Hollywood is a dream factory. The main film industry of the world is no longer tied to a specific place – the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles – but unites filmmakers from all countries. Hollywood films are distinguished by the quality of performance. Therefore, in order to better understand this from the inside, we have created a selection of top 10 movies about Hollywood.
Movies about Hollywood
1. Sunset Blvd.
Release year: 1950
Country: USA
Genre: Drama, Noir
Cast: Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Buster Keaton
Fleeing from intrusive creditors, impoverished screenwriter Joe Gillis (Holden) finds himself in the enchanted realm of Norma Desmond (Swenson), a faded silent film star who lives in the deceptive shadows of the past, but who hasn’t lost her need to be loved in the present.
2. The Stunt Man
Release year: 1980
Country: USA
Genre: Action, Tragicomedy
Cast: Peter O’Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey
The story is about a veteran of the Vietnam War, who, hiding from the police, accidentally gets on the set and takes the place of the deceased stuntman. Three Oscar nominations.
3. Body Double
Release year: 1984
Country: USA
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Drama
Cast: Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry
A detective story about a sexy beauty who arranged a free striptease at her window in the evenings. One day, her neighbor finds out that the girl was killed, and instead of her, another one appeared behind the glass in this show – a porn actress hired by an unknown person.
4. Barton Fink
Release year: 1991
Country: USA, UK
Genre: Tragicomedy, Crime
Cast: John Turturro, John Mahoney, John Goodman
The young playwright Barton Fink, after the success of his sophisticated play about the life of ordinary people, is invited to Hollywood. Trapped in an infernal-looking hotel, he has to write an idiotic script about wrestlers, but the deadline is running out, and the work is not going.
5. The Player
Release year: 1992
Country: USA
Genre: Thriller, Tragicomedy
Cast: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward
The head of the script department of a large film studio, Griffin Meal, receives threatening letters. He suspects that this is one of those authors whose script he did not pay attention to. Griffin kills him. Detective Susan Avory leads the investigation, suspecting Griffin. However, he is lucky: the only witness to the crime points to another, and Griffin gets the wife of the screenwriter he killed. But the real blackmailer worries him again.
6. Ed Wood
Release year: 1994
Country: USA
Genre: Biography, Tragicomedy
Cast: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker
Edward Wood is real and probably one of the most odious figures in Hollywood. Starting his career in the 50s, Wood later became something of a classic in the production of low-budget horror films. Two years after his death, Ed Wood was recognized as the worst director in the history of Hollywood, which immediately added fans to his films.
7. Mulholland Dr
Release year: 2001
Country: USA, France
Genre: Detective, Thriller, Drama
Cast: Naomi Watts, Jeanne Bates, Dan Birnbaum
Charming blonde Betty arrives in Los Angeles to become an actress. By chance, she meets the fatal brunette Rita, who lost her memory in a criminal showdown. Betty decides to help her new friend (and later mistress). In Another Life: Betty is Diane, an unsuccessful actress who is acutely experiencing a breakup with her beloved Camilla Rhodes.
8. Adaptation
Country: USA
Genre: Tragicomedy
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper
A comedy puzzle in which the author acts as his own hero and talks about how he allegedly fails to film a documentary book about orchids. Stories of real people alternate with stories of fictional ones; towards the end, they will inevitably merge into one – and then the work is completely out of the control of the creator. There is no way to distinguish between life and fiction.
9. Maps to the Stars
Release year: 2014
Country: Canada, USA, Germany, France
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Cast: Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack
This is a caricature of Hollywood celebrities, presented as a diagnosis of schizoid personality disorder. The heroes here are completely unhealthy and with each new act they poison each other’s life more and more subtly, sliding into a quiet abyss of madness.
10. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Release year: 2019
Country: UK, USA, China
Genre: Tragicomedy
Cast: Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino
The action of the picture takes place in 1969 – and this is not an accidental year. On the one hand, this is the starting point of New Hollywood, on the other hand, it is a sad date for Roman Polanski.