Marathon Update – Triple ShotSunset Blvd.
No one ever leaves a star. That’s what makes one a star.
This marathon has caused a major rethink of Billy Wilder for me, so it brings me great joy/relief to say Sunset Blvd. retains its power and is the best film of the marathon so far. The blacker than dark comedy that Hollywood deserves, now that I work in the business I see how much sympathy Norma Desmond warrants. Her kind still exists out here, a discarded waste product of the dream factory. This is the first time I saw her as the hero and writer Joe Gillis as the villainous cad. I used to think Norma was pathetic and felt bad that Joe fell into her web. This time I really despised how much he pitied this has-been even though he’s a never-was. It’s Norma who lowers herself to be with him. His return to her on New Year’s sealed that for me.
If I had to describe a tone for Sunset Blvd. I would compare it to a funeral. Wilder fills his ‘ghost’ story with horror movie imagery. The story is morbid and seems obsessed with death. It also takes some penetrating stabs at the living, mainly the early scenes with agents, producers and studio heads. The humor here is much smarter than my previous Wilder encounters, and it’s lined with a true anger towards the business built on illusion (more like delusion), where people grow old while their young selves remain forever on film.
This is a film you can analyze from a lot of angles, and they all look great. I don’t even have anything negative to say about it, and that final scene still holds up to its reputation. Even better than the classic lines is the moment when Norma has to break character and thank everybody because she’s so happy.
The marathon’s entered a whole new level with Sunset Blvd. This one will end up in my Top 25.
Toy Story and The Incredibles
To infinity… and beyond!
For better or worse, 11/22/1995 is one of the most important dates in the history of cinema. The debut and instant success of Toy Story changed the face of Animation, and started the most acclaimed and successful run of films for a single production company. Even more telling for this marathon, Toy Story was the first ever animated film nominated for Best Screenplay, validating the very core of Pixar’s success… story.
The original Toy Story shows its age more than any other Pixar film. (I would be all for a computer upgrade, so long as the original version remained available.) Also, while I’ve grown to like “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”, Randy Newman is easily the worst thing about this movie. Still, this is one of the funniest films ever made. I feel in time it will drop as my favorite Pixar film, but even with its small, unavoidable faults Toy Story remains on of my Top 25 films of All Time.
The Incredibles is technically at the other end of the scale. Brad Bird was the shot in the arm Pixar needed at just the right time and tested the limits of what the company could do. Bird had the perfect idea, a fresh take on the superhero genre that is the story of a family at its heart.
I didn’t rewatch The Incredibles today, but trust me I’ve seen it plenty, including twice since my Best of the Decade Marathon. (
Review Here.) Bird is one of the great filmmakers working today. His perfectionism meshed with the great Pixar artists to create the greatest superhero film of all time.
For my current rankings
Click Here.
Next Up:Alien
Dangerous Liaisons
The 4th Man (De Vierde Man)
Jaws
United 93