Sunset Boulevard- the tale of a comeback diva... Or as Norma Desmond might say, the tale of her return. Normally my interest in classic movies does next extend much beyond Blazing Saddles or The Graduate, but in the interest of film exploration I thoroughly enjoyed Sunset Boulevard.
As the movie progressed, I keenly focused my attention on the many aspects of the critical viewing guide. Religiously recording my observations, I felt that I had nearly logged the entire movie. That is, until we began openly discussing our annotations with the class. Nearly every observation that one of our classmates brought to attention was a side of the movie that I had ignorantly glassed over. From differences in lighting to the multiple symbolic representations of the two worlds that divided Norma’s skewed persona, I couldn’t have been more impressed with everyone’s astute observations. Not in fifteen views would I have noticed that the hard lighting of Norma’s face denounced her star status. Many of my observations were actually quite shallow in comparison. And with this apparent, I honestly learned more about the movie from our twenty minutes of open discussion than the two hours that I spent in tedious concentration. Now I just wonder what key concepts I crudely overlook in many other films! For each time I re-watch one of my favorite movies, I always come away with surprising amounts of new, previously missed insight. With this in mind, I left last class under the impression that I had watched Sunset Boulevard thirty times, each through the eyes of a different individual.
Besides the movie’s fascinating plot and addicting characters, the film repeatedly captured my attention through mini pop culture history lessons. Its characters exposed the generation differences between the society of the film and present times. Cigarettes appeared in nearly every scene and not only showed the prevalence of smoking during the time period but how smoking was much more socially acceptable. With all of the hottest stars smoking six packs a scene, I might have even succumbed to the social pressures of the era. Also, the lack of intimate scenes and bodily exposure, as Sam bluntly pointed out, bared the modest side of 1950’s cinema. Modern films are a bit more trigger happy in the excessive skin department so I can only imagine how the kissing scene between Joe and Norma once warmed the audience in a wave of intimacy.
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I totally agree with you, I thought that I understood the movie so well, until it came time to discussion, and everyone was commenting with thoughts that I would have never thought of on my own. I also did notice everyone smoking their cigarettes, for some I thought that was ok, but when Betty also started to light her cigarette up, I was almost surprised, then realized that this movie was from the time period when these things looked good!
ReplyDeleteI like how you used the term "addicting characters." That is exactly what they are. There is just enough to relate to, yet so much mystery and/or outlawed style that exploring these characters' personalities is like a drug building on itself. Norma seems to became less creepy and more of the "flat-out- insane" type as the movie goes on. That whole idea is like reading Law and Order script. One can't merely stop reading due to boredom. There is too much interest...hence, "addictive."
ReplyDeleteThat's a great observation. There is so much sheer information in film -- every pixel, as it were, being a "bit", along with every sound and word -- that we can't help but see something new in it each time we return. There's no way to get it all in one viewing. And the great films reward us with new revelations each time that are meaningful and that deepen the experience, not just add to it quantitatively.
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