Sunset Boulevard - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Sunset Boulevard



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
With Sunset Boulevard getting it’s 70th anniversary this year, and due to the fact that I’ve never reviewed the actual Blu-ray before, I figure it’s high time that we got one on the site. Just a warning. Paramount hasn’t re-released the Blu-ray again, but just allowed us to review the 2012 (and subsequent 2013 and 2017 re-pressings) Blu-ray that came out 8 years ago. This again is not a bad thing at all, as the 2012 Blu-ray featured a stunning restorative master, as well as great audio and extras. Outside of finding new special features and maybe sprucing up the already incredible master used, there’s not much that can be improved upon in the disc. That being said, there is a small part of me that really would have liked to have seen a double disc special edition, or one of the Mondo steelbooks, but I’m more than happy to keep my 2012 Blu-ray as it is one incredible disc.

Sunset Boulevard is considered one of the greatest films of the 1950s, and for very good reason. It’s a sobering look at the narcissistic lifestyle of being a celebrity, and the devastating effects when someone falls from the public eye. It’s lightly comedic, but Billy Wilder’s creation is very subversive and biting in it’s commentary about the elite and their tenuous grasp on fame. It’s the story of illusion and delusion, pain and pleasure, and the absolute horror of watching someone fold into themselves to where there is nothing left but an aching for the past. In some ways it reminds me of Misery, but without the physical horror that we’re used to in modern films. Sunset Boulevard is gripping and intense, ripping away the clean linens and showing the bedbugs hidden underneath in a story that is completely engrossing, and just as relevant today as it was 70 years ago.

Joe Gillis (William Holden) narrates the story with a gumshoe like voice, telling us about his entrapment with an old socialite who forever changed his life. Joe is a down and out screen writer, desperately behind on his rent and car payments, as no studio really wants his work anymore. He tries and tries to get the money together to keep the loan sharks off his back, but no one wants to buy his scripts, and no one will lend him the money. When he gets in a car chase with his debtors, he ends up pulling into an old dilapidated mansion that ends up being home to one of the biggest silent film stars of the 1930s, one Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) who is living in seclusion after having fallen away due to the advent of the “talking picture”. No one wants to hire her anymore after finding new blood, but Norma is eyeing for a comeback. She’s written a script of her own design and plans to use it to bring herself back into the spotlight once more, and after finding out that Joe is a screenwriter, plans to use HIM in order to leverage her back into the good graces of the executives.

Joe, desperate for a win but also disturbed by Norma, agrees to give it a go and ends up moving into her mansion. Bit by bit, piece by piece, Norma’s decadence and mental delusions come to life. She’s not living in reality, but instead living in the past glories, seen only through a dreamlike state that filters out reality and it’s harsh lessons. Her fantasies are propped up by her butler Max (Erich von Stroheim) who writes fan letters to her daily in order to keep her happy, and soon it becomes apparent that Joe is now a part of her fantasy. Desperately clinging to him, Joe is forced into her care and slowly becomes so intertwined with her that he can’t seem to pull his way out of the mire.

Fascinatingly enough, Joe is about as a complex a character as Norma is. He’s trapped in this twisted life, living a life he hates, wanting a life he can’t seem to attain, and refusing to live a life he should. The first is one mired by debt and failed screenwriting. A life that he bitterly hates and is trying to escape, which is why Norma is able to prey on him so easily. The second is a budding romance between a harsh critic at the studios, and one that is almost impossible to maintain once Norma has her hooks in him. The last being a life of happiness and honesty which he can’t seem to every grasp due to his desires to force himself upwards and away. It’s a catch 22 situation that makes his entanglement with Norma all the more pitiable as it leads to an inevitable end.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

I’m not sure what age the master is, or what resolution it was struck at, for the 2012 disc , but it is certainly an amazing one for sure. I’m pretty sure it was struck within the last decade for the Blu-ray release, as the encode just looks spotless. The noir black and white photography is nothing short of flawless, with long shots that follow the characters around, and showcase amazing detail. Grain levels are well done and never intrusive, and the texture and “feel” of it is simply superb. It’s never chunky or artificial, and I see no signs of obvious digital manipulation to the image. The blacks are deep and inky, and the contrast with the grays are superb. You can see every line on Norma’s aging face (no matter what she does to hide it), and the image is just luscious in appearance. No signs of banding or compression, and the only flaw I can find is that some shots look a bit soft (which most likely had more to do with the filming than the encode). At the end of the day, even if it is 8 years old, the Blu-ray for Sunset Boulevard is jaw dropping in appearance and still holds up today.









Audio:

Sunset Boulevard comes to home video with a 2.0 Mono TrueHD track, and while it’s not exactly a surround mix, it is still well done at the core. The base of the mix is dialog, and the film delivers that with relative ease. There’s no sign of hissing and crackling, and the vocals are locked up to the mains without any distortion or inability to hear syllables. It’s, crisp, clean and well restored, as I remember the old DVD track having some issues. Again, this is a MONO track, and as such the range and any panning effects are practically zero. It’s a simple dialog driven flick and the mono track many not be amazing, but it does do everything that is asked of it without flaw or issue.







Extras:

• Audio Commentary
• Sunset Boulevard: The Beginning
• Sunset Boulevard: A Look Back
• The Noir Side of Sunset Boulevard
• Sunset Boulevard Becomes a Classic
• Two Sides of Ms. Swanson
• Stories of Sunset Boulevard
• Mad About the Boy: A Portrait of William Holden
• Recording Sunset Boulevard
• The City of Sunset Boulevard
• Franz Waxman and the Music of Sunset Boulevard
• Morgue Prologue Script Pages
• Deleted Scene
• Hollywood Location Map
• Behind the Gate: The Lot
• Edith Head: The Paramount Years
• Paramount in the '50s
• Galleries
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Yes, I don’t care how many years go by, but Sunset Boulevard is one incredible picture that can still keep you enthralled despite the lack of special effects and gore of a more modern psychological thriller. The movie is slow paced and steady, but it builds to a crescendo that is hard to tear your eyes away from. That final scene where Norma loses it completely is one of the most chilling and disturbing in cinematic history, showcasing the logical end of complete denial and narcissism that comes with desperately holding onto fame and love of the “people” (something that is still seen in celebrities of today). It’s potent, insidiously careful in it’s plot devices, and filled with some incredible acting. The 2012 Blu-ray (which Paramount is using as it’s advertisement for the 70th Anniversary) is still a great looking disc, with a stunning transfer, good audio and amazing special features. If you have never grabbed the disc, now is the time, as Sunset Boulevard is a true masterpiece that’s definitely worth owning.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich Von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough, Jack Webb
Directed by: Billy Wilder
Written by: Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, D.M. Marshman Jr.
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD Mono, French, Spanish, Portuguese DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: NR
Runtime: 110 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 26th, 2012

Recommendation: Must Own

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I actually never saw this movie so I am interested in checking it out.