Sometimes I think that film noir is such a fascinating style of film that everyone who sees it must pull something from it and not necessarily what I pull from it.

When I think of classic noir, Sunset Blvd is the one film that instantly comes to mind. There are several other noir movies; modern and classic; however it's Sunset Blvd that does it so well.

Noir should have a dark shadow cast over the film. Often the subject of the narrating tale does have a darkness to it, in Sunset Blvd they have included every main character in this plot.

Mr. Gillis is of course the narrator who is telling the story of the events that led up to his demise, naturally he will never get his happy Hollywood ending. But they go beyond that and allow the audience to peek into the disappointments and regrets of his life. By the time Gillis reaches a point where he could have just left with Betty Shaefer and changed everything, you somehow can relate as to why he just couldn't; it just wouldn't have fit into what he was and what his life had become.

Of course Hollywood didn't stop with Gillis in Sunset Blvd.

Norma Desmond, The forgotten silent film star has possibly even a darker shadow cast over her. She has been basically trapped in her oversized house, as she waits for the studios to listen to the longing of her fans; the fans that have long since turned away.

Then there is Max, Max also lived a life of anguish and pain. He was Norma's first husband. He continued to live in the house with her so that he can care for her. He stayed and cared for her because he just couldn't live without her in his life.

With all the tragedy in the lives of the characters in Sunset Blvd, is it any wonder that someone had to eventually die?