2) The dramatic displays shown throughout the film with Norma’s delusions of her former fame along with her entrapment of Joe within her desolate mansion begin to display a sort of drama-esque feel for Sunset Boulevard. Not only can Joe’s so called “love triangle” between Norma, Becky and him be strictly classified under the genre of drama, but the revelations such as Max being Norma’s former husband and the man who brought her to fame, long with the eminent murder of Joe in the end, all pay tribute to this genre. Speaking to the comedic side of the film, Joe’s blunt sarcasms and the overall creep-factor shown through the once beloved silent film star pull together into quite a few humorous moments.
3) Another work that would be closely related to Sunset Boulevard would be one of Billy Wilder’s other films falling under the noir category, such as Ace in a Hole, which was released only a year afterward.
4) Billy Wilder made Sunset Boulevard due to his interest in American culture, especially that of Hollywood at the time, for he now took his residence within Los Angeles. He knew of the film stars of the roaring 20’s and how they had mostly fallen off the radar sense their style of film had been dropped by the public. With their vast fortunes lain out before them while no longer apart of the Hollywood bustle, Wilder wondered how it was that these once great stars now spent their time, and developed Sunset Boulevard around this curiosity.
5) The creators found humor in the satirization of Hollywood and what it does to those involved within its confines. They found twisted humor in the characterization of Norma and have a love for the sarcastic found within Joe.
6) Wilder is commonly known for satirizing society and taking a humorous approach to twisted, dark and cynical situations. Sunset Boulevard is a clear fit within these characteristics.
a. This particular film greatly utilizes Wilder’s dark, cynical humor, most prominently is his portrayal of Norma and her delusions of fame and beauty, when in reality her butler/ex-husband (that combination in itself is cynically humorous) is the one writing all of her fan letters and Hollywood felt so ad for her that they dint have the heart to tell her that the picture she had written was a train wreck and would never make it. She is constantly kept in her delusion, and when Joe finally attempts to break this delusion, she ends up murdering him.
b. Within the visuals used within the film, the lighting used, or lack of, simulated deep blacks and silhouetting within the frame, such as when Max reveals that he discovered Norma and was her first husband. The lighting within this particular scene characterize Max’s guilt and shame in feeding Norma’s sickness and state of mind, and reveals to Joe everything he has done. The extravagance of Norma’s mansion as well is shown in extravagance yet deserted loneliness due to the blank space that the camera utilizes.
7) This film is trying to show that fame and fortune don’t fix everything, money isn’t the answer, in fact it distances you from reality.
8) This film seems to be directed more toward the mature teenager and adult, for the dark and cynical nature of the film along with the sarcasm and subtle changes within the larger plot twists, it would be difficult for a younger audience to decipher.
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