Sunset Boulevard
Added 2021-10-17 20:47:15 +0000 UTCI hadn't seen it in so many years until last night. Wow. Just wow. There are two Billy Wilder films that include very emotionally wrenching scenes that take place during New Year's Eve. One I consider to be a triumph. Finding joy after deep pain. This one was just the opposite. This was a sinking further and further into pain. Billy Wilder's ability to capture the underlying melancholia of society through wicked humor, satire....just extraordinary. What's your favorite Wilder film? For me it's Ace in the Hole.
Comments
Yes it is!
Deepfocuslens
2021-10-19 06:03:48 +0000 UTCIt certainly does showcase a lot of what makes Wilder great. Though I do recommend others as well, that I find to rival Sunset Boulevard. I recommend Ace in the Hole, Double Indemnity, and The Apartment.
Deepfocuslens
2021-10-19 06:03:22 +0000 UTCYes, highly recommend checking out more of his work.
Deepfocuslens
2021-10-19 06:01:43 +0000 UTCI really need to dive into his filmography. I've only seen Sunset Boulevard. It's a fantastic movie
Jestergambit
2021-10-19 00:02:06 +0000 UTCI’ve only ever seen Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, and parts of Sabrina. I very much like Some Like It Hot, but I remember preferring other 1930s screwball comedies—movies of which it aspires to be like—more, like My Man Godfrey or The Awful Truth. I’d need to rewatch it to see if I’d feel any differently about it, though there’s no way it’s better than His Girl Friday. But I’m willing to bet that the best of Wilder is on full display in Sunset Boulevard, probably the first true dark portrait of Hollywood, certainly done within the system. I doubt Wilder’s deft blend of cynical humor, knowing satire, and tragic pathos is better executed than here, though I have yet to see Ace in the Hole. It’s embodied in Norma Desmond, who goes from funny to heartbreaking to terrifying in her desperate clinging to lost stardom. She’s the dark side of Hollywood that, up until then, it didn’t want to acknowledge—the colossal, unquenchable ego that, when slighted, sometimes leads to murder. Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. certainly owes a debt to this film. And the funniest part for me was Hedda Hopper hogging the phone line from the police so she could deliver her story.
Bennett Oliver
2021-10-18 22:51:09 +0000 UTCI've only seen a small number of Billy Wilder films so I cannot really judge, but strangely I am currently on a project to watch every Kirk Douglas film and I watched Ace in the Hole (for the 2nd time) about a month back. That film is so damn good.
Ross Skilton
2021-10-18 17:57:53 +0000 UTCSunset Boulevard is so great that last year I watched it twice in as many days. I then went on a Billy Wilder watchathon, including The Lost Weekend, The Apartment, Double Indemnity, Sabrina . . . and then I reached your favorite Ace in the Hole, which I then watched again a couple of days later - a masterwork that seems relevant more so in today's age of alarmist-media. Billy Wilder set the bar very high with his ability to bring out the essence of a character, to show their pain and redemption.
Atticus Xey
2021-10-18 07:26:58 +0000 UTCWatch the ones that are on the AFI 100 Greatest American Movies list (there are actually four): Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, Double Indemnity, and The Apartment
Edward Eiffler
2021-10-18 03:26:20 +0000 UTCI haven't seen all of his movies, maybe about six or seven. I think it is incredible how one director can have the range that he had, noire, comedy, romance, historical drama, drama. According to IMDB he also had 83 writing credits. I love Ace in the Hole. It's Kirk Douglas at his best and most complex, but I think I still have to go with Sunset Boulevard. I don't know how Wilder knew that Gloria Swanson could pull off this film, since she hadn't had a hit in the previous twenty years during the sound era. Somehow, the stars just aligned and Wilder was able to use her silent movie chops to create a subtly over-the-top performance that perfectly fit her persona. Brilliant.
Edward Eiffler
2021-10-18 03:17:04 +0000 UTCTo me, Some Like It Hot is the best film comedy ever written. I have watched it over and over again and will never grow tired of watching it.Sunset Boulevard would be one of my top 20 favorites, as would all other movies that Billy Wilder directed.
Klaus Gehrmann
2021-10-18 00:05:57 +0000 UTCThe man is a screenwriting and directing genius. Easily my favorite in both departments. I could teach a writing and directing class with his films. I'd say Some Like it Hot is my favorite. It's definitely one of my top 10 favorites of all time, possibly top 5. The only other comedy that challenges it for me is Bringing Up Baby. Also, The Apartment and Double Indemnity would definitely be in my top 20.
Wolfman Brandon
2021-10-17 21:08:34 +0000 UTCI've never seen a single film of his! What three films do you recommend I first watch?
Tony Moro
2021-10-17 21:03:08 +0000 UTC
