"I AM big--It's the pictures that got small"

Numerous memorable moments from Sunset Blvd are available on YouTube and elsewhere on the 'net. Here is how the audience are introduced to Norma Desmond--and to protagonist Joe Gillis, at least as he looks while he's still living.

Italian Neorealism

Martin Scorsese provides a short introduction to Italian neorealism -- starting with Open City.

Rome, Open City (1946)

The house-to-house search -- in which comedy is succeeded by tragedy.
Who needs subtitles? Try watching this pivotal scene without translation to see what comes across without it.

Preston Sturges - The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1941) - Part 1 of 10

Preston Sturges' satire of American puritanism and self-righteousness, still breath-takingly cynical, and relevant.

Preston Sturges - Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Preston Sturges' great Hollywood satire is available on YouTube.

His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1941)

His Girl Friday crosses genres: it's both a classic newspaper picture and a definitive screwball comedy. The humor establishes this as  a "comedy of divorce," a variation on an ancient theme of the war between the sexes, but the film's serious side comes from its critique of the press's exploitation of human tragedies. It is well worth seeing in its entirety.

Betty Boop - Minnie the Moocher