4. "I Am Big. It's The Pictures That Got Small" Sunset Boulevard (1950)
If theres anyone that deserves to be in an article about the best anything in the history of cinema, its Norma Desmond. After all, she is the biggest name in film period! The silent film period, I mean. The fictional Norma Desmond never managed the evolution of cinema; in Sunset Boulevard (1950), she was trapped living in a silent graveyard of the past. Norma hides away in her home until Joe Gillis, a screenwriter on the run, stumbles upon her sulking remains. Screenwriters, of course, murdered Normas career, strangling her expression with sound and dialogue. As a result, Joes initial meeting with Norma is a tense affair, and not even the monkey in the room can lighten the mood. Joe shovels the last piece of dirt on Normas grave, claiming she used to be big, but this only brings Norma back to life. Like some deranged zombie, Normas eyes pop out of her head as she ironically delivers some magnificent dialogue. The comeback line is such an over-the-top response to a minor statement. Joe has no intention of offending Norma, but she absolutely loses it. Norma might not be all there in both her head and the evolving film industry but shes certainly memorable.