Sunset Boulevard and Art Direction

Sunset Boulevard is a 1950s film noir, written by Billy Wilder and Charles Bracket and directed by Billy Wilder. In this blog, I will look closely at frames from the scene where the two main characters meet and analyse the Mise-en-scène in terms of art direction. Joe Gillis (played by William Holden) has a flat tire and stumbles into Norma Desmond’s great mansion, but is mistaken for an undertaker. Ascending the stairs to the silent picture star’s room, he is entering deeper in her eccentric world and is gradually about to be engulfed by it.

The first time we see Norma Desmond (played by Gloria Swanson), she is standing at the doorway. Billy Wilder has built a well-defined image of her personality in his screenplay that would give ideas to the Art Director Hans Dreier: "She is a little woman. There is a curious style, a great sense of high voltage about her".(1)

Photograph 1

Indeed Norma looks tiny framed between the two candlesticks. The high ceiling and the doorway aid the desired effect, but despite her small size, the gothic interior and her appearance suggest a dominant personality. Billy Wilder and Charles Bracket have pictured Miss Havisham in Dicken’s Great Expectations while constructing Norma Desmond’s character of remarkable oddity. Similar notion of expectation has already been formed in Joe Gillis at first glance of her gothic mansion. Furthermore, the old-time star hides beneath her dark sunglasses and prefers artificial light, even though it is a bright and sunny day outside. Typical for film noir, this scene plays with rich layers of black and gray nuances, which combined with Norma’s black house pyjamas and pale skin creates almost a vampire sense about her (6). In this frame, the cinematography is the key element as well as the production design to establish the character. Norma is surrounded by deep shadows, an inkling of the hidden dangers in this woman. The actress Gloria Swanson completes the character with her posture and demanding gestures.

Photograph 2

After establishing the first impression of Norma Desmond, the narrative leads us into her bedroom, along with Joe Gillis,to get an even further understanding of that peculiar woman. The Hollywood ex-silent movie star is lost in her imagination. Hans Dreier has tried to convey that sense through exaggeration, adding more into the frame. He brings the ornate interior with excess of detail he has seen in the silent movie stars’ homes to establish Norma’s lavish taste, as well as emphasize the decaying old glamour. (2) The bed in the shape of swan for example, is an extravagant detail typical for a self-indulgent movie goddess. In this scene it becomes clear that Norma is struggling to cope with her past glory. Evidence of that is her room itself, infused with relics of the silent era. The actress has encircled her bed with porcelain dolls to remind her of the many loyal fans, who would never betray her. Moreover, they make her feel important and significant. Norma successfully nourishes her illusions and manages to win our sympathies. The star’s photographs dominate the frame and infuse her world filled with memories of her heydays. In the bedroom again she prefers artificial light and has concealed the windows with layers of curtains. The production designer has chosen both vertical and horizontal direction for the curtains to reinforce the sense of isolation and reclusiveness from the outside world. Hans Drier describes his aim to shape the production style of Sunset Boulevard as “a world as strange and absolete as that of ancient Peru” (2). Up to this point, we’ve been already introduced with plenty of features implying the oddity and lavish taste of Norma Desmond. But the most extravagant one is yet to come. In the middle of the frame we notice that the characters are heading towards something like a small altar. In fact, it is the star’s massage table where her dead chimpanzee is laid.

Photograph 3

Norma’s pet is lying on a satin and lace pillow under a Spanish shawl. This frame very subtly implies the future development of Norma and Joe’s chance acquaintance. Little does he know that he is about to replace the dead chimp and voluntarily give up his writing ambitions to become a kept man. Wealth enables Norma to spread her power over Joe.
Another key feature in building Norma Desmond’s character is her costume and make-up.

Photograph 4

Paramount’s famous costume designer Edith Head describes her task in Sunset Boulevard as the most challenging in her career. She follows Hans Dreier’s approach to exaggerate more. The basic lines of Norma’s black house pyjamas are from Dior’s New Look introduced in 1947. The idea is to have a very tight waste and a very full skirt, but Swanson’s waste is not as trim as once. (3)

Photograph 5 and 6

Since it is a relatively new style for a character who lives in a 1920’s mansion, embellishments are added to personalize her costume and reflect Norma’s taste. In this case, it is the leopard-patterned turban, dark sunglasses and many silver bracelets to underline the star’s eccentric look. Edith Head comments on the clothes as only “a triffle outdated, a triffle exotic” (4), to keep Norma fashionable in the same time as out of fashion. She expounds on her approach further: "Because Norma Desmond was an actress who had become lost in her own imagination, I tried to make her look like she was always impersonating someone." (4) Head has also relied on Swanson’s expertise because “she was creating a past that she knew and I didn’t” (3). Moreover, the costume designer has had great confidence in the cinematography to convey the character of Norma’s clothes. Both the lighting and the make-up contribute to the star’s youthful appearance. The make-up supervisor Wally Westmore works on William Holden’s mature looks and softens them to make him look younger, instead of imposing Norma’s age (5). The effect is a more sophisticated and glamorous figure than the one Billy Wilder has originally anticipated.

Photograph 7 and 8

In conclusion, we make assumption about film characters based on their environment. The art direction in the selected frames from Sunset Boulevard successfully builds Norma Desmond’s eccentric character and implies her destructive power. As an observation on Hollywood and its products, the creative panel has managed to create one of the most memorable screen characters.

"I AM big. It's the pictures that got small!"

-Norma Desmond

Bibliography:

Billy Wilder & Charles Bracket Sunset Boulevard screenplay, 2nd ed. University of California Press (1)

Baker, Patricia .1991. Fashion of the a decade: the 1940’s. London: B.T Batsford

Baker, Patricia .1991. Fashion of the a decade: the 1950’s. London: B.T Batsford

Brode, Douglas. 1980. The films of the fifties. 2nd ed. Citadel Press

Cooke, Grayson.2009. We had faces then: Sunset Boulevard and the sense of the Spectral. Quarterly Review on Film and Video. 26:2 89-101 (6)

Porfirio, Robert (July 1975). Billy Wilder about film noir- an interview

http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue10/features/wilder/

Accessed on 10.02.2010 (5)

Taylor, Aaron. (Summer 2007) Twilight of the Idols: Performance, Melodramatic Villainy, and Sunset Boulevard . Journal of Film & Video

Trowbridge, Katelin. The war between words and images- Sunset Boulevard New York University Journal

Staggs, Sam: Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond and the Dark Hollywood Dream. St. Martin's Griffin Books, 2002. (4)

Ed Sidkov, Commentary, Sunset Boulevard DVD Extra Features, Paramount (2)

Edith Head, The Paramount years featurette, Sunset Boulevard DVD Extra Features, Paramount (3)

Photographs

1,2,3,4,7, 8

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Directed by Billy Wilder

Paramount Picture

108 min

Photographs

5 and 6

http://jerkmag.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/the-new-look-sketch.jpg

Sunset Photo

http://www.deccarecords-us.com/images/local/300/1135E.jpg

The Princess and the frog

Sing it Big Daddy !

If feels like we've been waiting for ages for Disney to excite us with a

new 2D animation, and here we are

today reviewing The Princess and the frog! While watching this film, I

gradually realized

how much the audience expectations have changed since The lion king and the other princess stories.

As the title suggests, the story is about a princess who kisses a frog, and then... simply transforms into a frog as well. Set in the city of jazz, Tiana's fairy tale is brought into life with bright colors and funky beats. New Orleans transmits the vibe of an entirely separate main character through its customs and rich culture. A few years ago I was wondering

where would Disney plan their new animation, since they've done most popular cultures. I thought the most obvious choice would be Africa or India, but New Orleans is pretty good as well. At least it gives the characters a reason to burst into singing and dancing,which to me is an inseparable and most magical part of Disney.

In contrast with the rest of Disney's animations, the prince here is quite active, in control and is given a significant amount of attention. There is a gradual development from Snow white, where the prince had barely a few lines, through Sleeping Beauty, with the hero being introduces in the middle of the story. I approve of this new initiation, breaking out of the cycle of predictable, ordinary and undistinguished "princes". Usually they are simply there to safe the princess, who embodies the image of perfection. But in the new animation, both characters have flaws and are expected to fight and overcome them. It seems than prince Naveen had stronger shortcomings than the princess, but that didn't lead me astray from the story.

Another strong impression I got from this film is how fast things are happening. Normally the characters will go though plenty of obstacles but also share the intimate moments of success. From these points we realize something is beginning between them. But that is not necessary for the contemporary young audience. Such taste require more action based situations and far more flirty characters than ten years ago. With the exception of the songs which I immensely enjoyed, the magic seemed hazy and the overall lifting experience was not one hundred percent full.

However, the film introduced the biggest twist in motion& animation picture industry: When the firefly Ray is squashed, he finally unites with his beloved star Evangeline, by actually becoming a star! And not only any star, but the second brightest star! I just sat there admiring this outcome. I am sure that Disney have had some pretty serious discussions whether they could murder the character on screen. Because no one good ever remains dead in fairy tales, they were obliged to deliver a satisfactory reason not to bring the firefly back to life. I think they did that in a brilliant way. By all means, I enjoyed the classic style of Disney's animation which has been missed by more than one fan.