“Yes, this is Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. It's about five o'clock in the morning. That's the Homicide Squad - complete with detectives and newspapermen. A murder has been reported from one of those great big houses in the ten thousand block. You'll read about it in the late editions, I'm sure...”
“The poor dope - he always wanted a pool. Well, in the end, he got himself a pool.”
This was the third film I saw from the bygone era of movie-making. The first being ‘The man who knew to much’, and then from a later era, the more enjoyable ‘Paris Texas’.
I’m sorry to say it(Sunset) bored me to near death. Honestly, I held on by the thinnest of threads, hoping a scene would come along and save me from falling asleep in front of the tv.
There were only two memorable scenes, and the cause of me watching the entire thing: The opening scene with the camera panning, from the street name along the asphalt while the opening credits role; and the excellent shot from the bottom of the pool while flashing cameras probe the water past the floating body. I was stumped how they managed such a good shot, and I'm not gonna spoil it. Read up if you want to know how they did it.
And of course the machinegun-fast one liners.
Apart from that, the only other thing I remember was the amazing quality. The black and whites were crisp and clear, as if it was made just yesterday.
Max Burdett: Give me a Jack on the rocks. It doesn't have a fancy name, but if it was good enough for Frank, it's good enough for me.
Luc: Frank? Who's Frank?
Max Burdett: Sinatra.
Luc: Did Frank take an umbrella?
Max Burdett: [laughing] Not even when it was raining.
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