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Sunset Blvd., a review by Antares

Sunset Blvd.





Year: 1950
Film Studio: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Drama
Length: 110 Min.

Director
Billy Wilder (1906)

Writing
Charles Brackett (1892)...Written By
Billy Wilder (1906)...Written By
D. M. Marshman Jr....Written By

Producer
Charles Brackett (1892)

Cinematographer
John F. Seitz (1892)

Music
Franz Waxman (1906)...Music Score

Stars
William Holden (1918) as Joseph C. 'Joe' Gillis
Gloria Swanson (1899) as Norma Desmond
Erich von Stroheim (1885) as Max Von Mayerling
Nancy Olson (1928) as Betty Schaefer
Fred Clark (1914) as Sheldrake
Lloyd Gough (1907) as Morino
Jack Webb (1920) as Artie Green
Franklyn Farnum (1878) as Undertaker - Chimp's Funeral

Review
       In 1950, two films would be released that painted a darker, more cynical picture of the entertainment industry, All about Eve and Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd.. The former would tell the tale of a ruthless and conniving actress who would stop at nothing to achieve the fame and star status that she had craved all her life. The latter would focus on the other end of the spectrum, a faded icon of the silent screen, discarded by Hollywood and forgotten by the viewing public. While All about Eve focuses primarily on one aspiring actresses' manipulative ascent to her desired throne, Sunset Blvd.Queen Kelly, was the flop that would begin Swanson's descent into obscurity and would be director Erich von Stroheim's personal Heavens Gate. He would run excessively over budget and would be eventually fired by the producer, who just happened to be Swanson. Years later he would take aim at the system that did not appreciate his artistic vision, and the result would be a quote that best describes this movie; "If you live in France and you have written one good book, or painted one good picture, or directed one outstanding film, fifty years ago, and nothing ever since, you are still recognized as an artist and honored accordingly. ... In Hollywood, you're as good as your last picture. If you didn't have one in production in the last three months you're forgotten, no matter what you have achieved ere this. It is that terrific, unfortunately necessary egotism in the makeup of the people who make the cinema; it is the continuous endeavor for recognition, that continuous struggle for survival and supremacy, among the newcomers, that relegates the old-timers to the ash-can." With the emergence of successful independent film companies creating artistic films that are competing financially and aesthetically against the big blockbuster projects in Hollywood today, had he been born 100 years later, I wonder how he would have fared?


Review Criterion
5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.

(From Sunset Blvd. (1950) on May 15th, 2010)

Everything Is Illuminated, a review by Rich

Confusing trek through the Ukraine...



Title: Everything is Illuminated

Runtime:105
Certificate:PG-13
Year:2005
Genres:Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Plot:Some people collect stamps, cigar bands or teacups. Jonathan saves memories of family: photos, cards, false teeth, handfuls of dirt - all sealed in individual bags and mounted on a wall. Now Jonathan seeks a more elusive memory. He'll journey to the Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis in 1942.
Liev Schreiber ('Scream', 'RKO 281') makes his debut on the other side of the camera, directing and adapting (from Jonathan Safran Foer's novel) an affecting road movie. Elijah Wood starts as buttoned-up Jonathan, and Eugene Hutz plays his language-battering Ukrainian guide. Join them as cultures clash...and as the road leads where they want to go yet never expected. They, and you, will emerge illuminated.
My Review:
Odd film this, well acted, some highs and lows, but overall I didn't think it gelled well together. A quirky film which at times exploits the holocaust, it isn't my favourite style but I could understand how someone else could really enjoy this


(From Around the World in 80 DVD's on January 21st, 2008)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

TNG 3.15 Yesterday's Enterprise
Writer: Ira Steven Behr (Screenwriter), Richard Manning (Screenwriter), Hans Beimler (Screenwriter), Ronald D. Moore (Screenwriter), Trent Christopher Ganino (Original Material By), Eric A. Stillwell (Original Material By)
Director: David Carson
Cast: Patrick Stewart (Capt. Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Cmdr. William Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lieutenant Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar), Christopher McDonald (Richard Castillo), Tricia O'Neil (Rachel Garrett), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan)

I always have loved this episode. This is the only instance we get to see the Enterprise-C. It is thrown 22 years from the past into the present time, which leads to an alternate timeline where the Federation is at war with the Klingons. This was also a great way to bring back Tasha Yar. Both Enterprise crews had to make the decision, to send the Enterprise-C back in time to a certain death because they had reason to believe, that this will prevent the war before it started.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on September 5th, 2009)