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Sunset Boulevard

  • USA Sunset Blvd. (more)
all posters
Trailer 2
85%
214. Best
908. Most popular
Ratings and fans
Drama / Film-Noir
USA, 1950, 110 min

Plots(1)

Billy Wilder's masterpiece SUNSET BOULEVARD, a corrosive black comedy that remains the most memorable assault on the emptiness and vanity of the movie business, stars William Holden as young, down-and-out screenwriter Joe Gillis. Narrated in flashbacks by the now-deceased scribe, the film unwinds the series of events that left him lying face down in a pool. Unable to sell his most recent chef-d'oeuvre, and in hock up to his eyeballs, Joe stashes his car in the driveway of what appears to be an abandoned mansion on Sunset Boulevard while trying to elude some persistent repo men. Closer inspection reveals the decrepit property to be inhabited by grandiose former silent movie goddess Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), and her zombie-like manservant Max (Erich von Stroheim). Upon hearing that he's a writer, the lonely but still wealthy woman offers to pay him generously to stay at the house and work on her "comeback" script on the life of Salome. Although spooked by the people and the surroundings, in desperate straits, Joe takes the job, little suspecting the madness of the netherworld he's entered. Wilder's merciless portrait of the dangers of a profession that trades in fantasy cagily couples the cynical amorality of the never-was with the near-psychotic narcissism of the has-been to reveal the vacuity of wealth and the transience of fame. (official distributor synopsis)

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Soundtracks

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard

Music from the Motion Picture

Label: La-La Land Records

Year: 2016

Country: USA

Format: digital

Length: 50:16

Tracklist
1. Prelude Franz Waxman 08:18
2. Money Trouble / The Schwabadero Franz Waxman 01:11
3. Chase And Mansion / An Aging Actress Franz Waxman 03:54
4. The Organ Grinder Franz Waxman 00:40
5. A Curious Collaboration Franz Waxman 00:38
6. Norma’s Gallery Franz Waxman 01:19
7. Afternoon Outings / Sacrifice Of Self-Respect Franz Waxman 04:47
8. Dramatic Chord Franz Waxman 01:04
9. After Auld Lang Syne / The Pampered Prince Franz Waxman 00:49
10. Parading To Paramount Franz Waxman 00:54
11. Interview With DeMille Franz Waxman 01:49
12. DeMille’s Compassion Franz Waxman 00:38
13. The Studio Stroll Franz Waxman 00:25
14. Farewell / Joe Walks Out Franz Waxman 06:41
15. The Comeback Franz Waxman 04:19
16. Sunset Boulevard Cast Franz Waxman 00:27
17. Toccata And Fugue In D Minor (Excerpts) Franz Waxman 02:39
18. La Cumparsita Franz Waxman 03:32
19. Diane Franz Waxman 02:51
20. Charmaine Franz Waxman 02:20
21. Auld Lang Syne Franz Waxman 01:01
Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard

Original Sound Track 1950

Label: Classic Soundtrack Collector

Year: 2013

Country: USA

Format: digital

Length: 47:37

Tracklist
1. Sunset Boulevard Prelude Franz Waxman 08:18
2. Money Trouble / The Schwabadero Franz Waxman 01:11
3. Chase And Mansion / An Aging Actress Franz Waxman 03:54
4. The Organ Grinder Franz Waxman 00:40
5. A Curious Collaboration Franz Waxman 00:38
6. Norma’s Gallery Franz Waxman 01:19
7. Afternoon Outings / Sacrifice Of Self-Respect Franz Waxman 04:47
8. Dramatic Chord Franz Waxman 01:04
9. After Auld Lang Syne / The Pampered Prince Franz Waxman 00:49
10. Parading To Paramount Franz Waxman 00:54
11. Interview With Demille Franz Waxman 01:49
12. Demille’s Compassion Franz Waxman 00:38
13. The Studio Stroll Franz Waxman 00:25
14. Farewell / Joe Walks Out Franz Waxman 06:41
15. The Comeback Franz Waxman 04:19
16. Sunset Boulevard Cast Franz Waxman 00:27
17. La Cumparsita Franz Waxman 03:32
18. Diane Franz Waxman 02:51
19. Charmaine Franz Waxman 02:20
20. Auld Lang Syne Franz Waxman 01:01
Sunset Blvd.

Sunset Blvd.

Music from the Motion Picture

Label: Counterpoint

Year: 2010

Country: USA

Format: CD

Length: 55:03

Notes: Special Edition.

This first-ever studio-authorized release incorporates all of the surviving elements in the Paramount Pictures music archive (approximately two-thirds of the complete score) along with the original "Prelude" and "Conversing Corpses," a cue for a brilliantly scored deleted scene. Because of their major importance to the film's story, the bonus section also includes all of the surviving source cues—even though some of these tracks have suffered from their years of storage. A final treat is the Jay Livingston–Ray Evans song "Paramount Don't-Want-Me Blues" (not used in the finished film), newly recorded especially for this release by Los Angeles vocalist Whitney Claire Kaufman and pianist Nelson Kole.

Tracklist CD 1 Length: 52:39
1. Prelude Franz Waxman 08:18
2. Money Trouble / The Schwabadero Franz Waxman 01:11
3. Chase And Mansion / An Aging Actress Franz Waxman 03:54
4. The Organ Grinder Franz Waxman 00:40
5. A Curious Collaboration Franz Waxman 00:38
6. Norma’s Gallery Franz Waxman 01:19
7. Afternoon Outings / Sacrifice Of Self-Respect Franz Waxman 04:47
8. Dramatic Chord Franz Waxman 01:04
9. After Auld Lang Syne / The Pampered Prince Franz Waxman 00:49
10. Parading To Paramount Franz Waxman 00:54
11. Interview With Demille Franz Waxman 01:49
12. Demille’s Compassion Franz Waxman 00:38
13. The Studio Stroll Franz Waxman 00:25
14. Farewell / Joe Walks Out Franz Waxman 06:41
15. The Comeback Franz Waxman 04:19
16. Sunset Boulevard Cast Franz Waxman 00:25
17. Toccata And Fugue In D Minor (Excerpts) Franz Waxman 03:36
18. La Cumparsita Franz Waxman 03:32
19. Diane Franz Waxman 02:51
20. Charmaine Franz Waxman 02:20
21. Auld Lang Syne Franz Waxman 01:01
22. Main Title (Film Version With Effects) Franz Waxman 01:28
Tracklist CD 2 Length: 02:24
1. NOT IN FILM: "The Paramount-Don’t-Want-Me Blues" - Whitney Claire Kaufman 02:24
Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard

Original Motion Picture Score

Label: Varese Sarabande

Year: 2002

Country: USA

Format: CD

Length: 01:08:36

Notes: New Recording Conducted By Joel McNeely.

Tracklist
1. Sunset Boulevard Prelude Franz Waxman 03:51
2. Paramount Sutdio Franz Waxman 00:55
3. Chase And Mansion Franz Waxman 03:42
4. Norma Desmond Franz Waxman 02:18
5. An Aging Actress Franz Waxman 00:54
6. Reading The script Franz Waxman 02:34
7. The Strange Garden Franz Waxman 01:56
8. Norma's Gallery Franz Waxman 01:24
9. The Waxworks And The Bridge Game Franz Waxman 01:44
10. Afternoon Outings Franz Waxman 01:00
11. Sacrifice Of Self-Respect Franz Waxman 04:07
12. The Old Bathing Beauty Franz Waxman 02:29
13. Parading To Paramount Franz Waxman 00:55
14. Old Friends Franz Waxman 01:27
15. DeMille's Compassion Franz Waxman 00:42
16. Norma's Suspicions Franz Waxman 03:55
17. A New Interest And The Studio Stroll Franz Waxman 05:08
18. Her First Husband Franz Waxman 02:56
19. The Showdown Franz Waxman 04:14
20. Farewell Franz Waxman 01:56
21. Joe Walks Out Franz Waxman 05:22
22. The Corpse Franz Waxman 01:11
23. The Comeback Franz Waxman 04:24
24. Sunset Boulevard Cast Franz Waxman 00:31
25. BONUS TRACK: Prelude And Conversing Corpses Franz Waxman 09:01
Sunset Boulevard / Demetrius and the Gladiators

Sunset Boulevard / Demetrius and the Gladiators

Two Original Film Scores

Label: Sound Stage

Year: 1999

Country: USA

Format: CD

Length: 56:16

Tracklist
1. SUNDET BOULEVARD: Main Title / The Morgue / Joe's Apartment Franz Waxman 08:18
2. Joe And His Car Franz Waxman 00:19
3. Schwabb's Drug Store Franz Waxman 00:54
4. Get Another Agent! Franz Waxman 00:45
5. Car Chase / Deserted Mansion Franz Waxman 02:26
6. Norma Desmond Franz Waxman 00:45
7. Joe Wakes Up In Norma's House Franz Waxman 01:16
8. The Great Norma Desmond Franz Waxman 01:19
9. The Old Car Franz Waxman 00:59
10. As Long As the Lady's Paying / Rain / No Locks Franz Waxman 03:49
11. Suicide Attempt Franz Waxman 01:03
12. Happy New Year, Norma / Norma As Charlie Chaplin Franz Waxman 00:49
13. Drive To Paramount Franz Waxman 00:55
14. Norma and DeMille Franz Waxman 01:48
15. Norma Leaves Paramount / Norma's Beauty Treatments / Walk Around Paramount Franz Waxman 01:02
16. Betty Leaves Joe Franz Waxman 01:53
17. Joe Tries To Leave Norma / Norma's Delirium / The Gun Shot Franz Waxman 04:59
18. The Final Irony Franz Waxman 04:22
19. End Cast Franz Waxman 00:26
20. Main Title (Film Version) Franz Waxman 01:29
21. DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS: Prologue / Main Title Franz Waxman 02:34
22. Thunder Storm / Caligula Goes To Messalina's Room Franz Waxman 01:38
23. Tomb Of Marcellus And Diana Franz Waxman 03:00
24. Soldiers Search For The Robe Franz Waxman 00:27
25. The Marriage Of Life And Death Franz Waxman 01:33
26. Dance Of Messalina's Slaves Franz Waxman 01:35
27. Return To Faith Franz Waxman 03:00
28. Death Of Caligula / Messalina's Vow Franz Waxman 02:07
29. Finale Franz Waxman 00:46