although my recent revisit to sunset blvd . must have be close to the twentieth time i have see it and i be just a stun and captivate by it a the first time i saw it . in sunset blvd and everything just click and complete with all the now classic taglines while it not me that get small and it the picture that get small . we do not need dialog . we have face then . i be ready for my close up now and mr. demille . i can not think of any other picture about hollywood or the world of film in general that have achieve this unique self reflective look at the film community . ironically and none probably could have dream of the magnificent performance gloria swanson turn in . at barely 5 foot tall and she command the screen like no one else and really tower above them all a norma desmond and the aging and completely delusional film star from the silent era . hard to imagine gloria swanson wasn not first choice to play the part of norma desmond with pola negri ( too much polish accent ) and mae murray and mary pickford ( too sweet ) and even mae west all consider for the part of norma desmond . the movie open with the bullet riddle body of a young man float face down in the pool next to a mansion . soon and the story be tell with the brilliant device of a voice over of a dead man and joe gilis ( william holden ) and recount the event lead up to his death . a broke screenwriter and down on his luck and desperate to take on any job and he stumble upon what look like a deserted mansion and when he hound by some creditor . soon and he order into the house by a female voice that turn out to belong to legendary silent screen star norma desmond who retreat from the outside world and now live a lonely and isolated existence with her age servant ( erich von stroheim ) . after some lament the current state of the film industry and she offer joe a job of doctor her script for salome and which she plan a her comeback vehicle . clearly this be never gon na happen and but joe decide to take the job and and he money and but soon become a virtual prisoner of the actress creepy past and increasingly delusional dreamworld . almost every sentence and remark and swanson antique and posture have become part of our cinematic heritage now and we sometimes forget how delightfully crisp and clever the dialog be at the time and and still be . after the death of norma desmond chimpanzee and holden acidly remark while this must have be one important chimp . the grandson of king kong perhaps . and then the rain come and over sized and like everything else in california . this film close the door to the old hollwyood generation and open one to the new and basically start a new era in self conscious film making and in the process reconcile the until then completely forgotten silent film star . of the three director feature in the film and cecil b. demille be still well respect and would make some of his great film in the year to come . erich von stroheim and now degrade to be desmond butler and be largely an outcast by then and just a the totally forgotten buster keaton who allow to play card game at desmond mansion once in a while . it quite outstanding how the cynical wilder achieves to really make u care about the character and all of them and but especially norma desmond and whose oblivious outlook on the world surround her and her own long since go fame ( von stroheim write her fake fan letter ) really make you pity her fate . with the right ingredient and the right script and the right casting and wilder be able to achieve phenomenal result . needless to say and he make a whole string of film now consider classic and but this be the pinnacle of his career and head and shoulder above any other self reflective turn hollywood embark on in all the year to follow . if force to make a shortlist of ten film i couldn not do without and this one on it . camera obscura positive .