Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Charlene Lydon and Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.
This time, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard.
Screenwriter Joe Gillis is found floating upside down in the pool of silent era film star Norma Desmond. As the authorities begin to piece together exactly what happened, Gillis’ corpse narrates a sordid tale of desperation, resentment, lust – and Hollywood haunted by its own past.
At time of recording, it was ranked 64th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 27th June 2020.
- Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, this episode was recorded remotely. We suspect, going forward that a lot of our episodes will be until the crisis resolves.
- Sunset Boulevard at The Internet Movie Database.
- The IMDB Top 250 as it appeared at time of recording.
- Follow Charlene on Twitter.
- Visit the Lighthouse Cinema’s homepage.
- Follow the Lighthouse Cinema on Twitter.
- Follow Rioghnach on Twitter.
- Watch a proof of concept for Rioghnach’s film Neon.
- Julian Wolfreys writes about Sunset Boulevard as an example of Hollywood Gothic in Gothic Modernisms, May 2001.
- David Lynch discusses Mulholland Drive as an example of Hollywood Gothic with Creative Screenwriting, November/December 2001.
- Edward Guthmann at The San Francisco Gate Chronicle on the “Hollyweird” aesthetic of Mulholland Drive, October 2001.
- James Bartlett at the BBC takes a look back at the sordid case of “the Black Dahlia”, January 2017.
- Adrian Glick Kudler and Elijah Chiland at Curbed chart Los Angeles’ most infamous murder scenes, October 2018.
- Karina Longworth at You Must Remember This looks at the scandal around the Fatty Arbuckle case, July 2018.
- Caryn James at The New York Times looks at the continuing fascination with the murder of William Desmond Taylor, May 1990.
- Simon Louvish at The Guardian pries into the mysterious murder of William Desmond Taylor, October 2003.
- History.com offers a brief overview of the sordid William Desmond Taylor case, November 2009.
- Karina Longworth investigates the rumours and mystery around the murder of William Desmond Taylor for You Must Remember This, July 2018.
- Nathan Mannion at The Irish Times looks at William Desmond Taylor’s connection to Carlow, October 2019.
- Luke Buckmaster explains why the BBC named Mulholland Drive the best film of the 21st century, August 2016.
- Susan King at The Orlando Sentinel on the renewed focus on restoration of classics like Sunset Boulevard, November 2002.
- Jeff Saporito at Screen Prism on the technical production choices – including the use of nitrate negative – on Sunset Boulevard, November 2015.
- David Thomson at The Independent discusses the theatrical re-release of Sunset Boulevard, March 2003.
- Adrian Hennigan at the BBC reviews the re-release of Sunset Boulevard, March 2003.
- Richard Brody at The New Yorker celebrates the video store as a makeshift film school, October 2015.
- Writers at RoberEbert.com reflect on the importance of the video store to their development as film journalists, October 2015.
- Critics contacted by IndieWire discuss their own memories of the video store, November 2013.
- Kenneth Turan at The Los Angeles Times walks the real Sunset Boulevard, contemplating Sunset Boulevard, December 1993.
- David Kehr at The New York Times considers the legacy of silent film star Norma Talmadge, March 2010.
- Andrew Wilson at The Observer discusses Gloria Swanson’s experience making Sunset Boulevard with her daughter, Michelle, March 2003.
- Pia Diamandis at Medium examines the production and development of Sunset Boulevard, April 2019.
- Billy Wilder talks to FIlm Noir Reader about his experience with film noir and the making of Sunset Boulevard, July 1975.
- Billy Wilder discusses the genesis and development of Sunset Boulevard with The Paris Review, Spring 1996.
- The New York Times reports on Gloria Swanson’s efforts to bring Sunset Boulevard to the stage, December 1994.
- Lara Gabrielle Fowler at Backlots discusses Gloria Swanson’s loss of the Best Actress Oscar for Sunset Boulevard, May 2013.
- Richard Merkin at The New Yorker profiles Mae Murray, March 1994.
- Pamela Hutchinson at The Guardian discusses the truly biting social commentary of Sunset Boulevard, August 2016.
- Michael Wilmington offers a brief introduction to Billy Wilder at The Chicago Tribune, March 2002.
- Jim Gray at Variety looks back on the Supreme Court decision that broke up the studio system, April 2018.
- Erin Blakemore at History.com writes on how television killed Hollywood’s Golden Age, January 2018.
- Cameron Crowe interviews Billy Wilder for Vanity Fair, October 1999.
- Todd Sokol at Den of Geek on Sunset Boulevard as the original Hollywood expose, August 2019.
- Karina Longworth at You Must Remember This looks at the end of the reign of Louis B. Mayer, December 2015.
- Shelby Grad and David Colker at The Los Angeles Times on Nancy Reagan’s belief in astrology, March 2016.
- Paul Gallagher at Dangerous Minds on Peter Seller’s interest in the paranormal, October 2010.
- Osman Ahmed at The Business of Fashion on the rising popularity of vicuña, April 2017.
- David Coggins at The Wall Street Journal on the sophistication of a vicuña suit, September 2013.
- Arthur Lennig previews the first chapter of his biography of Erich von Stroheim at The New York Times, 2000.
- Peter Tonguette at The Wall Street Journal on the conflict between Erich von Stroheim and the studio over Greed, November 2016.
- Derek Malcolm argues for von Stroheim’s Greed as one of the films of the century at The Guardian, September 1999.
- Stephen Harvey at The New York Times reports on the troubled production (and very delayed release) of Queen Kelly, September 1985.
- Roger Ebert reviews Sunset Boulevard for The Chicago Sun Times, June 1999.
- Adrian Hennigan at the BBC looks back on the production of Sunset Boulevard, March 2003.
- Brian Eggert reviews Sunset Boulevard for Deep Focus Reviews, March 2016.
- David E. Williams at American Cinematographer looks at the shooting of Sunset Boulevard, November 2018.
- J. Hoberman at The New York Times looks at the overlap between Sunset Boulevard and Sampson and Delilah, March 2014.
- Steve Rubin at SyFy takes a look back at Buster Keaton’s memorable appearance on The Twilight Zone, December 2017.
- Aaron Betsky at The Los Angeles Times offers a brief history of Greystone Mansion, March 1992.
- Lisa Boone at The Los Angeles Times discusses the latest renovations to Greystone Manor, November 2015.
- Martin Turnbull at martinturnball.com offers a snapshot of the demolition of the mansion used to shoot Sunset Boulevard, August 2015.
- The alternate opening to Sunset Boulevard on YouTube, September 2019.
- Phil Koury at The New York Times on the partnership between Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, April 1948.
- Matthew Dessem at The Dissolve on the rise and fall of the creative pairing of Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, June 2014.
- Kimberley Truhler at GlamAmor on the importance of Edith Head’s costumes on the look and feel of Sunset Boulevard, September 2014.
- Adam Sisman at The Guardian on the politics of John le Carré, October 2015.
- Pauline Bewick’s Signs of the Zodiac.
- Follow The 250 on Twitter.
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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: Billy Wilder, charlene lydon, hollyweird, hollywood, hollywood gothic, horror, mulholland drive, norma desmond, Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair, sunset boulevard |
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