RELATED: Best Movies About The End Of The World
Whatever the case, the best movies about Hollywood have it all - from a compelling story to a strong cast that wouldn’t be out of place in classic Hollywood movies as well. And since filmmakers have been making this type of movie for decades, they also offer a unique view of old Hollywood.
7 Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Sunset Boulevard is one of the greatest classics of all time. It’s also a highly bitter story that shows how far ambitions can drive people, right into the arms of tragedy. The movie centers on a young ambitious screenwriter who builds a relationship with an aging former star, but everything goes south eventually.
The movie has excellent actors in the leading parts, William Holden and Gloria Swanson, as well as former legends in cameos, such as Buster Keaton. Sunset Boulevard is hailed as one of director Billy Wilder’s best movies thanks to the realistic cynicism with which it approaches Hollywood and its people.
6 Singing In The Rain (1952)
Even though Singing in the Rain premiered only two years after Sunset Boulevard, tone-wise, the movie couldn’t be different. It takes place during the 1920s when silent movies gradually made their transitions to talking pictures. That’s something not every actor was happy with or even could work with because some of the previously successful actors had voices that just didn’t work for the audience.
Singing in the Rain stars Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, and it’s ultimately a feel-good captivating movie with music that lightens up the whole story. The most iconic scene features Gene Kelly dancing and singing in the rain, but the movie has many memorable moments.
5 Chaplin (1992)
Long before he became Iron Man in the MCU, Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Charlie Chaplin in this biopic. Chaplin is enjoyable even for those viewers who haven’t seen any of Charlie Chaplin’s movies, and it might very well persuade them to try some of his work.
RELATED: The Best Movies About Living In New York
The movie shows how Chaplin rose to stardom and focuses both on his work life and private life. Thanks to Downey Jr.’s performance and the captivating story, Chaplin is a must-watch for all people who enjoy stories about old Hollywood and its greatest icons.
4 Ed Wood (1994)
Ed Wood is universally known as the worst movie director of all time. Whether that reputation’s warranted or not, there’s no denying that his movies were shot too fast and in amateurish conditions. Yet in the Tim Burton movie with Johnny Depp playing the titular role, Ed Wood ultimately comes across as a sympathetic person, somebody who genuinely loves movies and wants to do what he enjoys.
Unfortunately for him, the world seems to stand in his way. Ed Wood shows what happens when excitement meets lack of talent and is one of the most civil Tim Burton movies, filled with great actors and offering a mixture of humor and drama.
3 The Artist (2011)
If the audience wants to watch a modern silent movie, then The Artist is the best choice. It even won an Oscar for the best picture. It focuses on two actors, one of whom is established and successful and a young woman who gradually rises to stardom.
RELATED: Best Movies About Living In London
The movie’s beautiful black and white picture as well as the catchy soundtrack immediately draw the audience in. The acting performances and story then keep them hooked. The Artist not only captures Hollywood and its people well, but it also offers a unique experience so different from the majority of 21st-century movies.
2 La La Land (2016)
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone appeared as a duo multiple times in the movies but the Oscar-winning musical La La Land is their most popular cooperation. Stone stars as an aspiring young actress Mia and Gosling as a talented musician Sebastian. They get together but their paths eventually separate.
What makes this movie fascinating is its portrayal of the toll ambitions and dreams have on relationships between people, even those who love each other. As a result, La La Land is less sweet and more bittersweet than many people might expect from an American musical about Hollywood.
1 Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
One of the latest Hollywood-centered movies even has Hollywood in its title. The almost three-hour movie is the love letter Quentin Tarantino wrote to old Hollywood. It works with a mixture of fictional characters (the two main heroes played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt), and real-life actors and other Hollywood personalities.
Even though the movie lacks a coherent, tight storyline, and functions more as a chain of loosely connected smaller stories, its atmosphere, and the star-studded cast are enough to offer a memorable experience, and maybe even make the audience nostalgic for the 1960s.
MORE: Best Movies About Living In Paris
