Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard (1950) is a black comedy film noir directed by Billy Wilder, starring William Holden as struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis and Gloria Swanson as faded silent star Norma Desmond. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards (winning three), it’s widely considered one of the greatest films ever made.

 The film opens with Joe’s body floating in a Hollywood mansion’s pool, then flashes back six months. Fleeing repo men, Joe hides at Norma’s decaying mansion, where she hires him to edit her script for a grand screen comeback. He moves in and becomes her kept man, while her butler Max (her former director and first husband) secretly writes her fan mail to sustain her delusion. Joe starts falling for young script reader Betty Schaefer, but when he decides to leave and tells Norma the truth, she shoots him. In the final scene, Norma, believing the police cameras are filming a movie, descends the staircase and declares she’s ready for her close-up.

Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Charles BrackettBilly, WilderD.M,  Marshman Jr.
Stars: William HoldenGloria, SwansonErich von Stroheim
Genre: Dark Comedy, Film Noir, Psychological Drama
Duration: 110′
Subtitles:  English and Greek Subtitles
Language: English
Tickets €5