Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
RANKED:
10. The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Billy Wilder's "The Seven Year Itch" is a film about sex, to put it bluntly. Not that it's subtle. The film is about a middle-aged man trying desperately not to cheat on his wife while her and their son are in Maine on vaction. The problem is that Marilyn Monroe is his super-friendly neighbor. What the film is really about however, is...advertising. Huh? You see, Tom Ewell plays an advertising executive whose firm is constantly using the one thing that will sell their products: sex. The advertising industry pumping sex into all ascpects of life create a society of sex-crazed maniacs. Maybe we need to start realizing that what surrounds us constantly is infecting our personal lives (according to Billy Wilder).
9. Stalag 17 (1953)
Stalag 17 has quite a bit more levity to it than most other WWII films. Really, it's more of a dramatic comedy than a war film. The film is about a group of American airmen as they navigate a POW camp. The claustrophobic environment of their cramped bunks creates some tension and the soldiers even begin to turn on each other. However, Wilder infuses the film with comedy and silliness, perhaps to take a dark situation and make it more bearable.
8. Sabrina (1954)
The film known for giving us the 'Sabrina Neckline' is also a film about class struggles. In Billy Wilder's 1954 film "Sabrina," Audrey Heburn plays Sabrina, the daughter of a chauffeur for a wealthy family. As she gazes through the bushes at their luxurious and elegant parties, she dreams of being like the elites her father works for. She even moves to Paris for culinary school. When she gets back, she tries desperately to make it in with them, only to realize from Humphrey Bogart's charcter that money, elegance, and class don't make you any happier.
7. The Lost Weekend (1945)
Ever wonder what it's like to be an alcoholic (if you're not already one)? Well, "The Lost Weekend" is the film for you. Billly Wilder takes these experiences and makes them subjective for the viewer. As we navigate Ray Milland's charcter's addiction, we become trapped by his pursuit. Wilder creates an atmosphere of obsession and takes this delirum to very dark places. The viewer is in for an intoxicating ride.
6. Ace in the Hole (1951)
The corruption of media, society's susceptibility to sensational news, and the media's influence on political and capitalist corruption all can be found in Billy Wilder's "Ace in the Hole." Kirk Douglas plays a reporter who takes advantage of a man trapped in a collapsed cave. He does so by turning his dire circumstance into a profitable media circus. Why is the public so obsessed with bad news? The answer to the question doesn't matter to the protagonist. What matters is the power he gains from all the attention.
5. Some Like it Hot (1959)
Billy Wilder's second collaboration with Marilyn Monroe was also about one thing: sex...again. With the sensuality of Marilyn, how can you not? However, "Some Like it Hot" is about sex in a variety of different ways. Sex gets explored through how it affects your decision making, the misogyny that comes with it, and even the lines between sex as a gender becomes blurred. The film is about two men trying to escape a gang by dressing as women and joining a band. Through the alternative perspective of being a woman, the men learn just how objectified women are and how economically dependant they are forced to be on men. Because of this, all the characters use sex to ultimately achieve their varied pursuits and in the process gain a broader perspective about sexuality. Not to mention the nature and inconsistencies of sex and sexual identity.
4. Witness for the Prosecution (1958)
"Witness for the Prosecution" is a courtroom drama through and through. It stars Charles Laughton as a lawyer on the verge of impending heart failure. The case he is presented with makes his palpatations even worse, as director Billy Wilder takes the viewer on varied twists and turns you never see coming. The film is a fantastic demonstration of how fallable perception is and how those perceptions can be easily manipulated. Just when you think you know exactly what's going on, everything gets turned on it's head.
3. The Apartment (1960)
In "The Apartment," Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine play two employees who are trying to make it to the top. Lemmon's Bud wants to climb the corporate ladder and in doing so, let's higher-ups use his apartment for their sexual affairs. MacLaine's Fran wants the boss to ditch his wife and marry her. As they both aspire to these lofty goals, they begin to realize how much they're compromising themselves. Through each other, they begin to understand that the lying, cheating, and deception that's corrupted the entire building is not who they are or what they want any part of.
2. Double Indemnity (1944)
With some of the best cinematography ever put to film, "Double Indemnity" is a film noir about characters moving through light and darkness. As bright lights and dark shadows pierce the screen, characters must move through their world and make decisions that either bring them into the light or keep them in darkness. The darkness inside the characters comes from something deeply unsettling about the American dream: comfort. The characters have well-paying jobs, plenty of food, and plenty of insurance to cover anything lost. But it is this comfort that drives them to sheer boredom. Out of this boredom breeds restlessness. The restlessness of the characters creates their downfall and their descent into the darkness of their corrupted souls.
1. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Billy Wilder's magnum opus, "Sunset Boulevard," is a film about the anxieties that come from one's own end, whether that end be professional, economic, or exestential. The film follows a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who shacks up with a forgotten Hollywood star. The characters in the film are forced to reconcile with their own irrelevance. Some face reality to tragic consequences, while others cling to their delusions to the bitter end. It's a film that comes during an America that is filled with post-war anxiety, as many films at the time dealth with perturbation over life and death. "Sunset Boulevard" is no different, as it allows us to reconcile with our own sunset.
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