Sunset Boulevard

Billy Wilder, director of some of Hollywood’s finest – from Some Like it Hot to Double Indemnity to The Apartment – turned his eye to Tinseltown itself for this brilliantly cynical noir. Joe Gillis (William Holden) is a scriptwriter the town has no use for. He collides with faded silent film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) and finds himself drawn into her warped, Miss Havisham-esque web. But who is stringing who along?

As much as Wilder’s film is a bitter tale of fame’s hollow crown, it is also a warm tribute to the silent era (featuring cameos from Buster Keaton and Erich Von Stronheim, among others) from one of the sound era’s best directors. Endlessly referenced – ‘I’m ready for my close up’ originated here – it’s also a narratively inventive, utterly gripping tale.