Choose a scene in Sunset Boulevard and look at the setting, props, and costumes. Examine them closely and describe how they depict the characters and mood of the scene. Then look at how your scene relates to the film as a whole. Your response should be at least three paragraphs and should be very descriptive.
Due: Friday, October 5, 2012
"Sunset Boulevard" by Billy Wilder, which was filmed in the 1950s, is about a washed-up film star named Nora Desmond who becomes obsessed with returning to the big screen, and will do anything to do so. At the final scene in the movie, Nora goes into shock after having killed Joe. The setting is dotted with paparazzi, news reporters, and cops, and the way her house/crime scene is set up almost supports the idea of a movie set. Nora takes advantage of this and the cameras to make her big and shocking comeback.
ReplyDeleteWhile Nora is in her bedroom, everyone outside seems to be buzzing about everything that has happened at this point in the film. You would think that Nora would be put in jail and that would be that. But at the mention of cameras, the entire mood of the film changes. As Nora gets ready for her big scene, everyone seems to be in awe. How could a once renown and gorgeous film star revert to such a low act (literally)? This adds to the mysterious and mind-blowing ending of the film, which doesn't seem to hint you on what happens to her afterward. The scene blurs out, which reflects the clouded thoughts of the reporters/cops and even the audience. No one ever knows what happened to poor old Nora Desmond...
Overall, this scene is one of the most drastic and mind-blowing scenes of the film, because the cryptic ending leaves you with a feeling of surprise and pity for the eroded actress. What would become of Joe's legacy? Of Betty's script? No one really knows, and I think that's what makes the film's ending a lot more fun and interesting. Instead of leaving you hanging, it almost allows the viewer to choose their own alternate ending to the film. Such a feat is what truly makes Wilder and this film a success.
In Sunset Boulevard, one of my favorite scenes is when Joe, the main character, finally agrees to work with Nora Desmond's script that she came up with. An the beginning of the scene, Nora had decided that Joe will move in without actually discussing with him what he would like to do. Joe, in turn, plays the female role in being indecisive and just trying to be a pain in the ass by changing his mind rather frequently, trying to writhe out from her initial attempts at subjugation, but ultimately is snuffed out. In a later shot the camera dollies in and we close in on Joe, but what is also revealed is Nora in the background. Nora was not noticeable due to her costume, and the fact that the room was littered with portraits of her in all sizes. This illustrated how her constant presence, especially due to the fact that her face is everywhere, causes Joe to sort of think of her like furniture, until she decides to interject herself into the work he's doing. This is showing that Nora is hovering around Joe constantly, whether or not she’s noticeable, and that she does not trust Joe out of her sight and influence of power.
ReplyDeleteAnother important fragment of this scene is where she stands over him and orders him to replace the scene he removed from her narrative. This is important, because just as the relationship is beginning, Nora places herself in the alpha position. Joe at first tries to fight this domination and explain his reasoning, but Nora won’t have it and forces him to replace the scene into ‘that precious brain child of hers.’ This demonstrates that for the rest of the relationship between the two, Nora will be the top dog or the ‘man’ in the relationship. This is emphasized by an earlier shot in the scene where Nora had decided that Joe would move in without actually discussing with him what he would like to do. Joe, in turn, plays the female role in being indecisive and just trying to be a pain in the ass by changing his mind rather frequently, trying to writhe out from her subjugation.
As well as this, the mise-en-scene of the scene is very closed frame, illustrating that Joe has no choice but to bow down to Nora’s whims. This is emphasized with the next shot when it is a low angle shot of Nora, and eye level shot of Joe. Joe is framed with a dark picture frame (of Nora) and a row of small portraits (also all of Nora) in the background, the dark desk in the foreground, and Nora in the midground. All these items are relatively dark, contrasting with Joe’s white shirt, leaving him in the dark with nowhere to turn.
I believe the ending scene of "Sunset Boulevard" uses mise-en-scene well to depict the characters and the mood of the scene. Billy Wilder uses setting, props, and costumes to his advantage to perfect the verisimilitude for the audience.
ReplyDeleteAs Norma Desmond descends down the staircase, thinking she's on a movie set, she walks slowly, and flails her arms around dramatically. The cameras at the bottom prove to Nora that its real. That her dream of acting again finally came true. She wears an obnoxious, flashy shawl so shes stands out from the crowd of reporters. The crazed look in Nora's eyes and the scary smile on her face prove to the fellow characters in the scene, as well as the audience, that she really believes she is acting again. Its apparent she has forgotten all about murdering Joe Gillis because she claims she is "too happy." Nora holds her arm out towards the camera and it appears she is reaching her arm out to the audience, the people she believes are her fans. The scene begins to blur, implying that Nora never does get to reach her audience. Because afterall, she wasn't ACTUALLY filming a movie.
I feel this scene is important because it leaves a large impact on the audience. It can be assumed that Nora goes to jail and doesn't fulfill her dreams of acting again, but it cant be proved. Also, the costumes and the props, such as the cameras, lights, etc. help create the illusion to Nora that she is actually filming. Making Nora's crazy behavior more believable to the audience. Because of the way these elements of mise-en-scene are depicted, it draws the viewers into the film and connects the audience to the characters on an emotional level. In this last scene, the audience can take pity on Nora because of the strong bond they have built with her throughout the film. This scene was overall very powerful and helped enhance the mood of "Sunset Boulevard." Great job Billy Wilder!
The mise-en-scene of "Sunset Boulevard" is used to create meaning in the film through the films's design, involving its setting, props, and costumes, and its composition in its framing. One of the scenes that I feel best shows the use of mise-en-scene is the scene where Norma is starting to show joe her script and is insisting that he stay in her house.
ReplyDeleteWhen the scene opens up we see Norma leading joe into her living room I suppose and it is very ornate anew decorated. Her house overall from the out side we saw was really creepy and run down, which can be used to express her rundown career and social status. We walk in her living room and we see that it is filled expensive looking furniture and several pictures of her are seen everywhere throughout the room, on the walls and on side tables. The expensive looking props show us that she is obviously very well off, it also shows that money and costs do not matter to her as longer as she gets what she wants, which she shows later in the scene when she says it doesn't matter how much he asks her to pay him. Also the several pictures everywhere of her show that she thinks very highly of herself, and is very self absorbed, that everything should be about her and everyone needs to make her happy, not the other way around. This is obviously shown throughout the movie as she is very controlling, thinking she is all powerful, like in this scene when she forces him to sit down, being used to people listening to her, and when she basically forces him to stay in her house later in the scene. One other thing that we see in this opening shot is the organ in the background that they recognize is playing one tone because of the a windy pipe. Typically when we see an organ in a household or even castle like place, kind of like Norma Desmond's mansion of a house, you relate it to one of those people in other horror or scary films, that are locked up all alone in there castle, that have no one around, and are usually not right in the head or even crazy. We can see from Norma's character that she isn't exactly the most "normal" character, but later on we can actually see that she is in her own little way kind of crazy. We can get all this just within the opening shot of this scene.
One other thing that we can notice about this scene is the costume choice that the film makers chose for this scene. Joe is the only one wearing clothes that are lighter in color, unlike Norma's dark dress and Max's black suit. One thing that we can notice in this scene about the costumes is that joe is the only one who isn't yet completely under Norma's power, like Max is to her. In later scenes we can see this comparison to this, where when he leaves Norma he wears his lighter jacket, but when he's with her, when he is under her power, he wears a black suit. That's one symbolic viewpoint that we can pick up on the costume choice of this scene and other scenes.
As the scene progresses we see more and more about Norma's character. We find out just how controlling she actually is, not asking too many questions, mostly giving demands. There is one shot of the scene where joe is talking about how Norma just stares at him while he is reading her terrible script. This brings in a second meaning to some of the props where all you see is pictures of her everywhere. Now that we know she is an observer and constantly is watching and starring, we can see that the pictures show that she is always watching whoever is in her house, even is she were to be out of frame or in another room, she would be watching you. Kind of adds to the creepy ominous mood that we get from her. After this we see Max come in and close the blinds that are behind joe. These blinds closing shows how Norma is trapping joe inside her house, or is at least starting to. She is all powerful and is keeping him here. Which leads me to show her size in the frame and screen time. Norma, like she probably wants to, takes up a huge amount of cinematic space within the frame, and is shown on the screen more than joe or Max in this scene, expressing her size and power and dominion over everything she controls. Back to the scene we switch what we are looking at to an extreme long shot of the front door, most likely from joes point of view, where Max is greeting the man with the coffin. We can see the setting here of the front door is very meaningful. The front door resembles what looks like a jail cell door. So this is another showing of how Norma tries to keep everything in her control and keep them with her. It can also represent however that she is locking herself away from everyone else in the outside world,refusing to come out. We also see in this shot a very obvious instance of closed framing. The dark shadows that surround the entrance way create this sign of closed framing, showing how even characters like Max, along with joe, have no option, no choice but to be trapped along in this huge house with Norma.
ReplyDeleteThat is how I believe that this scene is a wonderful example, of how mise-en-scene is used in Sunset Boulevard, creating meaning overall to the rest of the movie, not just within the one scene itself.
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DeleteMany of the scenes in "Sunset Boulevard" create meaning through setting, props, and costume. One scene in particular that creates meaning is the New Years Party. It starts off with the camera traveling with Joe in his tuxedo, traveling down the stairs into the ballroom. In this segment, all of our attention is on him, until him and the camera come to a stop to where the ballroom is. The ballroom grabs our attention easily because once Joe stops, he blends in with the background/setting because of his dark tuxedo and the placement of where he is. Not only do we see the setting of the hint of ballroom, but we see in the background, but easily seen, Norma Desmond. We notice her not because of the dress she is wearing(well it is a factor) but because of her crazy dance moves that move toward Joe. Once this starts to happen, the camera starts moving in on the two of them, greatening importance on the characters themselves, and lessening the importance on the setting that surrounds them.
ReplyDeleteSkipping a little bit, the next area of importance is the banquet area involving a great rule of thirds through setting. the left being Max, the middle being Norma (of course) , the Right being Joe, the bottom being the banquet table, the middle being the dance floor (which they are talking about, and the top being the musicians, while at the same time having each person/ set of persons in the foreground(Max) , the middle ground(Norma and Joe) and Background (musicians). In this shot, there is a sly suspicion of Max (as seen in other shots in the films) he is not talked to, no one sees him, but hes still there looming around the bottom left corner, like a statue, but not in focus. The next shot is of both Joe and Norma dancing in the “bigger than what they need” ballroom (shown by the dark floors full of emptiness that will never be filled. ) The next part is where costume plays a role. Her dress includes a headpiece that is more like a wedding veil. It is annoying Joe so she takes it off. This resembles that she wants Joe to be another one of her victims of marriage but Joe does not want it in his way. After that the shot goes into crane shot showing how big the ballroom really is.
The last important shot in this scene(disregarding the hour skip) is when they are sitting down. The camera starts already in a close up of Normas cigarette holder.The prop of her cigarette holder reminds him of himself being trapped, which is one of the whole points in the movies. The camera moves out and slightly to the left bringing Joe into the picture. Again with Joe’s black tuxedo camouflaging in with his posture of being huddled up, which is the opposite of what Norma is doing. She is laid back, taking up all of the couch and even though her dress is dark, her complexion is not, still bringing attention to her. Once Norma gives him the gold cigarette case and starts driving him crazy, the camera does a quick ove along with Joe standing up quickly showing he has burst. It then switches on and off between the close medium shot of Joe and the high angle over Joe’s shoulder putting spotlight on Norma. Once Joe says the word “girl I love” nd switches back to the high-angle, the pattern changes with Norma standing up making it look like her face is zooming through camera but its not. This shows the intensity of her mood change and then SLAP. This is what this scene has to offer ;)
Within the beginning of “Sunset Boulevard”, when Norma makes her first full appearance, she is wearing a long, black dress, as she talks to Joe about the monkey’s funeral arrangements. This immediately gives a dark and classic horror movie type feel in a huge mansion, especially with her dull butler, Max. A couple shots later when Norma brings Joe into the living room, which is filled with very wealthy but creepy looking objects, including tall candle holders, portraits, an organ, tons of pictures of Norma, and everything else that one would imagine in a outdated mansion.
ReplyDeleteFrom what shows up in the Mise en scène of this specific scene, we get are able to understand Norma’s lifestyle, and the type of role that she plays. She is extremely self centered, where she believes that she is greater than she actually is. Norma is also able to control everyone in the house, like they are her pets (dead monkey), or as if her giant house is a prison. The front door to the house that has metal bars resembles an animal cage/ prison, where Joe and Max forever trapped. At the end of the film when Joe exits theses doors, Norma shoots him down, similar to how prisoners are shot at if they are in the process of escaping.
Throughout the film, Norma continuously buys Joe more valuable items, such as new clothes, expensive accessories, and a golden cigarette case. It seems as though the more items that she buys for him, the less freedom he has. The grey outfit that he wears for most of the film is one of his only ways of being free from Norma’s control.
"Sunset Boulevard" is an amazing film created by Billy Wilder in 1950. The film is about how a once amazing actress in silent films tries to make a a comeback but just cannot seem to do so. One scene that illustrates this is the ending scene of the movie. The whole story can be told by what happens and the setting and costume of the scene.
ReplyDeleteThe setting is perfectly put together for this scene. There are reporters and investigators and cops, which gives a sense of drama because of the tragedy that had occurred in the scene before. There is also a whole movie crew, headed by Max, and fans waiting outside her room, as though she was going to be in an actual movie. It takes away from the ease of the drama, although we know that she is in a fake scene and Max is doing this to cover up the fact that she cannot make it in the sound movie industry. The dress she has on seems to put everybody in awe, which also takes away from the drama that was occurring. The craziness and mystery that had surrounded her life up to this point in the movie is only added to by the mysterious ending to the movie: Her simply saying "Alright Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up" and creepily walking toward the camera.
Throughout the movie, we never really see a sane side to Norma. First, she is angry about the transition of silent to sound films. Then, she goes crazy trying to get Joe to fall for her and almost kills herself. Then, she begins to think she can make it in the sound film industry with the help of Joe, but when Joe explains to her that Hollywood doesn't want her, she goes insane and kills him. This scene, which is made up of parts from both the killing and the movie, basically sums up the movie. Norma's decent down the stairs can represent her decent into darkness and insanity, and when she reaches the bottom, it is as if she reached the point of no return, which is added to by the slow blurring of the camera as she walks toward it.
The Scene I'd like to describe in Sunset Boulevard is the scene where Norma Desmond throws a dance in her own house, but the only guests are herself and Joe. This scene was a vividly defining moment for the characters, and their personas.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the first scenes where Norma Desmond is explicitly shown as the dominant figure of her and Joe's relationship, all instances before this having been subtle or implied through mise-en-scene techniques. From the very beginning of the scene, Norma is shown as the dominant figure. Norma takes Joe by the hand while they're walking, as opposed to him taking hers, and when they walk, she walks in front of him, with him following tentatively behind. The pattern continues when Desmond gives Joe a corsage, again, something traditionally done by a man. Desmond dances with Joe, naturally leading, to even further cement the fact that shes the dominant figure in the relationship. Desmond goes further by referencing her enormous wealth (boasting like a man), getting drunk and disorderly (manlike behavior), and and buying Joe jewelry and trinkets, then behaving with macho bashfulness. The tone of voice and speech patterns are somewhat rugged and "manlike," and she sits on her divan with her legs spread wide and her hands in between her legs. Throughout, Joe's behavior is feminine and submissive, as well as decidedly uncomfortable, imitating a woman being hit on by an oppressive and unrelenting man, supporting his role under Desmond and ensuring that the viewer understands what is happening.
During this scene, Joe and Norma dance through ridiculously large halls, whose vastly empty space represent the husk of what was once Norma's career, and her dancing and scrabbling around suggest that Norma is struggling to fill the void. Also, Norma drops her veil during the scene, suggesting that the thin veil hiding her true intent i.e. her attraction to Joe, would no longer be maintained. This scene sets a tone for the continuation of the film, but will also be used in juxtaposition to later scenes where the roles are reversed with Norma and Joe.
haha i feel bad, cause i had more points, but i can't remember them now :/ ahh well. it happens.
ReplyDeleteIn Sunset Boulevard, a quite fantastic film directed by Billy Wilder in 1950, setting, props and costumes proved to be a very effective way to keep the film verisimilar and give the audience a subliminal meaning to the film. He used a variety of techniques with John Seitz, the Director of photography for this film, which were unheard of and changed the field of filmmaking from that point on.
ReplyDeleteIn the scene when Joe is editing Norma’s script, it starts off at a high angle long shot, showing the entire room from a high angle, looking down. The viewers’ eyes are drawn to Joe, who is wearing a white shirt, while the rest of the room, including Norma (who is camouflaged in the room) is all dark. It changes, watching Joe throw out a scene from the script that he deems unimportant/not necessary. Norma rises, and walks over. The shot changes to a low angle medium shot, showing Joe and Norma glaring over his shoulder. This shows her having all the power, and him near defenseless to stop or resist her. As well, when she approaches him, she is now in the light and him darker, changing significance in the scene, as he belittles him for his choice.
The props in this scene reflect Norma’s narcissism and her bitter reluctance to leave the past, despite it being very passed. There are countless pictures and posters of her, and the house itself seems older than it is, signifying, yet again, how old everything (including her) is. The costumes in this scene reflect that even further. She is wearing this dress that seems much too old, even for the film being filmed more than 60 years ago. She is outdated and she refuses to adapt to “modern” times or accept that her fame is long gone.
The Scene I selected takes place after Joe has been staying at Norma’s home for a while. He is lying on the couch and she is on top of him. Firstly, the props are of note. Every aspect of the home goes to characterize Norma, and there are a lot of “things” in her house. In this scene we see several glitzy, gilded framed photos of her in the background. This is not unusual; there are pictures of her on almost every surface of the mansion. She is narcissistic and overly concerned with her appearance. Also, she is far younger in all the pictures- she is trying to recreate the past. She has never been able to let go of her glory days. The rest of the props go to build on the idea of chaos, disorder and unrest in her mind. There are generally meaningless, yet very expensive looking trinkets scattered between the photos. There is a corner of visible marble columns in the background. Both of these aspects mirror a disconnect in Norma’s financial state and her mental state.
ReplyDeleteThe setting is important too. This scene does not take place at Joe’s house- she is the dominant force in the relationship. The scene does not take place in her bedroom- that is where deep emotion comes out and the conversation they are having is fairly surface and fake. In fact, most of the action takes place here in the living room. In this case we only really see the sofa. It is textured and patterned and adds another element of chaos. It takes up most of the frame so we focus directly on it, and the two main characters. Everything in the Desmond household is relatively untouched, but here we see Joe’s weight on the sofa making it sag a little. This is his small mark on her world.
Costumes really tell a story within this story. Norma is wearing a long, thick, opaque black dress. This restates her dominance over Joe and shows her age. She is also however wearing a scarf around her waist and a scarf around her head, tied in a bow- she is slightly eccentric and the bow to me comes off very immature. This is very much a house outfit, not something you would go out in, leading us to the conclusion that she doesn’t really get out much. Joe is wearing a white shirt and light colored pants. We are drawn to his light clothes. He is the force of reason and youth in their relationship. Also, his clothes are more modern for the day. He represents reality, and a connection to the outside would.
The scene I selected was the scene where Norma throws a New Years Eve party, however we learn the guests are just her and Joe. As we're introduced to the party, we see Norma and Joe dancing, Norma getting rather close to Joe. They're both dressed very lavishly, Norma in an expensive dress with jewels draped around her neck, and Joe in a tuxedo. In the background is music - we do not yet know if it is diegetic or non-diegetic. In the visual background are candles, draperies, signs of wealth and high class. As we're given almost an aerial view of the room, we can see there is a string quartet playing dancing music. As the shot changes to Joe and Norma on the couch, we arrive at the touchy subject of Joe taking Norma's wealth, and his refusal to accept her cigarette case, stating that she's given him enough. After Joe and Norma have their fight, very significant aspects of mise en scene are brought out. For example, the room is so large and decorated, but is empty, just like Norma's life. She wants to be something again but can never quite reach that level, not only in movies but with Joe. Significantly, the quartet continues to play even after both Joe and Norma have left, indicating that "she show must go on."
ReplyDeleteThe film Sunset Boulevard makes the use of costumes and setting very well to help force the meaning of the film or even the specific scene on the viewer. There are many examples of this throughout the film. The scene that I would like to refer to is the scene where Norma Desmond throws a ball in her own home with only her and Joe invited. This was a great example for the use of costume and setting in this movie.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first scene where Norma is showed as the absolutely dominant personality in the relationship between her and Joe. She throws him a party, giving her a sense of power over him as he could never afford to do something like that for anyone. She also makes him dress up in a tuxedo for this party, where I noticed he looked like a butler in a way, strengthening her power over him. Also, the fact that the party is at her own house and that he is a guest to the party, even further holds up the fact that Norma was dominant of Joe. This changed however when Norma was laying on the couch with her feet on Joe, and Joe finally stood up for himself to her and said he didn’t love her, shifting the power from Norma to Joe.
As her and Joe dance through the house, wide shots are used to emphasize the void between them and the tall ceiling, which I believe is a direct implicit meaning to Norma’s career and how there is a huge hole that she is trying to fill by using Joe and his writing to make her script better and worthy of the motion pictures.The use of costumes and setting were very big roles in the movie in establishing implicit meaning.