Billy Wilder's Masterpice?

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I watched several of his movies as of late, and his masterpiece is almost is every case considered to be Some Like It Hot.

While this is a great film, it ranks second on my Wilder list, after Stalag 17. Stalag 17 is easily in my top ten. (Third goes to Witness for the Prosecution).

Any opinions on Wilder's masterpiece(s)?


R.I.P. Billy Wilder.
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Kong enjoyed Stalag 17 quite a lot, but it would probably be rank fairly low on Kong's list of favorite Wilder flicks. At the top Kong would probably put The Apartment.



So many great movies, but for me choosing the one best of the best, it'd be a toss-up between Sunset Blvd. and One, Two, Three. I'd probably give the slight edge to One, Two, Three most days, if only because it is so massively underrated.

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I totally agree with you holden sunset blvd and one, two, three- absolutly brilliant
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My Wilder top ten would be...

1. One, Two, Three
2. Sunset Blvd.
3. Ace in the Hole
4. The Apartment
5. Stalag 17
6. The Lost Weekend
7. The Fortune Cookie
8. Double Indemnity
9. Witness for the Prosecution
10. Some Like it Hot


Personally, I've always found Some Like it Hot to be overrated. I like it and all, but I'd slot it way down at number ten. One, Two, Three and even The Fortune Cookie and The Apartment make me laugh more than Some Like it Hot. One, Two, Three puts me in hysterics, even after well over fifty viewings over the years of my letterboxed LaserDisc.



i've only seen sunset blvd, some like it hot, the apartment, and double indemnity.

back when i saw it, several years ago, i wasnt all that impressed with some like it hot. but i constantly hear it mentioned as hilarious classic, so maybe it's time i gve it another shot.

my favorite by far is sunset blvd., which also ranks very highly among my favorite films in general. after that comes the apartment, then trailing way behind are double indemnity and finally some like it hot. the latter two are both decent movies but they're a lot less unique than either the apartment or sunset blvd.



For anyone in North America looking to either add to your Wilder collection or become a new fan, there's an R1 DVD boxed set coming from MGM featuring nine discs: Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Avanti!, Kiss Me, Stupid, The Fortune Cookie, Irma La Duce, Witness for the Prosecution, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and One, Two, Three. Everything there except Some Like It Hot, Witness for the Prosecution and The Apartment is making its R1 DVD debut. The set, and each movie individually, streets on July 15, 2003, with a retail tag of $130. Anyone with a birthday this summer, put it on your list. Or take a second job to be able and pay for it. And the Some Like It Hot in the box is the S.E. from 2001.

There's already a smaller three-disc set of Wilder flicks from Paramount: Stalag 17, Sabrina and Sunset Blvd.


Between those two sets, that'd pretty well set you up as far as Billy Wilder goes. The Lost Weekend is really the only glaring omission from that list (and it is on DVD). The others in his filmography are lessers pics, though not without their charms (The Front Page and The Seven Year Itch are currently avialable on R1 DVD too).

And for any fans who may have missed it, Sunset Blvd. was released as a nice S.E. late last year.



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I remember seeing One, Two, Three when I was pretty young, I loved it then. It's definitely one of my favorites of his, but so is Stalag 17 and Sunset Blvd. Above them all, however, is The Apartment.
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My top 10 fave Wilder Flicks: (No Order)

The Apartment
Sunset Boulevarde
Double Indemnity
Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes
Stalag 17
Witness For The Prosecution
Fortune Cookie
The Lost Weekend
The front Page
Some Like It Hot

My all time fave of this list would probably be The Apartment, but its a tough call because all are completly statisfying.
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I'll take The Apartment, Sabrina and Sunset Boulevard as his three best, with Ace in the Hole and Double Indemnity close behind. I agree with Holden that One, Two, Three is insanely underrated and is a buried treasure. I guess I just don't 'get' Stalag 17. I liked it well enough, but one of his best?
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I just saw Witness for the Prosecution last night and remembered there was a thread about Billy Wilder, so I thought I’d revive it again. This thread has been an interesting read.

I know none of you liked it the best...but my favorite is Some Like It Hot. Maybe it’s because I’ve turned my daughter on to it and she really belly laughs over it...and I of course love the innuendo. The train scenes with food and pastry talk gets me giggling every time.

Here’s what I’ve seen so far and listed in preference...
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Sabrina (1954)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
The Front Page (1974)
The Major and the Minor (1942)

I’ve only seen One, Two, Three (1961), The Apartment (1960) and Irma la Douce (1963) in bits and pieces through the years. I’ve looked for One, Two, Three in the video store and the libary, but no one has it. I’ll keep my eye open for it on TCM since everyone seems to like it a great deal.

I've never seen Double Indemnity and will have to look for it. Thanks for the nice read guys.



Originally Posted by Holden Pike
So many great movies, but for me choosing the one best of the best, it'd be a toss-up between Sunset Blvd. and One, Two, Three. I'd probably give the slight edge to One, Two, Three most days, if only because it is so massively underrated.
And here I thought I was the only one who loved this often overlooked gem. Mrs. Mose loves to rent old comedies and surprisingly came across this one at our local video store. We picked it up not knowing what to expect and were shocked we'd never heard of it. Cagney's performance is top notch, as is the rapid fire dialogue used throughout the film. Definitely one of my favorite classic comedies!

As for Some Like it Hot, Mrs. Mose and I picked it up after the AFI came out with the top 100 funniest movies list and were bitterly disappointed. It certainly has its moments but doesn't even crack my top 100... well, I don't think it would if I actually took the time to make such a list
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Ive only seen 3 of his films, and I like Sunset Blvd. the best out of what I have seen.
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I think the best Wilder film would have to be Stalag 17, my favorite Wilder film is Sabrina.



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Yeh, my favorite would have to be Sunset Blvd.
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So many good movies, so little time.
1. Double Indemnity
2. Some Like it Hot
3. Sunset Boulevard
4. Witness for the Prosecution
5. Stalag 17

5 great movies
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My top five of his are

Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Sabrina (1954)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
The Front Page (1974)

Oh well 6
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I have a hard time deciding between Double Indemnity and The Apartment.

On the fluffier (and generally outlandish) side, I get a kick out of The Major And The Minor and Some Like It Hot. I can only assume Tony Curtis picked up his faux accent from Cary Grant. Who talks like that?

I need to see One, Two, Three, it seems. I would have to agree that while Some Like It Hot is very amusing (in a perpetual grin sort of way), it's not exactly hysterical. It does seem to get a bit overblown in the comedy arena.