Wilder's best?

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  • Wilder's best?

    If you rated Billy Wilder's top films in order of preference, what would they be?

    I'm reading Cameron Crowe's book Conversations with Wilder and enjoying it. He offers unique insights into our biggest stars, directors, writing process, studio system, etc. He says, for example, that George Raft couldn't read and had to have someone read his lines to him.

    The Apartment just came in from Netflix and I'll watch it tonight.

  • #2
    Re: Wilder's best?

    Great book, isn't it? It's tough to rate them, as some are so different from others. My favorites are:

    "Sunset Boulevard"
    "Double Indemnity"
    "The Apartment"
    "Some Like it Hot"
    "Stalag 17"

    I saw "Love in the Afternoon" last night, which was beautifully-written but sad to watch, as Gary Cooper was simply unwell and, in contrast to Audrey Hepburn, far too old-looking.

    I'm still awaiting "Ace in the Hole"'s appearance on DVD.

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    • #3
      Re: Wilder's best?

      Hard question. I love so many of his films.

      Might rate them something like this:

      Sunset Boulevard
      The Lost Weekend
      The Apartment
      Double Indemnity
      Some Like It Hot
      Stalag 17
      Sabrina
      Ace In the Hole
      The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
      sigpic

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      • #4
        Re: Wilder's best?

        Whoops--I'd forgotten "The Lost Weekend". That goes on the list as well.

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        • #5
          Re: Wilder's best?

          Young Frankenstein

          Blazing Sa... oh wait
          "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
          - Screenwriting Friend

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          • #6
            Re: Wilder's best?

            Originally posted by Jake Schuster
            My favorites are:

            "Sunset Boulevard"
            "Double Indemnity"
            "The Apartment"
            "Some Like it Hot"
            "Stalag 17"

            I saw "Love in the Afternoon" last night, which was beautifully-written but sad to watch, as Gary Cooper was simply unwell and, in contrast to Audrey Hepburn, far too old-looking.
            I'd go with Jake's list in that order, except I'd replace Stalag 17 with Love in the Afternoon. The contrast between Cooper and Hepburn is its strength, IMO.
            http://confoundedfilms.com

            http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

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            • #7
              Re: Wilder's best?

              Originally posted by roscoegino
              Young Frankenstein

              Blazing Sa... oh wait
              That's what I thought as well. Honestly, we've been through Billy Wilder's best films a few dozen times on here, and I think it's time we gave Gene a chance.

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              • #8
                Re: Wilder's best?

                I just read the portion about shooting The Apartment. He said he shot the film in 55 days, edited it in one week, and had 3 feet of unused footage! He said he seldom ended with as much a 1,000 feet of unused. He said he only shot things once and kept to the script - putting what was on the page on the screen.

                He had a great way of describing stars that cut to the quick. He said "We had lots of fun in this picture, because everybody came early to the stage. Sometimes Shirley MacLaine would be a little late, sometimes she would not quite deliver a line, but everybody else was an absolute pro, an absolute pro."

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                • #9
                  Re: Wilder's best?

                  Ah. My favorite director.

                  I'll go with:

                  Stalag 17 (cuz I love war-related movies)
                  Sunset Boulevard (cuz I love Hollywood-related movies)
                  The Lost Weekend (
                  cuz I've had so many of them myself)
                  Double Indemnity
                  (cuz I love film noir)
                  Some Like It Hot
                  (cuz I love MM)
                  The Apartment
                  (eh)
                  Sabrina (
                  eh)

                  Haven't seen Ace in the Hole or Sherlock Holmes. I'll look for them.
                  Writers write to be read, right?

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                  • #10
                    Re: Wilder's best?

                    I'll rate all of what I've seen, none of which I've disliked outright...

                    1. The Apartment (by a mile)
                    2. Some Like It Hot
                    3. Double Indemnity
                    4. Sunset Boulevard
                    5. The Lost Weekend
                    6. Witness for the Prosecution
                    7. The Fortune Cookie
                    8. Stalag 17 (far too much comic relief)
                    9. Seven Year Itch
                    10. Sabrina

                    Still need to see Ace in the Hole (a DVD released would be nice) and Love in the Afternoon, and I hear One, Two, Three is good too.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Wilder's best?

                      What about One, Two, Three? Great performance by Cagney.

                      Impossible to rate 'em. Will we ever see Ace in the Hole aka The Big Carnival on DVD? - it is looking doubtful.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Wilder's best?

                        I watched Double Indemnity yesterday (UK's Film 4 channel is now free, hoorah!) and laughed out loud with the pleasure of hearing that dialogue. My other half hadn't seen it before and was glued to the screen, she didn't even insist on switching channels for her daily soap dope fix, and that's a first let me tell ya.

                        -Derek
                        My Web Page - shameless vampyre fiction & other shameless writings.
                        Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

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                        • #13
                          Re: Wilder's best?

                          Also be sure to check out BALL OF FIRE, an absolute gem that he co-wrote but did not direct.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Wilder's best?

                            Yeah, NINOTCHKA is another great comedy that he co-wrote but did not direct.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Wilder's best?

                              Originally posted by TwoBitHack
                              Also be sure to check out BALL OF FIRE, an absolute gem that he co-wrote but did not direct.
                              That's a good one. Stanwyck and Cooper are excellent in that.
                              sigpic

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