Sunset Boulevard: The Price of Fame

                Sunset Boulevard is a contagious tale about a chance encounter between an aging silent film star and a struggling screenwriter in 1950s Hollywood. The film is memorable to me because of the role of Norma Desmond played by Gloria Swanson. Norma absolutely owned every scene that she was in. Her extravagance is obviously noted when she is first introduced in the film. As Joe Gillis, the screenwriter, pulls into the driveway of her mansion with a flat tire, he is rushed inside and upstairs by the butler to Norma Desmond waiting for the undertaker to bring a coffin for her recently deceased monkey. Joe recognized her as an old silent film actress and mentioned that she used to be big. She responded with, “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.” From this point on it’s obvious that Norma Desmond has a huge ego that needs to be constantly fed.

Joe agrees to help her with the script that she wrote for her return to the pictures because he really needed the money. He received the flat tire running away from collectors who were trying to repossess his car. As he tried to fix the terrible script, Norma made it difficult by constantly watching over his shoulder. She would even intervene if he tried to throw a scene out. Meanwhile, Joe was literally forced to move into the mansion while he worked on her script. This is just another example of Norma getting whatever she wants. Soon, Joe became her plaything, which happened “conveniently” after the death of her pet. She took him out to buy all new suits and even gave him a gold plated cigarette case on New Year’s Eve.

Norma longed for her “return” and sent her newly revised script off to Cecil DeMille, a legendary director with whom she has worked with in the past. DeMille, of course, had no intention of making this film that would be as extravagant as Norma herself. The mansion did receive phone calls from Paramount though, but they only wanted to speak to Norma to rent her timeless car for a film. Norma never came to the phone though, because the caller wasn’t DeMille. She was too good for an assistant to call her.

Things started spiraling when Norma realized that Joe had been sneaking out at night. He had been working on a script with a young girl named Betty Schaefer, and the two began to fall in love. Norma’s melodramatic nature ensured that there were no limits to what she would do to get Joe to stay with her. After already once attempting “suicide”, she threatens Joe with it again. He responds with, “Oh, wake up, Norma, you’d be killing yourself to an empty house. The audience left twenty years ago.” After stating that he’d be leaving, Norma follows him outside and shoots him dead when he won’t stop. Norma gives the chilling line, “The stars are ageless, aren’t they?” In the end, she did get the cameras to roll for her again, as Paramount recorded her gracefully walking down her stairs.

It’s easy to just point out Norma’s crazy antics, but the movie was making a larger point with them. Sunset Boulevard exposes the cutthroat world of film making in Hollywood. It’s particularly harsh on women. When they are young and beautiful, they have all of the fame in the world, but fame doesn’t last forever. Further helping to prove the point, Gloria Swanson, who played the role of Norma, was a former silent film star herself. She, like Norma, was trying to make her comeback by playing a former silent film actress trying to make her comeback.

Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon"

Akira Kurosawa’s film titled “Rashomon” is considered by many to be a classic. Many others, however, do not see the significance of this film. At first, I was one of the skeptics. Okay, so there’s a murder in the woods, and there are conflicting stories. Big whoop, right? It sounds like another episode of CSI is you ask me. Upon looking further into this film though, you can begin to see why it has garnered the fame that it has. I think the first reason that it is so popular is the fact that Kurosawa only uses three total scenes in the entire movie (the Rashomon gate, the woods, and the courthouse). For an hour and twenty minute long movie, that’s pretty impressive! How many of today’s movies can you name that only use such a simple setting? The fact that Kurosawa took such a minimalist approach to set building and special effects really allowed the true art of the actors to shine through. Unlike modern films which rely heavily on special effects and heavy action sequences, this film allowed the true emotions of the actors to flow freely from every scene.

Another reason that I believe this film is considered a classic is because it has no definite ending. With all of the separate stories having their own alternate endings, it is up to the audience to decide how the crime actually plays out. It is very similar to many other movies that play out the same way that have won countless awards. The first example that comes to my mind is the movie “Slumdog Millionaire.” This movie uses a whole bunch of smaller stories to tell one big story. This technique is also used in the 2006 award winner “Babel,” and the 1998 award winner “Run Lola Run.” Now I’m no film junkie, but it seems fairly clear to me that this style of movie has been proven time and time again.

            The third main reason that this film is so critically acclaimed is because of Kurosawa’s subtle use of symbolism. The rain is the first thing that the audience notices when the film starts. Without even thinking about it, the audience already has a hint of the mood and setting of this film. The rain hints that the story that is about to be told is not one of joy and happiness, but rather one of melancholy, confusion, and mystery. The baby that appears towards the end of the film is another big use of symbolism. All throughout the length of the film, Kurosawa has been hinting that there is no good in humanity anymore. He uses the priest at Rashomon gate to express this quite often. Just when things are looking at their worst, this baby mysteriously appears. Instead of someone stepping up to take care of it, the first thing that happens is that the third man at the gate steals the kimono and the amulet that were left with the child. It appears as though the situation could not possibly reach a deeper mood of desperation after this point, so the priest takes the child and begins to walk away with it. The woodcutter then steps in and tries to take the child away to which the priest snaps at him asking that he please not take what little the child has left. The woodcutter then explains, much to the priest’s surprise, that he plans to take the child with him as he already has six others. The priest is overwhelmed with joy saying that perhaps there still is hope for mankind. This child is use as a symbol of hope for the human race. Kurosawa allures to his opinion that even though things appear as though they can not get any worse, there is always some hope to be had. It just has to be found.

The Maltese Falcon Review

By Katie Robinson

 

“The Maltese Falcon”, though classic in the history of films, is a confusing movie. There are a lot of characters, schemes and changing stories that it is sometimes difficult to keep track of what is happening and what will happen next most of the time. However, what is clear and remains constant in the movie is the cool, confident character of Sam Spade, which I find to be one of the most important aspects of the plot in this tale.

Emotions in general are very crucial to any plot in a movie, but this movie especially, where we see how life threatening lust, greed, and determination can be.  We see how being greedy can make a man, Kasper Gutman specifically, give up years of his life, as well as the lives of his friends and foes to find the precious Maltese Falcon. With the precious statue being the one priority in his life, he is more than willing to not only drag his partner, Joel Cairo, through years of illegally hunting down the trophy, but he also emotionlessly allows to give up his son-like apprentice, Wilmer, to the police in order to have an alibi for his own crime. Brigid O’Shaughnessy uses her lust to get what she wants, which is protection from the scary Gutman, as well as her own crimes involving the Maltese Falcon.

Yet Sam’s character is the one that makes up the solid core of the movie. He is the one who is in charge of solving the mystery of the Maltese Falcon, as well as ensuring the safety of Brigid, so he makes sure to not let his feelings get too much in the way of all the drama going on around him. This is seen in the way that he always stays calm and collected. Even when his partner is killed, or a gun is put to his head, he keeps a level-headed, cool attitude that keeps situations under control. We see how beneficial his wit and cleverness is when he has to make up fake stories to tell to the cops throughout the movie, in order to keep the case where he wants it and to protect the people involved. Even when he has to get information out of Brigid he doesn’t angrily demand it, but rather he is calm enough to ease the story out of her eventually.

 

 Keeping his emotions out of the way and staying dedicated and focused to his job and to himself ultimately ends up saving Spade’s life. His partner, Miles Archer was not so lucky, when he ends up getting killed while being swooned by the beautiful Ms. O’Shaughnessy on the job. Though Sam develops a romantic relationship with Brigid, we see that in the end it is not worth it for Sam to give up his legal responsibilities and life for a gorgeous, yet lying woman. Because of his uncanny knack for solving mysteries and staying cool, Sam Spade not only ensures his survival in the movie, but makes the film the classic story that it is today.

The Gold Rush Review

“The Gold Rush” is a silent film that was produced in 1952. Its unique portrayal of the Klondike Gold Rush was created by Charles Chaplin. Chaplin was and remains to be a cultural icon, but his reputation as an actor contains a comedic element (which is almost impossible to ignore.) How could he, as a seemingly light-hearted, comedic artist mimic a world full of strife and desperation? The reliably innovative “Charlie” Chaplin made the simple decision to add nothing other than a comedic element. Though this was a simple decision, however, it could not have been a simple process. Tragedy and comedy are not exactly complementary colors.

Taking a look at his personal life, we can begin to understand how he was able to accomplish such a feat. According to the Official Charlie Chaplin Website, his parents were talented performers, therefore, he had a natural taking to acting beginning at a young age. Not only did he have experience with performance, but he also had experience with devastation. Before he reached ten years, Charlie’s father passed away, and his mother became ill shortly thereafter. As a result, Charlie and his brother Sydney were forced to fend for themselves. This need to survive and deal with heartache and sudden independence quickly afforded Charlie attention from the public for his ability to dance.

We fast-forward in time to when Charlie embarks on making this comedic tragedy, “The Gold Rush”. In order to do this, Chaplin had to use his long-lived independence and light-heartedness to his advantage. By adding an essential element to the film, romance, he was more successful at achieving his desired tone. Chaplin’s character, “The Lone Prospector” falls in love at a dance with the character, “Georgia.” “The Lone Prospector represents not just any man who endured the hardship of the Gold Rush, but a benevolently aimless man traveling with an eye of wonder. Even when the prospector is given a large amount of gold, he still isn’t quite satisfied without the woman whom he adores. This would be a direct contrast to the character of a typical person desperately searching for riches in the cold Arctic mountains.

                  Pretending to scale Arctic Mountains, however, was not the personal hardship Charlie had to mask. In his search for a lead lady, he chose the fifteen year old, Lillita MacMurray, whom he had worked with in a previous film of his, “The Kid”. After shooting for “The Gold Rush” began, however, Lillita (Lita Grey) found out she was pregnant with Charlie’s child. Shooting had to be postponed for three months, and Charlie had to find a new lead woman. His love life’s affect on his work life may have provided some of the real emotions permeating through the film.

 This character development urges viewers to speculate that the Prospector was never actually searching for material riches. The aimless wanderer may have been searching for riches within all along (the riches of love). With this implication and with the help of comedic elements and his enigmatic, romantic personality, Chaplin probably intended for his audience to understand a theme to this story: that no external richness can compare to the internal richness felt for another person.

Citizen Kane Review

In Citizen Kane, Orson Welles takes his audience on a fascinating journey to discover the meaning of Charles Foster Kane’s last word, “Rosebud.” In which, viewers are encouraged to embark on this journey to help solve the identity of Charles Kane. Through each turn, however, the viewer finds out other information about Charles Kane’s life without fully uncovering the story behind his last word. It isn’t until the final scene of the film that the secret possession is revealed for only the audience to notice, while the characters on set are left to wonder what Kane’s untold mystery was. During the conclusion of the film after many failed attempts at cracking this case, reporter, Jerry Thompson stated, “I don’t think a word could explain a man’s life.” However, I believe that the audience might think otherwise based on the significance of the term, “Rosebud.” This word does not simply identify an old-fashioned sleigh that Kane used to play with during his childhood; it represents an entire chapter in his life that has been suppressed by years of fame and fortune. 

Although it may appear to others that Kane had everything a man could want in his life, he was never truly satisfied because money and popularity do not equate to personal happiness. During the years of his honored success, Kane found himself being known for his actions and accomplishments.  He was often referred to as a social icon.  These false identities had actually robbed him of his true identity.   In hopes of self-discovery, he continued to search for more political fame and social acceptance.  As a result, Kane’s self-centeredness left him with a great amount of wealth, power, and prestige.  In the process, however, Kane also becomes separated and disconnected from his pure childhood innocence.  Viewers can conclude that Kane’s last word served as his final effort in reclamation of his fondest memories as a child.  As an audience, to fully understand the mystery of Charles Kane, investigators must peel back the layers in Kane’s life to determine his true identity.  Before there was ever any fame and fortune, who was Charles Foster Kane?  What were Kane’s most valuable possessions as a child? 

During the most heartbreaking scene in the movie where his wife, Susan, left him, Kane stumbled across an old snow globe.  This couldn’t have been just any ordinary snow globe, however, because unlike all the rest of the useless possessions in the room that he wrecked and destroyed, Kane kept this item in his hand as he staggered out of the room.  Something about that object gave Charles Kane the most indescribable look on his face.  It’s as if all those years of repressed memories and emotions had struck him all at once.  Kane could no longer protect himself from the feelings that were associated with his childhood and the legendary sled, “Rosebud,” because he realized that those were the years of his life that brought him pure happiness.  If only Kane had rediscovered the joy from his childhood, perhaps his life would not have ended in tragedy and guilt.  In the end, Kane lost everything that ever meant anything to him at all.