Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard” and Judy Grahn’s “I Have Come to Claim Marilyn Monroe’s Body” both detail how the intense Hollywood cult of celebrity can lead to dizzying heights of fame, transforming ordinary people into worldwide stars with legions of adoring fans and admirers. Such fame and notoriety, however, does not come without a cost. Both Norma and Marilyn, Hollywood stars of these respective narratives, came to see the fame that once dominated their lives devolve into a destructive…

screen, and a character that is still studied to this day. While Gloria Swanson’s historic performance of Norma Desmond garners more attention and praise, I would make the argument that William Holden’s portrayal of Joe Gillis is just as intriguing. Billy Wilder created a character that I have never been so unsure of, he is one of the great examples of the anti-hero. He’s not a great guy, but I wouldn’t go so far to say he’s bad either, he’s right in the middle. The characteristics he has as the…

The films Double Indemnity, directed by Billy Wilder, and The Night of the Living Dead, directed by George Romero, both feature female characters in subordinate roles to their male counterparts. Double Indemnity features Walter Neff underestimating his lover Phyllis’s power and continually patronizing her, calling her “baby” almost exclusively. The Night of the Living Dead features Helen, who is constantly put down by her husband who never values her opinion. Both films use elements of…

Film Noir started when American film change its context to a much darker subject matter due to the aftermath of World War II. Based from the article of Christopher McColm, McColm gathers information to review the book “Blackout: World War II and the origins of Film Noir” whose author is Sheri Chinen Biesen. In the book, Biesen argues that the term noir emerged during the war era. Noir authors used the concept of post-war American angst to relay to the audience that noir fiction tends to…

The overall aim of this essay is to compare the film Sin City with the classic style of film noir to see if there are any differences or similarities between them. The analysis focuses on four concepts that I believe are the most classic film-noir associations. Lighting, Femme fatale, a dark world and the protagonist. Already in the first scene a couple of things are established. The first scene is part of a side story that we only get to see in the beginning and again at the end of the film,…

Hollywood movie goddess Angelina Jolie Workout and Diet Plan Born on June 4, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, Angelina Jolie is one of the most popular and celebrated American actress and filmmaker. Ex-wife of wealthy Hollywood star and producer, Brad Pitt and mother to six children (three children are adopted), Jolie is a woman of substance who is known for her work for humanitarian causes. She has been leading actress of many Hollywood hits - Tomb Raider, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Wanted, Salt and…

The opening scene of Rear Window (1954), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, acts as a prologue of the film: we are introduced to the space where much of the narrative will take place, to the protagonist, his background, and his neighbors through entirely visual means. Hitchcock created an entire film from the rear window of a Greenwich Village apartment symbolizing a certain “movie-watching” experience. Hitchcock uses mise en scène to show how the film is going to progress, uses camera movement…

This essay will provide an overview of a clip from the beginning of the movie Double Indemnity. The clip has a runtime of two minutes and thirty-three seconds and contains five shots in total. This paper will provide an in-depth analysis of each shot in the clip. It will examine the types of camera angles used, the lighting direction and the composition of objects and figures on the screen. The elevator encounter between Walter Neff and the Watchman in the first scene is a two-shot captured at…

In Los Angeles, California in 1926, Norma Jean Mortenson was born to Gladys Baker. Norma grew up damaged by foster homes, neglect, and abuse as a result of her mother's mental instability. Despite her troubled childhood, she managed to become a successful model and screen actress later in her life. Norma would change her name to Marilyn Monroe, and become one of the most famous stars of the 20th century. Her rise was rapid, but so was her downfall. She became increasingly unstable.…

CTCS 469: The Genius of Billy Wilder Part 2 of Notebook (due July 1st) Professor: Dr. Drew Casper TA: Isaac Rooks Jinghan Mao Tel: 608-770-1992 5) The Lost Weekend (1945) shows six “noir” style thematic and formal components that are discussed by Professor Casper in his book Postwar Hollywood 1946—1962. First of all, there are two visual narrative flashbacks in the film. According to Casper, the narrative flashback is “an indication not only of the use of the past to explain the present…