Billy Wilder, R.I.P.
 

Well, celebrities tend to die in threes, and sure enough.... First Dudley Moore, then Milton Berle and now Billy Wilder.

Billy Wilder was an incredible writer/director, who made classics in multiple genres over his brilliant career. My absolute favorite is one of his lesser-known comedies, One, Two, Three (1961), a screwball satire starring Jimmy Cagney that still puts me on the floor after countless viewings. But Wilder of course also directed Sunset Boulevard (1950), Stalag 17 (1953), The Big Carnival (1951), The Lost Weekend (1945), Double Indemnity (1944), The Apartment (1960), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), The Fortune Cookie (1966), Sabrina (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959), all of which he also co-wrote.

A German Jew who fled to America as Hitler came to power, he led a wonderful life and created some timeless films. Nominated for TWENTY-ONE Oscars and winner of SIX (plus a Thalberg), Wilder is one of the brightest talents to ever work in Hollywood. Wilder was 95-years-old.

Anyone who hasn't yet picked up Conversations with Wilder, Cameron Crowe's book of interviews, should do so. It's now available in paperback.

A sad day.
 

This is indeed, very sad news. Coincidentally I was watching Wilder's "The Front Page" this afternoon and only finished it about 2 hrs ago.
A truly gifted and talented director. A social realist his films always had an edge and were consitently entertaining, no matter what the subject matter.

Doing a large amount of his best work with Jack Lemmon (7 films). Constantly engaging, Wilder created many gems that stand the test of time with witty dialogue, perfect composition and always a sly stab at the world around us.

Here are some Faves of mine that I hope fans will check out:

Double Indemnity
The Apartment
Stalag 17
The Lost Weekend
7 Year Itch
Some Like It Hot
Sunset Blvrd
Witness For The Prosecution
Sabrina
The Front Page
Buddy, Buddy
Fortune Cookie
The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes
Kiss Me Stupid
1,2,3

Check em out. Enjoy this talented Actor/Writer and Director's legacy to the evolution of cinema. Influential and innovative, I loved his films and Billy Wilder will be sadly missed.

I also enjoyed the slightly underrated Irma La Douche.

I only watched The Lost Weekend last weekend and it blew me away.

The man was a legend.

Everything this guy did was uniqicly imprinted with his own stamp, a true talent that will be missed.

Some favs

1,2,3
Witness For The Prosecution
The Front Page
Buddy, Buddy
Fortune Cookie
Irma La Douche
The Apartment
Sabrina
The Spirit of St. Louis

Re: Billy Wilder, R.I.P.
 

I didn't know Billy Wilder made it to the 21st century. I thought he had passed decades ago, well good for him!

What a bump! :rotfl: I was all Billy Wilder was still ALIVE?!?!? :eek:

Re: Billy Wilder, R.I.P.
 

Oh and RIP 15 Years Ago. Great Director.

I thought he died again or something. I got weirdly sad and confused :eek:

Re: Billy Wilder, R.I.P.
 

At first, I was thinking that he was already dead. Then I thought, well maybe he just died. Then I got sad. Then I realized something wasn't right. Then I looked and saw it that it was 15 years ago. Then I wasn't as sad. Then I was sad about not feeling sad anymore. It's still sad that he's dead, right? R.I.P. again.

Yea sorry:p, I wasn't meaning to bump an old thread, but I wanted to test how the threads in the Billy Wilder Director's Club would function if I posted to one. This was the only thread I could think to post about. Yea, it's old news;)

Re: Billy Wilder, R.I.P.
 

Anyone want to rank their favorites of his?

-Ace in the Hole
-Sunset Boulevard
-The Lost Weekend

Re: Billy Wilder, R.I.P.
 

Some Like It Hot is his true masterpiece.

Double Indemnity is his greatest achievement.

Re: Billy Wilder, R.I.P.
 

Dammit ... that means there's only Hitch of the classic Western directors left.
R.I.P. Billybobs

I ranked all i've seen after watching The Lost Weekend which i'm not a fan of sadly:

01.Double Indemnity
02.Sunset Boulevard
03.The Apartment
04.Witness For The Prosecution
05.Ace In The Hole
06.Some Like It Hot
07.Irma La Douce
08.The Lost Weekend

Raul did the post after me:

1. Some Like It Hot
2. Double Indemnity
3. Witness for the Prosecution
4. Sunset Boulevard
5. Stalag 17
6. Sabrina
7. Ace in the Hole
8. One, Two, Three
9. The Apartment
10. Seven Year Itch
11. The Lost Weekend
12. Five Graves to Cairo

Then Citizen (more or less in order he said):

Stalag 17
Double Indemnity
The Major and the Minor
The Apartment
Sunset Boulevard
Irma la Douce
Kiss Me, Stupid
Witness for the Prosecution
Sabrina
Ace in the Hole
The Lost Weekend
The Spirit of St. Louis
The Seven Year Itch
A Foreign Affair
Some Like It Hot
One, Two, Three
Avanti!
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Fortune Cookie
Love in the Afternoon

Then you:

Ace In The Hole
Sunset Boulevard
The Lost Weekend
Double Indemnity
Stalag 17
The Apartment
Sabrina
Witness For the Prosecution
Kiss Me, Stupid

Starts with my Lost Weekend post then goes to the next page - http://www.movieforums.com/community...38#post1603838