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Master Rank #42

Sunset Boulevard

1950

GCML Total9.3440% Greatness · 40% Engagement · 20% Ease

Directed by Billy Wilder

CastWilliam Holden · Gloria Swanson · Erich von Stroheim

USAEnglishDrama110 minNot Rated
Sight & Sound; IMDb Top 250; AFI 100Narrative FeatureModerate pace
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Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Globe · 4

Spoiler-free premise

A struggling screenwriter becomes involved with a forgotten silent-era star planning her return to Hollywood.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis takes refuge from creditors at a decaying Sunset Boulevard mansion owned by silent-film star Norma Desmond. She hires him to revise the enormous screenplay she believes will restore her to the screen.

Why it belongs

Sunset Boulevard's decaying Hollywood noir makes faded stardom grotesque, funny, sympathetic, and inseparable from an industry's cruelty.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Wilder frames Hollywood through a decaying mansion, noir voice-over, deep-focus interiors, and Gloria Swanson's stylized performance, making faded stardom simultaneously grotesque, funny, sympathetic, and inseparable from the industry's appetite for replacement.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Golden Globes4 wins1951 · official film record ↗
Best Director - Motion Picture1951 · Billy Wilderofficial film record ↗Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama1951 · Gloria Swansonofficial film record ↗

Plus 2 additional wins

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Date NightFilm Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

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