Sunset Blvd. had to have influenced the Eagles classic hit, Hotel California. Parallels exist throughout, including the enchantment.
Consider:
1) A man compelled to stop for the night, as did Joe Gillis, whose face showed his puzzlement and hesitation upon viewing Norma Desmond's estate on Sunset Blvd: "This could be Heaven, or this could be Hell."
2) "Then she lit up a candle..." Norma lit many.
3) "Her mind is Tiffany-twisted," as was Norma's, and, "she got the Mercedes-Benz." Only in Norma's case, the Isotta-Fraschini.
4) "She's got lots of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends." Norma had gone through three husbands and lured Joe into an intimate friendship.
5) "How they danced in the courtyard..." Joe and Norma danced in the great room.
6) "Some danced to remember" (as did Norma); "some danced to forget" (as did Joe).
7) "So I called up the captain, 'Please bring me my wine.'" Max Von Mayerling served as butler/wine captain.
8) "Pink champagne on ice." Lots of champagne consumed in the film.
9) "We are all just prisoners here of our own device." That's the theme of the movie! Every character is trapped in his and her own way.
10) "Last thing I remember, I was running for the door." Joe did also to "find the passage back to place I (he) was before."
11) Finally, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave." Precisely the fate of Joe.
If this fine film didn't inspire other artists, I'd be very surprised. It adroitly captured the mood and seductiveness of Hollywood and California of the early '50s.
Consider:
1) A man compelled to stop for the night, as did Joe Gillis, whose face showed his puzzlement and hesitation upon viewing Norma Desmond's estate on Sunset Blvd: "This could be Heaven, or this could be Hell."
2) "Then she lit up a candle..." Norma lit many.
3) "Her mind is Tiffany-twisted," as was Norma's, and, "she got the Mercedes-Benz." Only in Norma's case, the Isotta-Fraschini.
4) "She's got lots of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends." Norma had gone through three husbands and lured Joe into an intimate friendship.
5) "How they danced in the courtyard..." Joe and Norma danced in the great room.
6) "Some danced to remember" (as did Norma); "some danced to forget" (as did Joe).
7) "So I called up the captain, 'Please bring me my wine.'" Max Von Mayerling served as butler/wine captain.
8) "Pink champagne on ice." Lots of champagne consumed in the film.
9) "We are all just prisoners here of our own device." That's the theme of the movie! Every character is trapped in his and her own way.
10) "Last thing I remember, I was running for the door." Joe did also to "find the passage back to place I (he) was before."
11) Finally, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave." Precisely the fate of Joe.
If this fine film didn't inspire other artists, I'd be very surprised. It adroitly captured the mood and seductiveness of Hollywood and California of the early '50s.