Remove ads

Information

A.k.a.
Sunset Boulevard
Year
1950
Runtime
110 min.
Director
Billy Wilder
Genres
Drama, Film-Noir
Rating *
8.4
Votes *
171,375
Checks
26,870
Favs
3,820
Dislikes
109
Favs/checks
14.2% (1:7)
Favs/dislikes
35:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. DisneyStitch's avatar

    DisneyStitch

    Probably my favorite noir film. So many of the scenes are so classically dark and spooky it almost makes you shiver. It almost didn't get made because it attacked the culture of Hollywood and its stars. It's amazing that many of the themes of ego and self-worth are just as relevant in the movie industry today as they were when it was made. Gloria Swanson gives a chilling performance that is downright scary and William Holden with Erich von Stroheim rounding out a stellar cast.

    Another amazing side story of this movie was just how closely the movie script matched the actors and the real life situations they had been through. Holden plays a struggling writer and in reality was at his wits end as a career actor. Swanson was a faded star at that point and had effectively left her movie career behind with many of her mannerisms and extreme behavior matching her character. Even DeMille who plays himself had directed Swanson numerous times at Paramount and even referred to Norma Desmond in the movie as "young fella" which was the same nickname he always called Swanson. In my years of watching cinema I've never come across a movie that mirrored the life behind the actors so completely, no doubt it is a factor in the wild success and quality of the movie.
    9 years 9 months ago
  2. ThePublicEnemy's avatar

    ThePublicEnemy

    I wasn't expecting the film to be this good, pleasant surprise! Almost seemed modern at times with its frank references to murder and suicide. 13 years 1 month ago
  3. creole's avatar

    creole

    For a movie from the 50's it's immensely creepy in a subtle way. Not many modern movies can emulate this style. 11 years 9 months ago
See all comments

Friends

Login to see which of your friends have seen this movie!

Activity

  1. muppetface and marperrera checked this movie 3 days 14 hours ago
  2. NOOCH1 and cthoop10 checked this movie 5 days 18 hours ago
See more activity

In 35 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #1 in IMDb's Film-Noir Top 50
    IMDb's Film-Noir Top 50's icon

    IMDb's Film-Noir Top 50

    1
  2. This movie ranks #4 in iCheckMovies's 1950s Top 100
    iCheckMovies's 1950s Top 100's icon

    iCheckMovies's 1950s Top…

    4
  3. This movie ranks #6 in IMDb's 1950s Top 50
    IMDb's 1950s Top 50's icon

    IMDb's 1950s Top 50

    6
  4. This movie ranks #8 in Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists
    Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists's icon

    Cahiers du Cinéma's Annu…

    8
  5. This movie ranks #9 in Golden Globe Award - Best Motion Picture
    Golden Globe Award - Best Motion Picture's icon

    Golden Globe Award - Bes…

    9
  6. This movie ranks #16 in Library of Congress's National Film Registry
    Library of Congress's National Film Registry's icon

    Library of Congress's Na…

    16
  7. This movie ranks #16 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies
    AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies's icon

    AFI's 100 Years...100 Mo…

    16
  8. This movie ranks #19 in National Board of Review Award - Best Film
    National Board of Review Award - Best Film's icon

    National Board of Review…

    19
  9. This movie ranks #19 in Halliwell's Top 1000: The Ultimate Movie Countdown
    Halliwell's Top 1000: The Ultimate Movie Countdown's icon

    Halliwell's Top 1000: Th…

    19
  10. This movie ranks #21 in Rotten Tomatoes's Top 100 Movies of All Time
    Rotten Tomatoes's Top 100 Movies of All Time's icon

    Rotten Tomatoes's Top 10…

    21
  11. This movie ranks #25 in ASC's 100 Milestone Films in Cinematography of the 20th Century
    ASC's 100 Milestone Films in Cinematography of the 20th Century's icon

    ASC's 100 Milestone Film…

    25
  12. This movie ranks #29 in Taschen's 100 All-Time Favorite Movies
    Taschen's 100 All-Time Favorite Movies's icon

    Taschen's 100 All-Time F…

    29
  13. This movie ranks #40 in FilmTotaal Forum's Top 100
    FilmTotaal Forum's Top 100's icon

    FilmTotaal Forum's Top 1…

    40
  14. This movie ranks #46 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films's icon

    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    46
  15. This movie ranks #57 in Leonard Maltin's 100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century
    Leonard Maltin's 100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century's icon

    Leonard Maltin's 100 Mus…

    57
  16. This movie ranks #63 in IMDb's Top 250
    IMDb's Top 250's icon

    IMDb's Top 250

    63
  17. This movie ranks #63 in Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time
    Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time's icon

    Empire's The 500 Greates…

    63
  18. This movie ranks #71 in Jennifer Eiss's 500 Essential Cult Movies
    Jennifer Eiss's 500 Essential Cult Movies's icon

    Jennifer Eiss's 500 Esse…

    71
  19. This movie ranks #73 in TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films
    TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films's icon

    TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films

    73
  20. This movie ranks #73 in TSPDT's 100 Essential Noir Films
    TSPDT's 100 Essential Noir Films's icon

    TSPDT's 100 Essential No…

    73
  21. This movie ranks #74 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time
    Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time's icon

    Sight & Sound's The Grea…

    74
  22. This movie ranks #79 in Roger Ebert's Great Movies
    Roger Ebert's Great Movies's icon

    Roger Ebert's Great Movi…

    79
  23. This movie ranks #110 in Emma Beare's 501 Must-See Movies
    Emma Beare's 501 Must-See Movies's icon

    Emma Beare's 501 Must-Se…

    110
  24. This movie ranks #115 in Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films
    Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films's icon

    Harvard's Suggested Film…

    115
  25. This movie ranks #127 in Reddit Top 250
    Reddit Top 250's icon

    Reddit Top 250

    127
  26. This movie ranks #164 in iCheckMovies's Most Favorited
    iCheckMovies's Most Favorited's icon

    iCheckMovies's Most Favo…

    164
  27. This movie ranks #178 in Academy Award - Best Picture Nominees
    Academy Award - Best Picture Nominees's icon

    Academy Award - Best Pic…

    178
  28. This movie ranks #180 in Mark Cousins's The Story of Film: An Odyssey
    Mark Cousins's The Story of Film: An Odyssey's icon

    Mark Cousins's The Story…

    180
  29. This movie ranks #200 in FOK!'s Film Top 250
    FOK!'s Film Top 250's icon

    FOK!'s Film Top 250

    200
  30. This movie ranks #212 in BFI's 360 Classic Feature Films Project
    BFI's 360 Classic Feature Films Project's icon

    BFI's 360 Classic Featur…

    212
  31. This movie ranks #226 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
    1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die's icon

    1001 Movies You Must See…

    226
  32. This movie ranks #312 in Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
    Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema's icon

    Jonathan Rosenbaum's Ess…

    312
  33. This movie ranks #420 in David Thomson's Have You Seen?
    David Thomson's Have You Seen?'s icon

    David Thomson's Have You…

    420
  34. This movie ranks #847 in The New York Times's Book of Movies
    The New York Times's Book of Movies's icon

    The New York Times's Boo…

    847
  35. This movie ranks #862 in The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die
    The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die's icon

    The Guardian's 1000 Film…

    862
View all lists this movie is in