Few classics of the Hollywood Golden Age have stood the test of time with as much stamina as Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard.”

Released on Aug. 10, 1950, it became a near-instant classic, earning rave reviews for its savage portrayal of the very industry that produced it and the fearlessly intense performance of former silent screen goddess Gloria Swanson as tragically deranged Norma Desmond, whose fictional history mirrored her own more than enough to make the casting provocative. It was one of the year’s biggest “award season favorites,” a creative triumph for the director/screenwriter team of Wilder and Charles Brackett, and it quickly gained a reputation — one that it largely still holds — as the best film Hollywood has ever made about itself. It would go on to become a frequently ci

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