My 150 Favorite Movies - #60

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Gloria Swanson dons the part of her career in her role as Norma Desmond, an aging screen goddess, from silent film days, which closely mimics her real life career. Erich von Stroheim costars as her former director, turned Butler, and keeper. And William Holden plays a failed screenwriter who gets in way over his head when he begins to tangle with the formidable Miss Desmond. An unforgettable film noir, directed by Billy Wilder, and co-written by Wilder and Charles Brackett, the film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and won three, including for Best Screenplay. Frequently cited as one of the best films of the twentieth-century, Sunset Boulevard was included in the first group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.