Film Studies

Sunset Boulevard Wilder 1950 Produced by paramount and distributed by them 1948 Paramount decree passed a law that said some of the major studios were not allowed to own as many theatres and cinemas that they previously did; a quoter Sunset Boulevard is twice as chilling a film when you realise that Desmond made Paramount Studios a success, rather than the other way around. The withering movie business was built not on fragile foundations of an art form doomed to obsolesce, but on stronger, more ambitious grounds than it occupied in 1950. Production context Mode of production Studio system The title - Actual boulevard in Hollywood associated with film production since 1911 ‘A Hollywood story’ Focuses on female mental health disorders - Norma is delusional thinking the press are going to film her script ‘Salome’ The star system - Norma Desmond, star of the silent screen Norma is a fading, ageing actress (Even though she’s only around 25) Gloria Swanston - in the role which is th...

Some Like it Hot ‘Some like it Hot’ (Wilder 1959) - Film is set in 1929 (Time of the stock market crash) - Different social groups are represented, gender and femininity - Boot legging (Illegal alcohol selling) and gangs in background - speak easies Civil rights movements happening around that time Social norms and values of the says dictated the films genre and tone The comedic aspects are built around the theme identity, disguise and cross-dressing had to use humour as a vehicle for the more progressive, taboo and controversial themes as the centre (Hays code) One device in this vein is to situate the plot and events back to the 1920s. So it is set in 1929 although produced in 1959 Paradoxically, the films historical context is the chaos and uncertainty of the Wall Street crash whilst films production context in 1959 marks a new departure for the US in terms of social and cultural life  Overview Two friends (Musicians Joe and Jerry) witness a massacre by the...