Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Monday January 18, 2010 Sunset Boulevard (Billy
Monday January 18, 2010 Sunset Boulevard (Billy
Getting There
I wolfed a supper of spaghetti with a wonderfully simple
marinara, and a refreshing salad with lots of fresh ingredients,
including some chopped fresh mint. I left later than I did last
week to avoid the “sunshine delay”, but it was overcast anyway,
so, no problem. I stopped to get some cash, and arrived about
6:15 (I learned last week that getting there early helps in order
to get a seat with good sight lines).
The Audience
The audience again seemed comprised primarily of seniors, but
not ancient seniors, like last week. I struck up a conversation
with an affable couple to my right. He was from Ohio – I think –
and she was from Chicago, although not for some time. They
were big fans of the film program here, and were regulars
(during our chat they waved twice to two sets of acquaintances
and/or neighbors). We agreed that it had been years that we’d
seen Sunset Boulevard.
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard was an amazing cinematic experience. The
film explored what can become of our heroes, our stars, our
idols, when, callously replaced and forgotten, they obstinately
(and tragically) cloak themselves in a gossamer cocoon of
memories of fame that are as evanescent as the images that
flickered on the silver screen. And when the lights again go on,
as they inevitably must, the maintenance of those memories of
fame requires reinforcement from a panoply of photos, artifacts,
and manufactured fan mail.
Academy Recognition
Seeing the film again after 20+ years, I was initially surprised
that it didn’t win an Academy award for Best Picture, nor Best
Actress. It was nominated for 11 awards, and won three, which
are, according to http://www.filmsite.org/suns.html
The Best Actor Oscar that year went to Jose Ferrar for Cyrano
de Bergerac
The Best Actress Oscar that year went to Judy Holliday for
Born Yesterday.
“The latter part of his career was largely spent working on Jerry
Lewis films, either as an editor (Cinderfella in 1960) or as an
associate producer (The Nutty Professor in 1963). He died on
July 22, 1965 in Los Angeles, California. His son, Arthur
Schmidt, is also a notable film editor who has won two
Academy Awards so far for Who Framed Roger Rabbit and
Forrest Gump.”
Harrison, according to
http://theoscarsite.com/whoswho2/harrison_d.htm, “worked
mainly for Paramount, cutting some of that studio's prime films
of the 40s and early 50s, including:
The Major and The Minor, 1942
Five Graves to Cairo, 1943
Double Indemnity, 1944
The Lost Weekend, 1945
A Foreign Affair, 1948
Sunset Boulevard, 1950
Ace in the Hole, 1951
Stalag 17, 1953
Sabrina, 1954
Witness for the Prosecution, 1957
“Harrison was also nominated for Best Editing in 1943 for Five
Graves to Cairo.”
The Best Editing Oscar that year went to Ralph E. Winters and
Conrad A. Nervig for King Solomon’s Mines.