Billy
Wilder’s SUNSET BOULEVARD ($25) is the legendary director's
cynical, tragic masterpiece about Hollywood and the darker, slightly
decayed side of this glamorous world. SUNSET BOULEVARD tells the
story of faded Hollywood icon Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), from the
point of view of an out of work writer named Joe Gillis (William Holden),
who crosses paths with the silent film actress and finds himself drawn
into her world. As Norma Desmond, Swanson gives the performance of her
career, and as such, has become one of the greatest cinematic icons of all
time. Actually, Swanson was perfectly suited to the role of Norma Desmond,
having be a silent film star herself and a genuine silver screen beauty.
The beauty of Swanson's youth remains quite apparent throughout the course
of SUNSET BOULEVARD, but it is the fading quality of her looks that
greatly enhances the tragic nature of her character, especially when
Desmond embarks on an ill-fated attempt at a "return" to the
screen.
William
Holden brings a great sense of irony to the tragic events as they unfold.
As Holden’s character, Joe Gillis, becomes ever more entangled in Norma
Desmond’s somewhat delusional existence, one can’t help but chuckle at
Joe's reactions to some of the more unusual events, especially when one
takes into consideration Joe's unwillingness to leave the life of a kept
man after the 50ish actress falls in love with him. Of course, the most
bizarre character in this menagerie has to be Norma Desmond’s fiercely
loyal Butler Max (Erich von Stroheim), who does everything within his
power to protect his employer from the realties of the world and a
Hollywood that has passed her by. Von Stroheim, a silent film director of
legendary and tragic stature, gives a riveting portrayal a man whose
intense devotion to the actress borders upon obsession. The cast of SUNSET
BOULEVARD also includes Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Jack Webb, Cecil B.
DeMille, Hedda Hopper, Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson, H.B. Warner, Ray
Evans and Jay Livingston.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made SUNSET BOULEVARD available on DVD in an
absolutely stunning black and white transfer that frames the film in its
proper 1.37:1 full screen aspect ratio. Previous to this release, SUNSET
BOULEVARD has never looked particularly good on home video. The film
elements used for previous releases were never up to snuff, which did a
complete disservice to this cinematic classic. For this release, SUNSET
BOULEVARD has been "meticulously restored frame by frame"
and the DVD looks every bit as good as one might expect from such a
declaration.
Utilizing
the services of Lowry Digital Images, the same company responsible for
restoring NORTH BY NORTHWEST and CITIZEN KANE, Paramount has
produced a virtually perfect, blemish free presentation of SUNSET
BOULEVARD on DVD. The immaculate image is quite sharp and beautifully
defined. Blacks are perfectly inky, while the whites appear crisp and
clean. Contrast is generally excellent and the grayscale is very, very
good. Digital compression artifacts were seldom to be seen on this smartly
authored DVD. Perhaps the only flaws in this gorgeous looking presentation
were the occasional, brief shimmering of a background and a couple of the
darker scenes, which seemed to lack fine detail. Overall, Paramount has
done an dazzling job with SUNSET BOULEVARD and deserves a standing
ovation from each and every movie buff out there.
SUNSET
BOULEVARD is presented on DVD with a very nice sounding Dolby Digital
monaural soundtrack. All traces of pops, clicks and crackle have been
cleaned off the track, leaving it very clean and crisp sounding. Applying
amplification to the track doesn’t introduce any noticeable distortions,
although a very faint bit of background hiss will become appreciable at
higher levels. Considering the age of the recordings, it comes as no
surprise that the track offers limited fidelity; however, Franz Waxman’s
haunting score still manages to sound quite good. Dialogue is always fully
intelligible and the actors’ voices maintain a good sense of character.
A French language track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English
subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s highly
attractive interactive menus. Through the menus, one has access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a very nice
supplemental section. Starting things off is a running audio commentary by
Ed Sikov, the author of On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of
Billy Wilder. As one might expect from his credentials, Sikov is
an expert on this particular movie and his commentary provides significant
detail on the film and its director, however, causal listeners may find
the track to be a bit too scholarly and analytical.
The
Making of Sunset Boulevard is
an absolutely terrific twenty-five minute program that traces the film’s
production and offers interviews that include surviving cast member Nancy
Olson, film critic Andrew Sarris and author Ed Sikov (again). The
Music of Sunset Boulevard is a fourteen-minute program that offers
a look at the work and career of composer Franz Waxman. Edith Head -
The Paramount Years is a thirteen-minute look at the career at the
most famous costume designer of Hollywood’s golden age. Also included on
the DVD is a very cool interactive map of Hollywood and Paramount studios,
as well as a terrific still gallery, script pages from the movie cut
prologue sequence and a theatrical trailer.
Without
a doubt, Billy Wilder’s SUNSET BOULEVARD is a true cinematic
masterpiece. Movie buffs have waited a long time for the movie’s arrival
on DVD, and their patience has been rewarded with a spectacular, fully
restored presentation of this classic. The folks at Paramount deserve all
the accolades that can be heaped upon them for their efforts in bringing SUNSET
BOULEVARD back to its full luster. Combining the superb presentation
with the excellent supplemental materials makes SUNSET BOULEVARD a
must have DVD for any movie collection. Absolutely recommended.
Billy
Wilder’s SUNSET BOULEVARD ($25) is the legendary director's
cynical, tragic masterpiece about Hollywood and the darker, slightly
decayed side of this glamorous world. SUNSET BOULEVARD tells the
story of faded Hollywood icon Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), from the
point of view of an out of work writer named Joe Gillis (William Holden),
who crosses paths with the silent film actress and finds himself drawn
into her world. As Norma Desmond, Swanson gives the performance of her
career, and as such, has become one of the greatest cinematic icons of all
time. Actually, Swanson was perfectly suited to the role of Norma Desmond,
having be a silent film star herself and a genuine silver screen beauty.
The beauty of Swanson's youth remains quite apparent throughout the course
of SUNSET BOULEVARD, but it is the fading quality of her looks that
greatly enhances the tragic nature of her character, especially when
Desmond embarks on an ill-fated attempt at a "return" to the
screen.
William
Holden brings a great sense of irony to the tragic events as they unfold.
As Holden’s character, Joe Gillis, becomes ever more entangled in Norma
Desmond’s somewhat delusional existence, one can’t help but chuckle at
Joe's reactions to some of the more unusual events, especially when one
takes into consideration Joe's unwillingness to leave the life of a kept
man after the 50ish actress falls in love with him. Of course, the most
bizarre character in this menagerie has to be Norma Desmond’s fiercely
loyal Butler Max (Erich von Stroheim), who does everything within his
power to protect his employer from the realties of the world and a
Hollywood that has passed her by. Von Stroheim, a silent film director of
legendary and tragic stature, gives a riveting portrayal a man whose
intense devotion to the actress borders upon obsession. The cast of SUNSET
BOULEVARD also includes Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Jack Webb, Cecil B.
DeMille, Hedda Hopper, Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson, H.B. Warner, Ray
Evans and Jay Livingston.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made SUNSET BOULEVARD available on DVD in an
absolutely stunning black and white transfer that frames the film in its
proper 1.37:1 full screen aspect ratio. Previous to this release, SUNSET
BOULEVARD has never looked particularly good on home video. The film
elements used for previous releases were never up to snuff, which did a
complete disservice to this cinematic classic. For this release, SUNSET
BOULEVARD has been "meticulously restored frame by frame"
and the DVD looks every bit as good as one might expect from such a
declaration.
Utilizing
the services of Lowry Digital Images, the same company responsible for
restoring NORTH BY NORTHWEST and CITIZEN KANE, Paramount has
produced a virtually perfect, blemish free presentation of SUNSET
BOULEVARD on DVD. The immaculate image is quite sharp and beautifully
defined. Blacks are perfectly inky, while the whites appear crisp and
clean. Contrast is generally excellent and the grayscale is very, very
good. Digital compression artifacts were seldom to be seen on this smartly
authored DVD. Perhaps the only flaws in this gorgeous looking presentation
were the occasional, brief shimmering of a background and a couple of the
darker scenes, which seemed to lack fine detail. Overall, Paramount has
done an dazzling job with SUNSET BOULEVARD and deserves a standing
ovation from each and every movie buff out there.
SUNSET
BOULEVARD is presented on DVD with a very nice sounding Dolby Digital
monaural soundtrack. All traces of pops, clicks and crackle have been
cleaned off the track, leaving it very clean and crisp sounding. Applying
amplification to the track doesn’t introduce any noticeable distortions,
although a very faint bit of background hiss will become appreciable at
higher levels. Considering the age of the recordings, it comes as no
surprise that the track offers limited fidelity; however, Franz Waxman’s
haunting score still manages to sound quite good. Dialogue is always fully
intelligible and the actors’ voices maintain a good sense of character.
A French language track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English
subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s highly
attractive interactive menus. Through the menus, one has access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a very nice
supplemental section. Starting things off is a running audio commentary by
Ed Sikov, the author of On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of
Billy Wilder. As one might expect from his credentials, Sikov is
an expert on this particular movie and his commentary provides significant
detail on the film and its director, however, causal listeners may find
the track to be a bit too scholarly and analytical.
The
Making of Sunset Boulevard is
an absolutely terrific twenty-five minute program that traces the film’s
production and offers interviews that include surviving cast member Nancy
Olson, film critic Andrew Sarris and author Ed Sikov (again). The
Music of Sunset Boulevard is a fourteen-minute program that offers
a look at the work and career of composer Franz Waxman. Edith Head -
The Paramount Years is a thirteen-minute look at the career at the
most famous costume designer of Hollywood’s golden age. Also included on
the DVD is a very cool interactive map of Hollywood and Paramount studios,
as well as a terrific still gallery, script pages from the movie cut
prologue sequence and a theatrical trailer.
Without
a doubt, Billy Wilder’s SUNSET BOULEVARD is a true cinematic
masterpiece. Movie buffs have waited a long time for the movie’s arrival
on DVD, and their patience has been rewarded with a spectacular, fully
restored presentation of this classic. The folks at Paramount deserve all
the accolades that can be heaped upon them for their efforts in bringing SUNSET
BOULEVARD back to its full luster. Combining the superb presentation
with the excellent supplemental materials makes SUNSET BOULEVARD a
must have DVD for any movie collection. Absolutely recommended.