Rating: Not Rated
Movie Release Date: August 10, 1950
DVD Release Date: November 26, 2002
Plot 411: An aging and delusional silent screen star coerces a poor screenwriter to review her script so she can once again be reunited with director Cecil B. DeMille.
Review: Man, they do not make movies like this anymore. I guarantee it. This is inspiring me to look into more of Billy Wilder's work. The film is so thoroughly engaging that it is difficult to turn away. Even though it is 60 years old, the movie still seems to be a good depiction of today's Hollywood. Joe (William Holden) is a down-and-out screenwriter who cannot seem to sell a thing. He's three months back on his rent and the collectors are coming around to get his car. By chance, he turns into the driveway of a former silent screen star named Norma (Gloria Swanson). With her butler Max (Erich von Stroheim), Norma lives secluded from the real world in her own private sanctuary. Here she lives in her past glory waiting for her return to the screen. This film is definitely a masterpiece. It's social commentary on Hollywood and people in general is right on target. It shows us the true Hollywood - a system that craves youth and beauty and shines a spotlight on someone only to suddenly leave them in the darkness. It shows us the lengths to which people will sell themselves to find a bit of fame. There's a sort of sad realization that anyone can be bought and sold for a penny. While watching the "Making of" video, I learned that there were many parallels between the script and the actors' actual lives. Interesting how life imitates art and vice versa.
Watch It: For a movie that is insightful, uncomfortable, darkly humorous and melancholy all at once.
Skip It: And really miss one of the best movies ever. Now I need to watch All About Eve, the movie that won the Oscar that year. How could anything be better than this?
Movie Release Date: August 10, 1950
DVD Release Date: November 26, 2002
Plot 411: An aging and delusional silent screen star coerces a poor screenwriter to review her script so she can once again be reunited with director Cecil B. DeMille.
Review: Man, they do not make movies like this anymore. I guarantee it. This is inspiring me to look into more of Billy Wilder's work. The film is so thoroughly engaging that it is difficult to turn away. Even though it is 60 years old, the movie still seems to be a good depiction of today's Hollywood. Joe (William Holden) is a down-and-out screenwriter who cannot seem to sell a thing. He's three months back on his rent and the collectors are coming around to get his car. By chance, he turns into the driveway of a former silent screen star named Norma (Gloria Swanson). With her butler Max (Erich von Stroheim), Norma lives secluded from the real world in her own private sanctuary. Here she lives in her past glory waiting for her return to the screen. This film is definitely a masterpiece. It's social commentary on Hollywood and people in general is right on target. It shows us the true Hollywood - a system that craves youth and beauty and shines a spotlight on someone only to suddenly leave them in the darkness. It shows us the lengths to which people will sell themselves to find a bit of fame. There's a sort of sad realization that anyone can be bought and sold for a penny. While watching the "Making of" video, I learned that there were many parallels between the script and the actors' actual lives. Interesting how life imitates art and vice versa.
Watch It: For a movie that is insightful, uncomfortable, darkly humorous and melancholy all at once.
Skip It: And really miss one of the best movies ever. Now I need to watch All About Eve, the movie that won the Oscar that year. How could anything be better than this?
