1+2. What tradition or genre is it in? What are the features determining genre or elements that tell us what type of film this is?
The film Sunset Boulevard incorporates several genres. These include film noir and black comedy. Film noir relies on the inescapability from death, which is clearly expressed in Sunset BLVD. By exposing the fate of the main character from the beginning of the movie, Sunset BLVD narrates the life of the main character; who, despite seeming to be in good health, is destined to die. In order to make light of this predestined fate, the movie also has several indications of black comedy, with satirical comments and witty phrases throughout.
3. What other work might it be connected to?
Considering the film's plot, other movies include Singin' in the Rain (1952) and Barton Fink (1991). Singin' in the Rain also looks at the conflict of silent actors with the arrival of sound in cinema. This is the same conflict as faced by Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. Barton Fink is about a playwright to writes a screenplay for Hollywood. Billy Wilder has also directed other movies, which may be interesting to investigate in terms of the auteur theory. In 1938, Wilder directed Ninotchka in collaboration with a fellow German immigrant, Ernst Lubitsch. This connection to German influences-German audiences enjoyed Film Noir- may have begun Wilder's connection to the genre.
4. Who made this? Why?
Sunset Boulevard was directed by Billy Wilder, an Austrian-born American filmmaker. Wilder was also a reporter, and tried to make Sunset Boulevard as closely matched to potentially possible proceedings. The character Norma Desmond's name was inspired from Desmond Taylor, an actor, and Mabel Normand, a close friend of Wilder. This similarity shows that the film may be closely linked to Wilder's life experiences, and may be a potential cause for its production.
5. What can we tell about its’ creators?
Billy Wilder got his Hollywood debut with the production of Ninotchka (1939), a highly popular comedy. His third film Double Indemnity (1944) was his first successful film noir, using the popular genre characteristic of filming the shadows of venetian blinds. This film was also in adamant opposition to the Hollywood censorship, as the plot relies on the theme of adultery. Billy Wilder also directed a propaganda documentary, Death Mills (1945) to educate German audiences about the Nazi regime’s atrocities.
6. How does it fit within the director’s other work?
Sunset BLVD was a film noir piece, therefore a significant amount of theatrical and visual elements that can be compared are those associated to film noir: “low-key (high contrast) lighting; imbalanced lighting; night-for-night; deep focus; wide angle focal length; dissymmetrical mise-en-scène; extreme low and high angles; foreground obstructions” (Schrader, Cook, Hervey, and Blaser).
7. What is the film’s theme?
The film is to highlight the difficulties for “silent-era” actors during the transition to the use of sound in cinema. We have not finished the film as of yet in class, but so far it seems the theme of Sunset Boulevard is that individuals should not expect or rely on unchanging surroundings. Norma Desmond’s career, very much like the careers of actual silent actors, finished abruptly when the movie industry incorporated sound.
8. What is the target audience? How does it address its audience?
The target audience of the film is mainly individuals who understand the implications that occurred during the transition from the “silent” era in film to sound in cinema.
Works Cited:
Schrader, Paul, Pam Cook, Sylvia Hervey, and John Blaser, eds. "The Outer Limits of Film Noir." Film Noir Studies. Film Noir Studies, n.d. Web. 16 Jan 2014. <http://www.filmnoirstudies.com/essays/outer_limits.asp>.
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