I had the good fortune to know Gloria Swanson (through her husband, Bill Dufty) and one night when we were alone in her apartment, she did that scene, looking straight at me with those incredible eyes. It is a few minutes of a long life (I'm 83) that only dementia could erase from my memory.
1:48 One of the greatest fourth wall breaks in cinema. Her insanity is talking as she addresses us in the audience. Haunting and chilling, especially the way she whispers “those wonderful people out there in the dark”. In a way, she did get what she wanted: she got an audience watching her again.
If you ever have the chance to see this in a theater, take it. This sequence hits so differently when you’re actually one of those wonderful people out there in the dark.
One of the best film scenes ever. Gloria was a silent film actress in her youth so she understood how they had to hold their faces, move and speak with their eyes. This scene shows her complete mastery of it...
Seriously? If someone spoke and approached you as she does in the end you’d get the hell out of there. Enchanting? Skill? Speaking with faces. Today you’d grab your child and put them behind you. You’d wonder if shes on drugs Or if she has gone completely insane as you dial 911. How times have changed. My how times have changed
@@Wheat777 Are you agreeing with OP or disagreeing? If you're disagreeing I have to say your response/reaction to the acting only proves OP's point. You were disturbed by her behavior and it made you wonder if she were mad. Gloria Swanson made you feel that with just her eyes and physical gestures.
There's one good reason why this film is listed in National Film Registry. It's a masterpiece. A social commentary on Hollywood about struggling writers and ageism of actors. Youth is valued, aging is not. It's also a tale of broken dreams - snubbed actress, financially struggling writer, unloved ex-husband, and a woman who accepted reality and move on with life. A very relatable film to all audience.
It is definitely a masterpiece; however, I think it's more about the addictive quality of those 15 minutes of fame....more about the hit of that endorphin rush stars get from all of the adulation and worship. Just like Pavlov and the dogs. We, the public, the paparazzi, the spin doctors, brainwash and condition these people into believing they are larger than life; that their every word or movement is spectacular and worth documenting. It's more addictive than heroin. Then, after we've gotten them to believe it, we drop them, and go on to the next big thing; and we leave them unable to get a fix. Some can kick the habit, and move on to a new life; some never can. Unfortunately, with social media, now EVERYBODY has the potential to be a star in their own living room. People lose track of living life, and instead are marketing a brand; day trading with themselves as the stock. We can already see the effect it's having on people (and they aren't even old); once they have a social media following, they call themselves "influencers" and they become famous in their own minds. I have a feeling in the next 20 years, we are going to see a staggering number of "Norma Desmonds", alone in their homes, trying to get those endorphin hits; trying to get back those followers, and it's only going to get worse.
Every time I see this movie I get incredibly uncomfortable when she gestures to "those wonderful people out there in the dark," looking out with those eyes, filled with madness. I feel like she's looking right through me, and that shows what an amazing performance it is.
Ally Gator Animator It's not. She just has huge eyes which she opens VERY wide. I'm sorry, I know I'm in the minority here, but I really don't like her performance in this. It's extremely over the top and waaay too exaggerated. I'm sort of glad she didn't win the Oscar for this, and let me tell you Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday was very cute and funny. Gloria had good moments in this film, but she looked like she constantly on very hard MDMA. I'm all for acting, but this one just totally unrealistic. Not saying it should be, but it felt like it was too much. If anything Bette Davis DEFINITELY should've won for All About Eve.
Ally Gator Animator i was gonna leave my own comment on this classic , and i mean classic picture. but man u hit it right on the head, couldnt say it any better myself, bravo
Swanson is amazing - but the way Von Stroheim looks at her with so much pain and love in his eyes always gets me as well. Extraordinary scene, everything about it is sheer brilliance.
Stroheim was awesome in this film! (But wasn't he always?) After "Queen Kelly", Swanson swore she'd never work with him again. I'm so glad she changed her mind.
I have heard that Gloria Swanson was one of the sweetest people in show business. And yet she managed to play such a terrifyingly demented role. Talent!
Talent, plus a little help from satan. I hope you know that all the great and legendary actors and actresses in Hollywood were sold out to the devil; they can speak in so many different voices and act as the most evil villains or saints at the drop of a act. They possess superhuman energy and abilities; far above and beyond mere mortals like myself.
She has an even greater talent If we considere that she was a star in both silent and talking films! Many actors were not able to adjast in both,like her role,Norma Desmond,in this movie..
The way in which Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond glides so regally down the steps, passing the reporters and ignoring them completely as if they were nothing more than ghosts or part of the scenery...stunning. Classic...absolutely perfect.
It's because Gloria Swanson made a (very smart) decision to not look down as she descended the stairs. Director Billy Wilder would only allow this if there were people ready to catch her if she tripped and fell. Thus, the reporters on the stairs.
Not only that, but you will note that the reporters themselves, even though they know what is going on, are spellbound and do not move a muscle (except for the last photographer, who deferentially steps aside to let her finish her descent). Only Hedda Hopper, at the top of the stairs, and Max von Mayerling (Erich von Stoheim) show any emotion at all, and what they show is pity mixed with horror. Top-notch acting by Gloria Swanson and top-notch direction by Billy Wilder.
@@unfuzzy You forget that Norma is insane and that in her perceptions these folks on the stairway are "film extras." And Max meant well, but the decades he spent coddling Norma and shielding her from the hard facts of life had their culpability in her mental collapse.
On the contrary, the greatest ending in all of movie history was the ending to Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, where Kelly, David and Jason manage to prevent the community center from being demolished. It has me in tears every time I see it.
"All right, Mister DeMille... I'm ready for my close up". This iconic line will be remembered a hundred years from now. It's so dramatic - the line, her acting, the music, the staging... EVERYTHING! This is what makes Hollywood great.
I saw both Sunset Blvd and All About Eve, and I can totally believe that the only reason neither Swanson nor Davis won Best Actress was that their performances were so epic, that, against each other, neither could gain the majority of votes needed to win.
Every time I watch this movie I feel as if I am viewing it for the first time each time, the ending seen in particular, the way Swanson executes the scene is the best performance I have seen by any actress, her eyes are able to make you feel a variety of different things, her hands add also to the ambience and greatness of the scene, I truly wish that sunset boulevard is never remade, because no one would ever be able to compare with the truly magnificent performance played by not only Gloria Swanson but every other talent involved in the creation of this iconic picture.
Gloria Swanson was actress of Silent Films!!!She most definitely spoke with her body, hands, and her wonderful face!!! No need for words, seeing her act made our hearts feel every word!!!
The haunting quality of Gloria Swanson's performance on film was equalled by Petula Clark when she caressed this madness in her during the stage version of it. The Silent Film Era remains an art form unlike any other & I am grateful to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival for keeping it alive for present & future audiences.
I disagree. I want it to be remade, but only with every perfect piece in place. And with every perfect peice in place, a remake of a great piece of art can also be great or even better that its original.
This girl I was seeing asked me to show her 2 classic movies that fit my style best. I showed her this movie and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. She didn't call me afterward.
What I love about Gloria Swanson’s performance is how her acting style actually adds a layer to Norma Desmond’s madness. By portraying the character using such overly dramatic expressions, movements and overally body language, Swanson shows how Norma has become so delusional, stuck-in-the-past and out-of-touch-with-reality, even her normal, everyday behaviour is like a silent age film performance. Truly one of the best casting decisions in film history, to say the least.
An incredible performance by Swanson! Wilder's script and direction were superb, as were all the other actors in this movie. Although I have seen the film countless times, I still get goosebumps as Swanson approaches the camera. The madness in her eyes is superlative acting! And what a beautifully descriptive line: " ... Just us and the cameras and those wonderul people OUT THERE IN THE DARK. " Brilliant!
I agree ...it would have been intriguing in the last few frames, as Swanson comes down the stairs for the film to bleed into color. Fantasy meets reality.
It's interesting how some things happen. I read Billy Wilder's biography and there he said that never wanted Gloria Swanson for the role of Norma Desmond but he hopelessly desired Mae West. However, how "fate plays tricks", Mrs.West didn't like the script because it was the role of a decadent actress and she didn't accept play it. I cannot imagine something else to play Norma Desmond........ It's Gloria Swanson's signature!!!
@@unfuzzy You're entitled to your opinion, but so are the millions of other people who have seen this and would vehemently disagree with you and who gained both entertainment value and "food for thought."
@@unfuzzy Just because people imply they're in the right despite the fact that this film succeeded in winning popular and critical acclaim, doesn't make them right; like you for instance.
@@vincentsartain3061 - this film won popular and critical acclaim in another time and age when people still believed things like black people shouldn't mix with whites and homosexuality was a crime. -- i suppose you think those things are correct as well?
In its own way, its a very gentle ending. We leave her in her moment of triumph, when all her dreams finally came true.... and for a few precious monents Max was able to direct her once more.
This scene she is a marvel of the golden era of cinema magic. A madness, a desperate frightening madness is Norma Desmond she is so chilling and brilliant and wild and rather violent too. Truly mesmerizing
I can watch this scene forever. That choreography, that one take technique, that acting...so esthetic! Norma Desmond’s stardom should rise once again. Not forgotten and abandoned.
This film was so sad. A picture of what we did to actresses when they were decided too old for the fame and glory they spent years of work and pain to achieve. Till that is all they are. Then to have that ripped away. To deem them worthless. Seeing her think that she is in a movie again. How happy she was. "I will never desert you again" but we in fact deserted her. And many like her.. this scene just made me so sad.
@@matteusconnollius1203 You're absolutely right! Ha! She looked so familiar and now I know why. Frighteningly powerful woman who vigorously supported the blacklisting of suspected communists and (gasp!) ho-mo-sexuals during the McCarthy era.
I really like this scene I get emotional with happiness when I watch it since it was said that right after this clip when they wrapped up the movie Gloria was crying with so much joy and happiness!!😙. She was so happy that she contributed/gave sooo much to her art, something that she always LOVED so dearly and was very appreciative that they gave her the chance to show it on Sunset Boulevard!!!😗😙😚
"Sunset Boulevard" is a much more subtle and complex film than it is sometimes credited with being. Norma's grip on reality may be tenuous (although she certainly isn't demented until she shoots Joe), but she has made far better use of her life than Joe has made of his. She really WAS a living legend for a good many years; Joe doesn't even qualify as a "has-been", because he's never "been". It's Joe's version of the "Salome" script, not Norma's, that deMille rejects (and, incidentally, Hollywood made a version of "Salome" three years after "Sunset Boulevard", with Rita Hayworth, so the IDEA of a "Salome" film wasn't crazy at all..) It's also a delicious irony that our introduction to Norma, when Joe pulls into her driveway, has us HEARING her without seeing her, hidden as she is in shadows. ("What took you so long? I've been waiting for you. Why did you keep me waiting?" The sleeping past awakening and chastising the present for its lack of manners -- marvelous!)
I have seen this ending quite a few times and it still sends chills down my spine. I can't think of any other movie that is simultaneously so absurd and so tragic. I had heard that about Mae West--apparently she was rather offended at the offer. Gloria Swanson, on the other hand, was very excited to play the part. And boy did she play it!
Two iconic movie lines stem from two leading ladies in 1950: "Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup" and All About Eve: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy night".
What a film! A real treasure in cinema. I am always in awe silent film stars the way they emote with solely their facial expressions. They say so much without words. Gloria does it here in this scene even though she is talking..
Gloria Swanson was incredible in this movie. It's crazy that she didn't win the academy award for this movie. .. this movie was dark,creepy and great the same time. "wonderful people out there in the dark" all actors know what she meant by that.
@@unfuzzyI wouldn't find it hard to believe that Miss DeHavilland (still with us today at 103) is a great admirer of Gloria Swanson and other of her predecessors in cinema. But now I gotta ask, why all the trolling? So far I've come across a half dozen or so of your naysaying remarks and Lord knows how many more of them I'll find as I continue scrolling down this comments section; isn't there someplace else you'd rather be? Other posts and videos of other films that are more to your preference? Why don't you just go THERE where you, I, and the majority of folks reading these comments will ALL be MUCH HAPPIER? It would be a win-win for EVERYONE, even YOU!
@@drstranger7430 Oh. OK. I didn't know you had spoken to everyone about it. I also don't remember you asking me my opinion, but you clearly did because you wouldn't say that it is everyone's opinion if that were untrue. Thanks for letting me know what my opinion is.
They famously asked a number of actresses to play this part, but really, it was only Swanson who would bring an understanding to the role that transcended mere performance. Still one of the greatest films.
Her slow glide down those stairs with those bizzare floating arm gestures are what nightmares are made of; like Medusa tempting her victims to look into her eyes.
Billy Wilder created several masterpieces, Double Indemnity, Some Like It Hot and this magnficent film starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson in one of the greatest performances of all time. Swanson was nominated but lost to the great Judy Holiday for Born Yesterday. Bette Davis was also nominated and the thinking is that Davis and Swanson both cancelled each other out and the newcomer Ms. Holiday won. In highsight, while Davis was great in All About Eve, Gloria Swanson should have won.
For someone who got totally alienated from the real world because of her obsession to relive her golden and glorious times as a goddess of silent movies, that moment was a total apotheosis.
"Ready for my closeup..." I remember watching Robin Williams utter this iconic line in Mrs Doubtfire, during his transformation. Being a kid at the time, I had no idea where it originated from.
How did an actress who didn’t live in the same years as me just stare through decades and give me chills? That second of fourth wall break… out there in the dark… perfection.
As a child watching this late at night, I knew Norma Swanson was the only one in the room hearing the music. She's gliding down the stairs in her mind in a movie studio. She was that far gone from reality after committing murder. In her own mind she was still young and beautiful, adored by fans. When she stops at the bottom of the stairs and says she's overcome from emotions to star in another motion picture as the STAR. The music stops while she says this, and when she's ready for her close up the music starts again. Even as a kid of 8 years old, I noticed that and it made my stomach turn into knots knowing she was, and went crazy. Why I was allowed to watch a near rated R black and white movie is beyond me. But thank God, my mother allowed me. It made me a fan of old films that night. This movie should be watched by all.
I watched this film for the first time yesterday, and at the end of the picture, I turn to my husband, and it was the first time in my life that a film left me absolutely speechless! ... nothing, absolutely nothing will ever come close to the perfection that is Sunset Boulevard. And for those of you reading this, if you haven’t seen this picture before, I highly recommend that you watch it.
Surely one of the most effective, and chilling portrayals of madness ever. A brilliant scene, the more so by the drama of the people watching, that shot of Maxs' face and the camera fade on Ms. Swanson. Classic Hollywood. And I'm long an admirer of William Holden.
not to mention the fact that the entire movie is narrated by a man who is dead and found lying face down in a swimming pool - the movie opens looking at his dead face with arms stretched out in the water like a zombie and dead while the ghoulish Norma is "alive and well" we almost don't want to believe that Norma will have to face the public at a criminal trial Max will be there to convince Norma that the criminal trial is really a DeMille movie filmed in a courtroom
@@JohnPKING-nj8nc There won't necessarily be a criminal trial; a court hearing will likely declare her unfit to stand trial and she'll live out her days in a sanitarium.
What a wonderful actress that can't be topped. She reminds me so much of how my grandmother looked as well. I encourage everyone to watch her scene in the tv show The Beverly Hillbillies here on UA-cam. I heard a story that while making this film Gloria Swanson had her mother live with her in California and who looked after her daughter while Gloria was on set. When Gloria would come her mother would tell her granddaughter "Norma's home!" as she kept the voice going on of Norma Desmond even when not filming the movie till it completed.
You can see, in Hedda Hopper's eyes, that she knew she was watching the greatest scene ever filmed. I've read the extras on the staircase were spellbound during the filming, utterly flabbergasted.
How Gloria Swanson - and for that matter Bette Davis in All About Eve - lost to Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday - a performance I enjoy very much is one of the great "WTF moments???" in all of Oscar history.
@@JenniferBrigitteOpticalVortex it was worse than that because Anne Baxter and Bette Davis were both nominated for Best Actress in the same picture. They REALLY canceled out each other.
I had the good fortune to know Gloria Swanson (through her husband, Bill Dufty) and one night when we were alone in her apartment, she did that scene, looking straight at me with those incredible eyes. It is a few minutes of a long life (I'm 83) that only dementia could erase from my memory.
wow that's an amazing tale.
+Chris Albertson Wow, love to hear your stories, drinks on me!
omg! That's amazing!
+Chris Albertson wow you were lucky
this is GRAND
1:48 One of the greatest fourth wall breaks in cinema. Her insanity is talking as she addresses us in the audience. Haunting and chilling, especially the way she whispers “those wonderful people out there in the dark”. In a way, she did get what she wanted: she got an audience watching her again.
The way she looks right at the camera while talking about the "wonderful people out there in the dark..." brilliant
Very much a "fourth wall" line of dialogue!
If you ever have the chance to see this in a theater, take it. This sequence hits so differently when you’re actually one of those wonderful people out there in the dark.
@@danielsolano4606 I hope I will one day - if the theaters ever reopen! one of the theater chains here shows classic movies - or at least used to
Danie
She'd gotten married, went back to live the normal life - when years later
the phone suddenly rang. Billy Wilder.
One of the best film scenes ever. Gloria was a silent film actress in her youth so she understood how they had to hold their faces, move and speak with their eyes. This scene shows her complete mastery of it...
“We didn’t need dialogue! We had faces!”
Enchanting, really.
❤❤❤❤
Seriously?
If someone spoke and approached you as she does in the end you’d get the hell out of there.
Enchanting?
Skill?
Speaking with faces.
Today you’d grab your child and put them behind you.
You’d wonder if shes on drugs
Or if she has gone completely insane as you dial 911.
How times have changed.
My how times have changed
@@Wheat777 Are you agreeing with OP or disagreeing?
If you're disagreeing I have to say your response/reaction to the acting only proves OP's point. You were disturbed by her behavior and it made you wonder if she were mad. Gloria Swanson made you feel that with just her eyes and physical gestures.
There's one good reason why this film is listed in National Film Registry. It's a masterpiece. A social commentary on Hollywood about struggling writers and ageism of actors. Youth is valued, aging is not.
It's also a tale of broken dreams - snubbed actress, financially struggling writer, unloved ex-husband, and a woman who accepted reality and move on with life.
A very relatable film to all audience.
Relatable to a lot of people in different ways
It is definitely a masterpiece; however, I think it's more about the addictive quality of those 15 minutes of fame....more about the hit of that endorphin rush stars get from all of the adulation and worship. Just like Pavlov and the dogs. We, the public, the paparazzi, the spin doctors, brainwash and condition these people into believing they are larger than life; that their every word or movement is spectacular and worth documenting. It's more addictive than heroin. Then, after we've gotten them to believe it, we drop them, and go on to the next big thing; and we leave them unable to get a fix.
Some can kick the habit, and move on to a new life; some never can. Unfortunately, with social media, now EVERYBODY has the potential to be a star in their own living room. People lose track of living life, and instead are marketing a brand; day trading with themselves as the stock. We can already see the effect it's having on people (and they aren't even old); once they have a social media following, they call themselves "influencers" and they become famous in their own minds. I have a feeling in the next 20 years, we are going to see a staggering number of "Norma Desmonds", alone in their homes, trying to get those endorphin hits; trying to get back those followers, and it's only going to get worse.
Every time I see this movie I get incredibly uncomfortable when she gestures to "those wonderful people out there in the dark," looking out with those eyes, filled with madness. I feel like she's looking right through me, and that shows what an amazing performance it is.
Ally Gator Animator Yeah, In a way it almost makes me feel as insane as her because I'm here watching...and she knows it.
Ally Gator Animator It's not. She just has huge eyes which she opens VERY wide. I'm sorry, I know I'm in the minority here, but I really don't like her performance in this. It's extremely over the top and waaay too exaggerated. I'm sort of glad she didn't win the Oscar for this, and let me tell you Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday was very cute and funny. Gloria had good moments in this film, but she looked like she constantly on very hard MDMA. I'm all for acting, but this one just totally unrealistic. Not saying it should be, but it felt like it was too much. If anything Bette Davis DEFINITELY should've won for All About Eve.
East Kazz
I respect your opinion, though I disagree about it not being a good performance. Different strokes eh?
Ally Gator Animator i was gonna leave my own comment on this classic , and i mean classic picture. but man u hit it right on the head, couldnt say it any better myself, bravo
Ally Gator Animator She wasn't joking when she said "we had FACES" b/c that stare and facial expression at the end was hauntingly beautiful
Swanson is amazing - but the way Von Stroheim looks at her with so much pain and love in his eyes always gets me as well. Extraordinary scene, everything about it is sheer brilliance.
Whats the name of the song that plays when norma is crying in bed after attempting suicide?
Agreed. When he swallows that lump in his throat as she announces that she is ready for her close-up, you can feel the anguish.
It's a real cinematic moment of truth.
Stroheim was awesome in this film! (But wasn't he always?) After "Queen Kelly", Swanson swore she'd never work with him again. I'm so glad she changed her mind.
Von Stroheim is such a beast in this picture - scary scary-good.
I have heard that Gloria Swanson was one of the sweetest people in show business. And yet she managed to play such a terrifyingly demented role. Talent!
Talent, plus a little help from satan. I hope you know that all the great and legendary actors and actresses in Hollywood were sold out to the devil; they can speak in so many different voices and act as the most evil villains or saints at the drop of a act. They possess superhuman energy and abilities; far above and beyond mere mortals like myself.
The sweetest people and the nastiest people are often one and the same.
@@LuxMeow yep just watch all about eve
She has an even greater talent If we considere that she was a star in both silent and talking films! Many actors were not able to adjast in both,like her role,Norma Desmond,in this movie..
@@ronniemead805just say you have no talent of your own
The way in which Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond glides so regally down the steps, passing the reporters and ignoring them completely as if they were nothing more than ghosts or part of the scenery...stunning. Classic...absolutely perfect.
It's because Gloria Swanson made a (very smart) decision to not look down as she descended the stairs. Director Billy Wilder would only allow this if there were people ready to catch her if she tripped and fell. Thus, the reporters on the stairs.
Not only that, but you will note that the reporters themselves, even though they know what is going on, are spellbound and do not move a muscle (except for the last photographer, who deferentially steps aside to let her finish her descent). Only Hedda Hopper, at the top of the stairs, and Max von Mayerling (Erich von Stoheim) show any emotion at all, and what they show is pity mixed with horror.
Top-notch acting by Gloria Swanson and top-notch direction by Billy Wilder.
It wasn't perfect at all. She should have acknowledged them instead of ignoring them! Who does she think she is - the Queen of Sheba or something?
@@unfuzzy You forget that Norma is insane and that in her perceptions these folks on the stairway are "film extras." And Max meant well, but the decades he spent coddling Norma and shielding her from the hard facts of life had their culpability in her mental collapse.
@@vincentsartain3061 - just because somebody's insane doesn't give them the right to be socially unacceptable.
Keep watching her eyes... you can see the sheer madness in them. Brilliantly acted.
Wonderful acting...something that no one can teach! You either have IT or you don't.
she started in silent movies so had to be very expressive with your eyes
"Still wonderful, isn't it? And no dialogue. We didn't need dialogue; we had faces!"
This is so hilariously corny and overacted. But I guess all the old movies were like that
I saw this on the big screen a couple days ago, and was thoroughly disturbed at how realistically mad she looked.
Now I know what Robin Williams meant when he said in Mrs. Doubtfire: "I feel like Gloria Swanson." and "I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille!"
I wonder if that's where the line started getting misquoted.
Maria Beltran oh my goodness, I knew I've heard it before.
He didn't mean anything. Fun fact: Robin Williams improvised a lot.
Maria Beltran yes that's what brought me here, Robin Williams, Mrs Doubtfire!
“Matchmaker matchmaker ,make me a match find me a fine, catch me a catch” lol
one of the greatest endings in all of movie history.......PERIOD
richard desjean Not only "One of the greatest endings in all of movie history " but also one of the best films EVER in movie history .
also the best descent into madness scene
On the contrary, the greatest ending in all of movie history was the ending to Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, where Kelly, David and Jason manage to prevent the community center from being demolished. It has me in tears every time I see it.
Spoiler
What's the name of this movie
"All right, Mister DeMille... I'm ready for my close up".
This iconic line will be remembered a hundred years from now. It's so dramatic - the line, her acting, the music, the staging... EVERYTHING!
This is what makes Hollywood great.
A lot like boxing in that regard.. A lot of meh, but when it’s the right 2 guys, everyone watches.. When Hollywood gets it right, it’s a spectacle..
@@jacobjones5269 That's a very sterilized way of looking at b it. Superficial as well
Very ironic, because the movie is also extremely critical of every part of Hollywood
One of the most haunting, spine-tingling, effective final scenes in the history of movies.
Couldn't agree more. It's mesmerizing and sad all at the same time. God, Gloria Swanson was an amazing actress.
Best
How ?
I don't know man I made this comment 8 years ago
@@roonroon88 ahah how do you feel about it now
This is perfect for a lot of youtubers who think they are famous.
Frank M Martinez nothing nasty. Its just a cautionary tale.
I think that is a great comment, and the ones who get insulted are the very ones you speak of (type of), lmfao!
@Frank M Martinez insulted are we? lmfao poor child.
Lol this will be James Charles in 2 years
@Frank M Martinez relax child, no insult here, rather a very valid comment.
I saw both Sunset Blvd and All About Eve, and I can totally believe that the only reason neither Swanson nor Davis won Best Actress was that their performances were so epic, that, against each other, neither could gain the majority of votes needed to win.
@Arturo Ortega Um, no way, Margo Channing dominates All About Eve and is in more scenes than any other character. What are you even talking about lol
“And those wonderful people out there in the dark” is one of my favorite lines of all time
How she didn’t win the Oscar is unfathomable. Even Bette Davis (also nominee) knows Swanson’s performance was astonishing.
Every time I watch this movie I feel as if I am viewing it for the first time each time, the ending seen in particular, the way Swanson executes the scene is the best performance I have seen by any actress, her eyes are able to make you feel a variety of different things, her hands add also to the ambience and greatness of the scene, I truly wish that sunset boulevard is never remade, because no one would ever be able to compare with the truly magnificent performance played by not only Gloria Swanson but every other talent involved in the creation of this iconic picture.
Gloria Swanson was actress of Silent Films!!!She most definitely spoke with her body, hands, and her wonderful face!!! No need for words, seeing her act made our hearts feel every word!!!
The haunting quality of Gloria Swanson's performance on film was equalled by Petula Clark when she caressed this madness in her during the stage version of it. The Silent Film Era remains an art form unlike any other & I am grateful to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival for keeping it alive for present & future audiences.
I disagree. I want it to be remade, but only with every perfect piece in place. And with every perfect peice in place, a remake of a great piece of art can also be great or even better that its original.
@@valentinomiller6251okay fine! YES …I’ll play Norma Desmond!!! Just everybody stop asking already!!!
This girl I was seeing asked me to show her 2 classic movies that fit my style best. I showed her this movie and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. She didn't call me afterward.
Raixor2nd I just literally LOLed. It's their loss.
Raixor2nd Good riddance...
Yeah, esp Bette Davis in that cake makeup, that'll scare 'em off !
😂😭🤣she wasn’t ready for a deep thinker or a man of substance WOW
I wouldn't call you either - you sound weird.
She should have won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
This is one of the greatest ending to any film I've ever seen, so fantastically acted and shot
What I love about Gloria Swanson’s performance is how her acting style actually adds a layer to Norma Desmond’s madness. By portraying the character using such overly dramatic expressions, movements and overally body language, Swanson shows how Norma has become so delusional, stuck-in-the-past and out-of-touch-with-reality, even her normal, everyday behaviour is like a silent age film performance.
Truly one of the best casting decisions in film history, to say the least.
That is my Grandfather, James Hawley operating the Camera to the Left of Mr. DeMille. Very cool film and memory!
What a blessing !!!
An incredible performance by Swanson! Wilder's script and direction were superb, as were all the other actors in this movie. Although I have seen the film countless times, I still get goosebumps as Swanson approaches the camera. The madness in her eyes is superlative acting! And what a beautifully descriptive line: " ... Just us and the cameras and those wonderul people OUT THERE IN THE DARK. " Brilliant!
I agree ...it would have been intriguing in the last few frames, as Swanson comes down the stairs for the film to bleed into color. Fantasy meets reality.
It's interesting how some things happen. I read Billy Wilder's biography and there he said that never wanted Gloria Swanson for the role of Norma Desmond but he hopelessly desired Mae West. However, how "fate plays tricks", Mrs.West didn't like the script because it was the role of a decadent actress and she didn't accept play it. I cannot imagine something else to play Norma Desmond........ It's Gloria Swanson's signature!!!
My God, Gloria Swanson's performance in this film is out of this world.
Gloria Swanson completely "owned" this classic film. If you don't have a copy of this masterpiece, get it!
I guess that means she gets the residuals.
I don't have a copy of it.... and won't....
unfuzzy she passed away a long time ago!
When the Library of Congress started its National Film Registry, this was one of the first 25 films chosen to be inducted.
Just goes to show how out of touch the Library of Congress really is.
@@unfuzzy You're entitled to your opinion, but so are the millions of other people who have seen this and would vehemently disagree with you and who gained both entertainment value and "food for thought."
@@vincentsartain3061 - just because somebody disagrees with me that doesn't mean they're right. take you, for example.
@@unfuzzy Just because people imply they're in the right despite the fact that this film succeeded in winning popular and critical acclaim, doesn't make them right; like you for instance.
@@vincentsartain3061 - this film won popular and critical acclaim in another time and age when people still believed things like black people shouldn't mix with whites and homosexuality was a crime. -- i suppose you think those things are correct as well?
In its own way, its a very gentle ending. We leave her in her moment of triumph, when all her dreams finally came true....
and for a few precious monents Max was able to direct her once more.
This scene she is a marvel of the golden era of cinema magic. A madness, a desperate frightening madness is Norma Desmond she is so chilling and brilliant and wild and rather violent too. Truly mesmerizing
I can watch this scene forever.
That choreography, that one take technique, that acting...so esthetic!
Norma Desmond’s stardom should rise once again. Not forgotten and abandoned.
This never gets old, it's always like watching it for the first time.
It got old years ago. I'm off to bed - good night!
This film was so sad. A picture of what we did to actresses when they were decided too old for the fame and glory they spent years of work and pain to achieve. Till that is all they are. Then to have that ripped away. To deem them worthless. Seeing her think that she is in a movie again. How happy she was. "I will never desert you again" but we in fact deserted her. And many like her.. this scene just made me so sad.
Very well said!!
Stunning scene in an amazing film - I wish they were still making movies like this
KaydeyRai hi
By the end
the amount of delusion and insanity behind her eyes in this scene is perfect.
This is more than acting. This is something else, it's madness in her eyes. She didn't act, she lived it.
One of the great Hollywood silent movie film director's, Erich von Stroheim calling for "action" at the beginning of this scene!
And that's Hedda Hopper at 1:02, a famous gossip columnist at the time
I always loved that, too. It still gives me goosebumps.
@@matteusconnollius1203 You're absolutely right! Ha! She looked so familiar and now I know why.
Frighteningly powerful woman who vigorously supported the blacklisting of suspected communists and (gasp!) ho-mo-sexuals during the McCarthy era.
Timeless masterpiece.
Hollywood at its finest.
So ironic your comment
One of the saddest stories ever filmed.
Especially for William Holden's character.
@Randy White I’d say all the stories are sad, for Betty, Joe, and Norma.
Still haunting to this day, incredible film and brilliant acting from Gloria Swanson.
I really like this scene I get emotional with happiness when I watch it since it was said that right after this clip when they wrapped up the movie Gloria was crying with so much joy and happiness!!😙. She was so happy that she contributed/gave sooo much to her art, something that she always LOVED so dearly and was very appreciative that they gave her the chance to show it on Sunset Boulevard!!!😗😙😚
Billy Wilder's masterpiece, with a blazing performance by Gloria Swanson. The tops!
The way Norma eerily walks towards the camera is pretty frightening.
This movie is a masterpiece.Gloria Swanson is faultless & Mr Holden is in top form.I love these movies.
"Sunset Boulevard" is a much more subtle and complex film than it is sometimes credited with being. Norma's grip on reality may be tenuous (although she certainly isn't demented until she shoots Joe), but she has made far better use of her life than Joe has made of his. She really WAS a living legend for a good many years; Joe doesn't even qualify as a "has-been", because he's never "been". It's Joe's version of the "Salome" script, not Norma's, that deMille rejects (and, incidentally, Hollywood made a version of "Salome" three years after "Sunset Boulevard", with Rita Hayworth, so the IDEA of a "Salome" film wasn't crazy at all..) It's also a delicious irony that our introduction to Norma, when Joe pulls into her driveway, has us HEARING her without seeing her, hidden as she is in shadows. ("What took you so long? I've been waiting for you. Why did you keep me waiting?" The sleeping past awakening and chastising the present for its lack of manners -- marvelous!)
Such a great ending - nobody else could of played it like her ❤️
I have seen this ending quite a few times and it still sends chills down my spine. I can't think of any other movie that is simultaneously so absurd and so tragic.
I had heard that about Mae West--apparently she was rather offended at the offer. Gloria Swanson, on the other hand, was very excited to play the part. And boy did she play it!
Two iconic movie lines stem from two leading ladies in 1950: "Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup" and All About Eve: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy night".
What a film! A real treasure in cinema.
I am always in awe silent film stars the way they emote with solely their facial expressions. They say so much without words. Gloria does it here in this scene even though she is talking..
Gloria Swanson was incredible in this movie. It's crazy that she didn't win the academy award for this movie. .. this movie was dark,creepy and great the same time. "wonderful people out there in the dark" all actors know what she meant by that.
Nobody could do it like Gloria Swanson :)
only two actresses can play like her : Greta Garbo and A. Hepburn
Oh yeah? What about Olivia deHaviland? She could do it! And did!
@@unfuzzyI wouldn't find it hard to believe that Miss DeHavilland (still with us today at 103) is a great admirer of Gloria Swanson and other of her predecessors in cinema.
But now I gotta ask, why all the trolling? So far I've come across a half dozen or so of your naysaying remarks and Lord knows how many more of them I'll find as I continue scrolling down this comments section; isn't there someplace else you'd rather be? Other posts and videos of other films that are more to your preference? Why don't you just go THERE where you, I, and the majority of folks reading these comments will ALL be MUCH HAPPIER? It would be a win-win for EVERYONE, even YOU!
She was robbed of that Oscar. This performance was spectacular! The Academy doesn't reward the best most of the time
Your opinion.
@@aaronsmith7946 everyones opinion
@@drstranger7430 Oh. OK. I didn't know you had spoken to everyone about it. I also don't remember you asking me my opinion, but you clearly did because you wouldn't say that it is everyone's opinion if that were untrue. Thanks for letting me know what my opinion is.
Some films need time and reflection to truly appreciate.. Although contemporary audiences loved the film..
Even out of context this scene is inexpressibly moving.
No one could ever done this as well as Swanson. What a great actress she was! She should have won the Academy Award for this. She was stunning!
They famously asked a number of actresses to play this part, but really, it was only Swanson who would bring an understanding to the role that transcended mere performance. Still one of the greatest films.
The one and only Gloria Swanson
Her slow glide down those stairs with those bizzare floating arm gestures are what nightmares are made of; like Medusa tempting her victims to look into her eyes.
One of the greatest scenes ever committed to film. It's just staggering.
I saw this movie for the first time yesterday and my mind is still blown from Gloria Swanson's performance.
Carol Burnett was incredible in her Nora Desmond skits!
Her facial expression really captured how humans are the creepiest monsters of all
Great scene. Even the way the final shot ends is full of meaning: Norma continues reaching for the camera as she _fades_ into obscurity
This movie is really amazing in so many ways and is still pertinent today. It reverberates with everyone not just women.
Still get chills watching this iconic scene after all these years.
Billy Wilder created several masterpieces, Double Indemnity, Some Like It Hot and this magnficent film starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson in one of the greatest performances of all time. Swanson was nominated but lost to the great Judy Holiday for Born Yesterday. Bette Davis was also nominated and the thinking is that Davis and Swanson both cancelled each other out and the newcomer Ms. Holiday won. In highsight, while Davis was great in All About Eve, Gloria Swanson should have won.
For someone who got totally alienated from the real world because of her obsession to relive her golden and glorious times as a goddess of silent movies, that moment was a total apotheosis.
Norma Desmond coming down the stairs signifies her descent into madness and insanity!
the 1950s was brutal tbh, Gloria Swanson looked great in that picture and could have played many other roles in today's standards.
"Ready for my closeup..."
I remember watching Robin Williams utter this iconic line in Mrs Doubtfire, during his transformation.
Being a kid at the time, I had no idea where it originated from.
Gloria Swanson was magnificent in this movie. She should have won an Oscar for her performance. Absolutely magnificent!
I love this scene but I wish the clip would continue a few seconds longer. The magnificent finale of Franz Waxman's score is cut a bit too early here.
I agree. Wish it had lasted a bit longer and also not blurred quite so quickly.
I really hope to God this is one of those movies that Hollywood said this is not allowed to be remade!!!
There's a episode just like it however in The Twilight Zone.
How did an actress who didn’t live in the same years as me just stare through decades and give me chills? That second of fourth wall break… out there in the dark… perfection.
As a child watching this late at night, I knew Norma Swanson was the only one in the room hearing the music. She's gliding down the stairs in her mind in a movie studio. She was that far gone from reality after committing murder. In her own mind she was still young and beautiful, adored by fans. When she stops at the bottom of the stairs and says she's overcome from emotions to star in another motion picture as the STAR. The music stops while she says this, and when she's ready for her close up the music starts again. Even as a kid of 8 years old, I noticed that and it made my stomach turn into knots knowing she was, and went crazy. Why I was allowed to watch a near rated R black and white movie is beyond me. But thank God, my mother allowed me. It made me a fan of old films that night. This movie should be watched by all.
Very good point, I hadn't noticed that about the music. Bravo.
THIS performance was worthy of an Oscar and Ms. Swanson the winner for best actress!
I watched this film for the first time yesterday, and at the end of the picture, I turn to my husband, and it was the first time in my life that a film left me absolutely speechless! ... nothing, absolutely nothing will ever come close to the perfection that is Sunset Boulevard.
And for those of you reading this, if you haven’t seen this picture before, I highly recommend that you watch it.
This score was so beautifully created, along with this scene.
ABSOLUTE PERFECTION.
How did she not win the Oscar ?
'' you were in the movies, you were big once.'' Swansons character replies- '' I am still big it's the movies that got small.''
That should be . '' I am big it's the pictures that got small''
Gloria Swanson was robbed of that Best Actress Oscar.
Beautifully shot, with her seemingly walking through a painting when walking down the stairs, even when the extras turn they seem still. Amazing.
Surely one of the most effective, and chilling portrayals of madness ever.
A brilliant scene, the more so by the drama of the people watching, that shot of Maxs' face and the camera fade on Ms. Swanson.
Classic Hollywood. And I'm long an admirer of William Holden.
not to mention the fact that the entire movie is narrated by a man who is dead and found lying face down in a swimming pool - the movie opens looking at his dead face with arms stretched out in the water like a zombie and dead while the ghoulish Norma is "alive and well"
we almost don't want to believe that Norma will have to face the public at a criminal trial
Max will be there to convince Norma that the criminal trial is really a DeMille movie filmed in a courtroom
@@JohnPKING-nj8nc There won't necessarily be a criminal trial; a court hearing will likely declare her unfit to stand trial and she'll live out her days in a sanitarium.
What a wonderful actress that can't be topped. She reminds me so much of how my grandmother looked as well. I encourage everyone to watch her scene in the tv show The Beverly Hillbillies here on UA-cam. I heard a story that while making this film Gloria Swanson had her mother live with her in California and who looked after her daughter while Gloria was on set. When Gloria would come her mother would tell her granddaughter "Norma's home!" as she kept the voice going on of Norma Desmond even when not filming the movie till it completed.
Saw this movie for the first time last night and OMG . An absolute MASTERPIECE of both writing and acting
Toni Storm brought me here
Wilder directing von Stroheim whom has directed Swanson before. mindf*ck!
You can see, in Hedda Hopper's eyes, that she knew she was watching the greatest scene ever filmed. I've read the extras on the staircase were spellbound during the filming, utterly flabbergasted.
Her movement is so delicately masterful
I just watched this movie for the first time. It blew my mind. It was witty, tragic, beautiful...and terrifying, all at once.
she should have won the Oscar for this performance
One of the great scripts. Billy Wilder was a genus poet writer
How Gloria Swanson - and for that matter Bette Davis in All About Eve - lost to Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday - a performance I enjoy very much is one of the great "WTF moments???" in all of Oscar history.
Unfortunately, they canceled each other out! I would have given it to Gloria.
link biff they both came out in 1950
I think she lost because Swanson scared the shit out of viewers.
@@JenniferBrigitteOpticalVortex it was worse than that because Anne Baxter and Bette Davis were both nominated for Best Actress in the same picture. They REALLY canceled out each other.
HotVoodooWitch 3 years ago, I must’ve thought different. I am so embarrassed that I deleted my comment
one of the most iconic scenes in film history!
That’s how I’m leaving my house once the stay at home order is lifted😂🤣
Billy Wilder, one of those filmmakers with a vision way, way beyond his contemporaries.
GLORIA SWANSON WAS ROBBED OF THE ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE SHOULD HAVE WON THAT OSCAR!!!!!!!!!!
deana diedrich I agree, she should have won it.
Completely agree. She definitely deserved it.
“ I can’t go on with the scene, I’m too happy “ genius👏👏👏👏
That combination of Wish Granted and Tragic Future for Swanson's delusional character MAKES this film what it is. It sends me shivers
She was great. Nothing like her. Gloria!