Whoever thought that an old movie as "Sunset Blvd" could hold my interest much better than any of these new, recent movies?? Sunset Blvd from its very beginning,promised to be something that I could watch till the very end. The class discussion after the movie,got me thinking about the creativity and authenticity that was incorporated in these old movies, especially the film noir genre.
Everything, from the very beginning till the end of the movie, looked original and natural;from the inscription of the movies title on the curb of a sidewalk,to the shot of credits being presented on a moving road, even to the use of soothing,comfortable lightning, the award winning sound/musical interlude and a completely black and white colored touch, everything indeed, was authentic and spontaneous.
The theme of this movie, as was discussed earlier in class for me, was to "expose" the "behind-the-scene" lives of people in the movie industry. As most of us might have thought, these celebrities have the modest and most comfortable lives, but don't be fooled, most of them wish they had simple lives. In this movie, we see how Norma Desmond lives an isolated, deserted life, all in hopes to get back into the spotlight. We see how she works hard, and is determined to make everything possible to become as young and beautiful, just so she could be in a movie of her dreams. Also, Marx's "facial" expression throughout the movie got me thinking why he didn't look happy living in that big house, but I finally comprehended when he finally said, "I was her first husband." "Whatt??????" I thought to myself!!!!! One striking effect in this movie was the underwater shot of Joe Gillis lying dead in Norma's pool. This shot, from below the pool, adds a very interesting effect to the movie. Also, the voice-over narration by Joe Gillis makes this flashback more evident and interesting. It also keeps the audience in suspense and makes you want to pick a phone and call Joe and be like "hey Joe you know, this woman is gonna kill you...don't do this or don't do that!!!!" For me, my love for the authenticity of this movie all comes in when I realized that all the characters being mentioned in the movie were real people. This presents a sense of personal touch and great directing by Billie Wilders.
In short, this movie was rather educative, interesting and authentic. I would definitely watch some more film noir's!!!! Any suggestions?? OMG OMG... I'm sooo happy this definitely is the best movie that everyone should...but wait....(In Norma's voice and actions) "I can't go on with this scene,I'm too happy. Donna, do you mind if I say a few words? Thank you.I want to say how happy I am to be in this class and that I love all these wonderful people around here!!!! Alright Eric, I'm ready for my close-up".... *CUT*
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Ha ha! Your closing is hilarious! It is interesting to me how you like the authentic appeal of the movie. Do you think that could be a big part of our facination with film? Our ability to witness something so authintic but at the same time fantastic and impossible. We love "Independence Day" because we see the same old White House that has housed our President for generations. Authentic! Except there is one twist. A giant alien spaceship?!!! Bammm! explosions!!! Will Smith! We love it.
ReplyDeleteHaha...you are right Doug..the authenticity runs through all of them...and yes, except for the explosions...haha...
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree about the authenticity you found in the film! It was easy to get captured by the dialogue and become a part of the movie. Do you think it's strange however, that we find the movie "natural" even though it's completely in black and white when we have never experienced life in such circumstances?
ReplyDeletehaha...Good thought Sam... I think that although we have never experienced life in "black and white," we usually find ourselves in certain circumstances or situations that are totally different from what we are used to..(could that be a black and white instance in our lives?) Most importantly, all these things happen in a "natural" way....To some degree, we could associate those "bad" times in our lives with the "black and white" naturality theme....LOL...
ReplyDeleteWhy WOULDN'T an old movie be just as interesting as a recent one? What would lead you to be surprised by that? (Not a slam, a serious question.)
ReplyDeleteDonna...considering that in general, things better as the years go by, one would expect that as the film industry and for that matter, technology, get better over the years, there should be a major difference between movies made in the 1900 and those made in 2010. However, Sunset Blvd definitely beat that expectation, so much so that it could be relatively better that some recent movies I've heard about.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe that old movies have a lot more authenticity to them than do recent movies .(again due to the use of excessive technology in recent times)
That being said, I was referring to the interests that an old movie could hold, relative to that of a new movie.