Please watch Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard (1950) either by renting it on Amazon or via the link below, and
Link to Sunset Boulevard (Links to an external site.)
This is the only free link I could find (it does have foreign subtitles).
After watching the film, please answer the following questions:
Screening Questions:
1) How is this film typical of Noir? Provide an example from the film. (3 pts.)
2) Where does the story differ from traditional hardboiled stories? Provide an example from the story. (3 pts.)
3) Why do you think the film received a controversial reception from Hollywood bigwig Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM, who criticized Billy Wilder saying, “You have disgraced the industry that made and fed you! You should be tarred and feathered and run out of Hollywood!” upon watching the film at the premiere? (3 pts.)
4) What do you think Wilder wants us to takeaway from this film? In other words, what Wilder want us to think about or consider about the world we live in? Provide analysis from the film?
