Billy Wilder is the American cinema’s most famous cynic, but nothing in his career is as scathing as this noir-tinged newspaper drama, an indictment of the American media circus.
Tag: Billy Wilder
![TITLE: SUNSET BOULEVARD PERS: VON STROHEIM, ERICH / SWANSON, GLORIA YEAR: 1950 DIR: WILDER, BILLY REF: SUN025AL CREDIT: [ THE KOBAL COLLECTION / PARAMOUNT ]](https://i2.wp.com/streamondemandathome.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Sunset-Blvd.jpeg?fit=230%2C178&ssl=1)
‘Sunset Boulevard’ on Amazon Prime and Criterion Channel
William Holden and Gloria Swanson star in this Gothic Hollywood noir, the darkest of Hollywood’s self-portraits, directed by Billy Wilder.
‘The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes’ on Amazon Prime
Bill Wilder’s sly, bittersweet, autumnal film approaches the Holmes legacy with both a sense of humor and a sense of respect.
‘Avanti!’ with Jack Lemmon on Amazon Prime Video
Billy Wilder was one of the great directors of classic American comedy. Avanti! (1972), based on the play by Samuel Taylor, is one of the director’s attempts to adapt his trademark mix of wit, romance, and sex to the more permissive era of the 1970s and one of the best films in the last act […]
Dean Martin in ‘Kiss Me, Stupid’ on Amazon Prime
Billy Wilder was a master at sneaking sex into films like The Apartment and Irma la Douce in the years before the ratings system, but this is his most gleefully cynical and brash sex comedy Kiss Me, Stupid (1965) was so maligned on release it almost sunk Billy Wilder’s career. Dean Martin plays a parody […]
‘Witness for the Prosecution’ with Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich on Amazon Prime Video
Based on the stage play by Agatha Christie, Witness for the Prosecution (1957) isn’t opened up for the screen so much as it is perked up with witty dialogue and wily characterizations, two strengths of filmmaker Billy Wilder and writing and producing partner I.A.L. Diamond. Charles Laughton plays the legendary barrister who defies doctor’s order […]
‘People on Sunday’ on Amazon Prime Video
People on Sunday (Germany, 1920) is a delightful, effervescent rarity from the late silent era with irresistible bona fides. Not only did this low-budget 1930 German film influence a generation of filmmakers, it launched the careers of some mighty impressive talents who, as hungry young filmmakers, collaborated on this buoyant little portrait of a lazy […]