the very end of filming... I saw a "making of" documentary/bio where Miss Swanson's copy of the script where her last scene had her say "I'm ready for the scene" and she had crossed out "the" and hand wrote "my" and she says "I'm ready for my scene"... She understood perfectly how deeply Norma was entrenched in her fame to the very end...

“I am big, it’s the pictures that got small” such a fantastic line. I’ve yet to see this film, I’d like too, I love the musical. I saw the musical with Ria Jones in 2017 and it’s breathtaking, it made me cry.

Absolutely brilliant film. Let's hope nobody ever thinks they should do a remake of it.

If any one in history has been robbed of an Oscar it was Swanson for this performance. She was absolutely brilliant.

We studied this at USC Cinema School. I remember Dr. Caspar saying Hollywood hated it because it held a mirror to the industry. I had no idea what he was talking about. After working in Hollywood seven years I totally got it and got Joe Gillis's place in the world.

Ironic that Gloria Swanson's most famous and enduring role was in this very movie about the aging, desperate formerly-famous Hollywood megastar. Take me for example--I can't name any movie from the silent era that starred Gloria Swanson. But I definitely know "Sunset Boulevard" and her magnificent acting within it.

Gloria Swanson should have won the Oscar. Period.

My jaw dropped when I discovered who Max really was. The personification of unconditional love. This movie is a masterpiece.

This is terrific and the narrator has a gorgeous voice.

Scratch a cynic and you find a disappointed romantic.

I actually knew Gloria Swanson a bit in the mid 1970s when I was in high school and I had an after school job at a bakery on Madison Avenue in NYC. By that time she really was the forgotten "Norma Desmond"-type movie star and she'd stop in the shop just to talk - yep it was sad!

There's still plenty of Norma Desmond's in today's Hollywood. Nothing's changed.

Gloria Swanson was heartbreakingly amazing as Norma Desmond! For her to even accept this role was pure courage. Thank you for this beautifully narrated & elegant analysis of one of the greatest film noirs ever made.

I feel you slightly misrepresented Swanson - after talkies came out and her movie career fell - she didn't give up, the went to NY and had an amazing career on the stage. Even after an attempt to make Sunset be some sort of comeback (which basically failed), she was very much the non-Desmond and just went back to NY and the stage. Swanson was really the polar opposite of Desmond, in terms of their reaction to the talkies.

I came across Sunset Boulevard on TV 📺 when I was 9 yrs old. At the time I didn't completely understand it, but I knew I loved it. It still remains one of my All Time favorites 🎥

It's true .. Gloria Swanson was robbed by not winning the Oscar that year!

In the 80s I was in my 20s and I worked on the old MGM lot on a popular television and what I love about Sunset Blvd is that it is the most accurate portrayal of Hollywood ever made. It really is a love letter from a storyteller who sees it all whole.

The narrator’s voice is very seductive and beautiful. Great video. The Take should seriously do more video analysis on Old Hollywood movies like this one.

I only just watched this and it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Everything about it is perfect, the acting, writing, cinematography and the themes.

As much as I love films with Bette Davis, and Judy Holliday; Gloria Swanson deserved the 1950 Acadamy Award for creating an iconic character Norma Desmond that in some ways eclipsed her own considerable stardom and personality.

A true classic, I fell in love with this movie as a teenager. My 12 year old granddaughter caught a glimpse of that immortal final shot on t.v. and now swans (excuse the pun) around saying "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. De Mille". And when she's a little older we'll share the full movie together.

Swanson was magnificent in this film. I did find myself feeling very sorry for her character by the end of the film.

Mulholland Dr (2001) by David Lynch contains similar themes of the Hollywood nightmare and is considered a companion piece to Wilder’s Sunset Blvd. MD even includes the actual car used in Sunset Blvd in one scene when the character Betty arrives at the Paramount Studio gates.

La La Land = fantasy Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard = the real Hollywood

one of the best films ever. i knew i wanted to be a screenwriter when i watched it for the first time. yes, it is cynical and dark. but it does offer hope, and even slight redemption. every character got what they wanted, except for Betty.

" We didn't need words. WE HAD FACES!" Pretty much sums up the whole deal !

A classic beyond classic. Didn't see this film until I was in my 30's. I've been mesmerized ever since! Truly, what Gloria Swanson says without saying anything....pure magic.

I remember watching this when I was a child and felt for this woman. When you are young 50 is old. Now I am fixing to be 60 and lord does it depress me. I still feel for Nora Desmond watching even this at my age now. You wish you had a magic wand to be able to allow her to be young again. Then...what’s wrong with using it yourself. The iconic moment of “I’m ready for my close up Mr. DeMille. “ broke my heart to see her slowly go insane. I thought then ‘I’m never getting old.” I lied to myself.

One of my all-time favorite films and so brilliant. And that it came out the same year as "All About Eve"--is just the most genius thing ever. Both films are perfection!

I genuinely adore this movie. Gloria Swanson had that agelessness of her generation and ON TOP OF IT learned how to act alongside this new kind of film. And she brought a lot of personal emotions to the film. She was so incredibly human, even Norma Desmond tried so hard to be above it all.

"Sunset Boulevard", 1950, is an excellent masterful classic film which explores the dark side of Hollywood.

It was a very bad mistake when Gloria Swanson didn't get the Oscar for her performance in this movie. She was absolutely brilliant.

Gloria Swanson was 50 at time of filming and William Holden was 31 (but the script assumed he was much younger). Contrast this with High Noon, where Grace Kelly was 22 and Gary Cooper was 51. Audrey Hepburn was 26 when she made Funny Face and Fred Astaire was 56. She was 25 when she made Sabrina and Humphrey Bogart was 53. Kim Novak was 25 when she made Vertigo and James Stewart was 51. There are many more examples. Nothing was made of the age difference, only the story mattered. Yet, the central theme of the 'pathological' relationship of ageing Norma Desmond and the very much younger Joe Gillis was assumed to be unnatural and repugnant, inevitably leading to murder. Certainly, Norma was unhinged and Joe Gillis was a weak opportunist, and this made for a great story. Yet the age-difference double standard assumed that Norma's age and Joe's youth were the obvious catalysts for tragedy. In other films of the time, where the age difference of the actors was much the same, only in reverse, the lovers were mostly exalted and/or lived happily ever after.

I've watched this video several times since it was first posted, but I've declined to comment on it. But, now I will. First, the commentary is very accurate in its description and detail. It's analysis of the movie is dead-on. I'm still a bit shocked to find such carefulness in the information given in it that one normally wouldn't discover in such a mini-biopic look at the translative meaning behind a movie. But, here you have it. Second, I'm a retired former editor and screenwriter from MGM. My mother was an actress back in the '40's, '50's, and early '60's. Growing up in Hollywood affords one at much cynicism, much like the character played by the great Bill Holden. I see myself in one poignant part of the movie, in the character played by Nancy Olsen. She tried out acting, but was rejected, so she ends up going behind the scenes for work as a writer. For me, it was pretty much the same. I had the looks when I started out in the '60's, but roadblocks to becoming a true actor kept arising left and right. To my dismay, I turned to my second love -- writing. My voice was another attribute that I found could be used to further my aspirations and I found success giving voiceovers and announcements, etc. I found writing to be tough and stressful, but in the end, quite fruitful. Yes, Hollywood was built on -- and for -- FANTASY. Everything you hear in this video is 100% accurate about the world of Fantasyland that we all know as....Hollywood. Great video!

This film is among my favorites. Thanks Screen Prism for talking about films like this.

Gloria Swanson was and will always be one of the most beautiful women that ever lived.

That story of Hollywood is long gone now. Even in the 40's 50's and 60's, stars were created by studios in every respect.They put you under a seven year contract and took over your life. They told you what clothes to wear, who you should date and who you shouldn't. If they didn't like your face or your hair they would change it. Studios gave you dancing lessons, singing lessons, fencing, and acting lessons. Actresses were told never to go out on the street looking anything but like a star. No, jeans and t-shirt look, you had to retain glamour at all times in the public. You may never work, but you were ready. Now, actors have to work hard to create themselves.

All About Eve beat this film for best picture, but I can't help but be more drawn to Sunset Boulevard. But All About Eve had some similar themes. Aside from the aging actress trying desperately to play roles "too young" for her, it deals with confronting reality. Something that Margo ultimately does, where Norma doesn't.

What a beautifully written piece. So sensitive to subtle nuance .

Gloria Swanson is my favorite actress and movie star of ALL time, and Sunset Boulevard is an outstanding movie.

I like the voice of this narrator a lot more than the usual narrator

I LOVE THIS - it doesn't make a critique of the actors or their performances but just of the film and psychology and intent itself - absolutely 5 stars and I will subscribe!

Miss Swanson was robbed of her Oscar for this film, it wasn't enough just to be nominated, wilder should have received best director, and Gloria best actress. This was the year bet he Davis thought she was robbed of her award, and Joan set her straight it was Swanson who was robbed. Classic times....

I always felt included when Norma Desmond gave that speech at the end of the movie, "and you wonderful people in the dark." :)

Gloria Swanson, and all of the other actors, the director, the writers all put together a movie that turned out a timeless classic. Sunset Boulevard is quite possibly one of the greatest movies ever produced. The sets, the story, the unspoken message of missing the moment, it all combines into my favorite movie. No others can ever bring this movie out better than what they did. RIP.

The closing scene is one of films masterpieces of cinematography. Once seen it is never forgotten...and though I first saw it on a TV, I cant imagine the impact it would have if I had seen it on a large screen a few rows back.....Ms.Swanson should have gotten an oscar just for having the guts to portray the narcissist Norma Desmond and her dissent into narcissists hell....

I never knew about this movie outside of "I'm ready for my close up." I took it for granted and all I can say is that Gloria Swanson seriously deserved that Academy Award. Much more.

This was one of my dad's favorite movies. Holden was one of his favorite actors (they were close to the same age and kind of looked alike). When we would watch it, he would always point out how extremely brave it was for Swanson to take this part. Playing as she did, a kind of unflattering portrayal of her own real life. Hollywood really did (and probably still does as we are finding out recently) chew people up and spit them out. What they did to the silent stars, who created the very medium itself though....just unconscionable. How ironic is it that one of the directors accused Wilder of "eating his own"..exactly the very story Sunset was trying to tell. Projection at it's finest.

this film is a gem

You guys should do the darker sister to this masterpiece - David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. Lynch himself said Sunset Boulevard is his favorite film and Mulholland Drive is also a critique of the illusion of Hollywood...albeit in a more nightmarish, twisted and surreal version David Lynch style!

I love old Hollywood movies. I watched this movie in my media film class. It was a great film. Truly a classic!

Billy Wilder was an absolute genius. This, for me, is truly one of the greatest films ever made. I saw it for the first time at the age of 23 in an old art film theatre off of Hollywood Blvd. in Silver Lake. I remember crying my eyes out at the end of the picture. Gloria Swanson was so lucky to have been offered this role and is another reason why George Cukor is so revered in the annals of film history. He absolutely knew who was the best actress for any given role and he was so right about choosing the wonderful, sweet and kind Gloria Swanson.

i needed time to appreciate this movie in all its glory, but now i think its in the place it deserves on my list. thank you prism

We can all relate to Norma As we get older we look back to our younger years and remember our past loves and glory years

This is so good. I only recently found this channel and I am making my way through it. While not a screen writer, I do love writing and these thematic dissections are brilliant. I don't normally 'like' things, or comment - but at the moment I am inspired, so it's obviously deserved in this case. Well done.

Without a doubt, an all time classic. Swanson's line that she was 'still big, it was the pictures got small' is in my estimation, thee best line ever on celluloid. Wilder and company, painted a masterpiece.

Quick correction to this narrative: Miss Swanson had two prior Oscar nominations before Sunset Boulevard. She was nominated in 1927/28 (the first year of Oscar) for "Sadie Thompson", and again in 1929/30 for "The Trespasser". Her stunning performance in Sunset earned her her third and final Best Actress nomination, much deserved.

I want this narrator's voice to read me a bed time story every night.

"The joy of making a really fine movie." A great, positive, ending line for your fine analysis.

I first saw 'Sunset Boulevard' in the late 1970's at the old Elgin movie theater in Manhattan. It was a double feature with 'All About Eve'. I hadn't seen either & love watching old movies on a big screen in this now long gone movie theater...sticky floors & stale popcorn added to its ambiance. I arrived a few minutes late to see the beginning of the first feature, 'Sunset Boulevard' so I was shock to see Joe Gliss floating in the pool! Both films are on my short list of all-time favorites. Had the pleasure of 'meeting' Ms. Swanson at her book signing a few years later. She gracious and absolutely stunningly beautiful...with a flawless complexion.

Nice work here, on one of the greatest of films. And a nod to William Holden, with such a fine performance. And not only that, but some of the most striking shots on film (such as her glasses through the blinds).

One of the inspirations for Mulholland Drive.

William Holden starred w/ both Swanson and Judy H that year. What a great actor.

Oh my gosh, this channel is AMAZING. I love analyzing films and this channel inspires me so much. This content is great and I hope other people find this channel, and appreciate it for what it is. ❤️ Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I think it is one of the best movies ever. Time has not diminished its appeal and the danger of being cut off from reality when too fond of the past can catch any of us, letting alone Hollywood stars. Think of footballers, singers, politicians, anybody.

This, the famous walk down the stairs, this great cinematic climax is I think the most tragic, the most heart-wrenching finally in all of cinema. Norma Desmond, this once great figure, worshipped by all the world, now divested of nearly everything; her dignity, her self respect her very grip on reality... yet still she is capable of urgently wanting to fulfill one final dream. And so now, before descending into her ever-looming madness, Norma wants only one last thing, a chance to rescue the remaining shards of her former glory, She wants a closeup- one last close up And so as she moves artfully toward the lens and at the very moment her face begins to fill the screen, her dream on the verge of being finally fulfilled, suddenly, her image dissolves, evaporates, disappears...gone. As Von Stroheim and Parson's look on in tears, we too watch hopelessly as Norma is consigned to oblivion...There is no fate worse in Hollywood than to go unseen...he cruelest ending in all of cinema, I contend...

I always saw this as a horror film; each time I watch it, it hits me in that visceral way that only a suspenseful, scary film can.

The audible sound the eloquent commentary the the elements the point of Interest which forwarded the storyline of what made this movie so successful was eloquently explained and for me which I was always aware of but now more than ever appreciative of what writer has to suffer through the art of writing

Ultra brilliant. Personally, so thrilled to see this superb analysis of my favorite film. I was a Reader, just like Betty, in Hollywood, at Paramount and other studios during the 80s. I empathize completely with the bitterness of writers, which is explored pretty thoroughly in this film. But the fact is that out of over 2000 script submissions that I read only a handful were any good. It's easy to write disconnected, non moving, confusing, and pointless scripts. I read plenty of them. On the other hand, Hollywood is completely ruthless. The writers of Sunset Boulevard need to be canonized, though, because a better piece of writing never came out of Hollywood. It is beyond brilliant in script, direction and acting. Unlike Betty, I didn't want to be a writer. I loved analysis. Each script came to me as a mystery inside a title page (we used paper then) and I loved diving into them.

Paris, Texas (1984) by Wim Wenders. Analysis of the perfect non-cowboy western. Travis is the perfect western hero. My favourite film ever. Would love if you did a video about it.

I like the narrator's voice

This movie was riveting and terrifying when I was a kid. Still is 50 years later.

This movie is absolutely brilliant knowing the nuance of Gloria Swanson's past. The movie, especially in that last scene, is incredibly profound, bridging the gap between art and reality. It reminds me of that remarkable moment in Don Quixote when he sees the book about himself in the bookstore and he strikes his usual attitude to deflect reality. It's so true and sad and absurd, and of course, human.

SUNSET BOULEVARD is film noir and very dark satire about the very dark and ugly side concerning the glamour of"Tinseltown"... So many layers to the film... DeMille helped Swanson becom a star in the 1920's and Von Stroheim guided Swanson through an unfinished epic You can pity Norma but she's also an insatiable succubus/vampire type monster- you see this at the at the end, with her claws outstretched like Dracula's/ Nosferatu's daughter...Franz Waxman's score is CLASSIC with his inter weaving of "PARAMOUNT ON PARADE" as part of the score...

One of my guilty pleasures is watching this hauntingly amazing black/white movie, over and over. All-time, favorites.

Sadly Mary Pickford and Garbo were somehow like Desmond, no because of insanity but for the way they lived their later years being reclusive. Other female stars like Dietrich, Lillian Gish and Swason keep on adapting. But is true Hollywood is cruel with old women

SPOILERS: If the main characters could've just hold out a little longer, then by the 1960's, Norma would have been doing the game show circuit ("Norma Desmond for the block...."), while Gillis would have been making money hand over fist, writing for television.

A great analysis of one of the greatest films. Will you ever do a video about Dogville or von Trier in general?

This is so great! You guys are awesome and being such clarity to these movies meanings. Thankyou! I’m surprised ya all don’t have millions of subscribers. You will! You have thousands though!! A huge congrats!

For Casablanca, Bogart had THE VOICE. For Sunset Boulevard, Swanson had THE FACE. It just worked. Some of the other actresses who didn't take the part were great. But would they have been able to present such a tortured and delusional face? Swanson taking the role is one of those lucky coincidences when everything comes together. I mean, think about famous events. Would Custer's Last Stand be so famous if George Custer's name was, oh, I don't know, Harvey Siegelbaum? Siegelbaum's Last Stand. No. Anyhow, I just discovered this channel about 20 minutes ago and it's great. Add one more to your subscribed list.

I have seen the movie twice. Always thought of it as one of the best films ever. I had no idea that it was speaking for people like Billy Wilder, Dashell Hammett, maybe even F. Scott Fitzgerald and any other writers, film or other genre, that it had eaten and spit out. Always wondered why the great silent film actors, even the men were pushed out, like Francis X. Bushman, Ramone Navvore and others! Awesome explanation of what I always thought was JUST a really good film!

Such a classic and my all time favourite. I have always loved Gloria Swanson and her fascinating life. This film was a huge come back for La Swanson and is some of ( if not THE ) best work she has ever done. In a talkie, I might add. Wilder outdid himself with this film. Great acting by everyone who was cast. With cameo appearances by such personalities as Hedda Hopper, Cecile B DeMille, Erich Von Stroheim, Buster Keaton, HB Warner, Anna Q Nilsson and others. Sunset Boulevard will continue to enthrall audiences into the future. I do hope Hollywood has the sense to never allow anyone to try and remake this film. It would and could never be even close to what Wilder and Swanson created in the original Sunset Boulevard. A definite must see for all.

OMGGGGG... That end credits music ALWAYS gives me FULL ON CHILLS (no matter how many times I've watched it) !!!!!

I watched this movie years ago and never forgot it. I only remembered it as a story of an aging career film actress living for her dreamed comeback. I carried a life lesson from it, which is essentially: Move on, don't get caught-up in the setbacks, wonderful new experiences are to be had in a new dimension. I was attracted to this review by the subtitle, “The Hollywood Nightmare” . That's how I thought of it. I want to say thank-you for the video. I can appreciate the film much more so after seeing all the efforts and attributes that made it be what it really was an is.

Nancy Olsen is often overlooked but her role is necessary for the movie to look. She's the rooted person who we compare the other characters to. She basically tells Holden, "You're nuts to stay here, let's get the hell out of here." Without her it would be a crazy look at crazy people. Swanson and Holden both deserved Oscars, I'm not undervaluing them, merely pointing out that Olsen is undervalued.

Your videos are so informative and eye-opening. I would really like to see more Stanley Kubrick film analysis videos.

Just watched this film the other night for the first time and loved it.....what a cracking looking picture at 70 years old

What a brilliant video essay, it made me feel like I was watching Sunset Boulevard for the first time all over. Please make more analysis of classic Hollywood movies!

VERY well done! Informative, good voice (not a robot, by the way) and no stupid, repetitive, background "music" to drown out the narrator. Thumbs up!

Billy Wilder's masterpiece !!! Double indemnity : another masterpiece !!! Where are you, Billy Wildet ? The good old days are gone, and, I'm afraid, they won't come back...

SUNSET BOULEVARD was BIG! And Swanson made it even BIGGER! Ironically, years later, Norma made a triumphant RETURN to the theater on Broadway, most notably portrayed by the Incomparable Glenn Close. NORMA will never say goodbye 👋 💔. This is a gem 💎 Many thanks! You are truly ready for your CLOSEUP!

Your Analysis was impeccable ; Excellent! I agree with another's comment: you have a absolutely amazing voice. I thank God I just found your channel at 3:00 am . I always loved this movie but with your breakdown of the movie. I love even more!! You are fabulous! What a VOICE!