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Billy Wilder is the writer/director of some of the greatest classics in Hollywood history: "Double Indemnity", "The Lost Weekend", "Sunset Boulevard", "Sabrina", "The Seven Year Itch", "Some Like It Hot", "The Apartment", and many others - 25 in all. His darkly comedic vision and tough-minded approach have proven inimitable. In "Billy Wilder", Bernard Dick discusses each of Wilder's American films, thus capturing almost everything possible to note about the work of a genuine Hollywood genius. ... Read more

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Billy Wilder (1906-2002) was American cinema's greatest import. Hailing from Austria, Wilder arrived in Hollywood in 1935 and, with his skilled eye and sharp wit, took the town by storm. Exploring nearly all of the silver screen's genres (slapstick comedy, eerie suspense, film noir, courtroom drama, romantic comedy...) and sometimes creating unheard-of genre cocktails (comedy and war in a Nazi prison camp in Stalag 17) he graced every film he directed with the inimitable and magical "Wilder touch." That films like Sunset Boulevard, Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, and Love in the Afternoon all hall from the same director/co-writer is a remarkable thing. With 26 films to his name, Billy Wilder was not only one of the greatest and most prolific filmmakers of all time but also the most versatile. ... Read more

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The Lost Weekend swept the 1945 Academy Awards, with nominations for Best Film Editing, Score, and Black and White Cinematography, and Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Screenplay. It also received numerous awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globes. Based on the novel by Charles Jackson, a work that many in Hollywood had thought unfilmmable because of its relentless grimness, The Lost Weekend was one of the first films to explore the devastating effects of alcoholism. Ray Milland was cast against type as Don Birnam, a writer plagued by depression and self-doubt who, as his alcoholism progresses, slips into a horrifying downward spiral of lying, begging, stealing, and madness. Milland's riveting performance won him an Oscar. Jane Wyman also delivers a powerful performance as his faithful girlfriend, Helen St. James, whose selfless love offers Birnam a hope of redemption.

This facsimile edition of The Lost Weekend not only reveals the genius of the film but also illuminates how the script stands alone as a rare, wonderful piece of writing. Jeffrey Meyers's introduction looks at the transformation from novel to film and examines Wilder and coauthor Charles Brackett's methods as collaborators. Readers will gain important insights into the craft of screenwriting, and the personality and methods of one of Hollywood's greatest directors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the most powerful movies of all time
Winner of the Oscar for best screenplay (also Wilders first oscar for best screenplay)Lost Weekend is one of the most powerful movies of all time. It has not dated at all and its importance has not faded. It is the ultimate example of how the hollywood system of the forties traded realism and then placed a hokum ending that just doesn't ring true, but even with this fault the screenplay is almost perfect, if only they wrote more films like this today, the emotional impact of leaving las vegas is nothing compared to the punch packed into this classic piece of moviemaking and screenwriting, read this and see Billy at his best. ... Read more

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Stalag 17 (1953), the riveting drama of a Germanprisoner-of-war camp, was adapted from the Broadway play directed byJose Ferrer in 1951. Billy Wilder developed the play and made the filmversion more interesting in every way. Edwin Blum, a veteranscreenwriter and friend of Wilder's, collaborated on the screenplaybut found working with Wilder an agonizing experience.

Wilder's mordant humor and misanthropy percolate throughout thisbitter story of egoism, class conflict, and betrayal. As in awell-constructed murder mystery, the incriminating evidence points tothe wrong man. Jeffrey Meyers's introduction enriches the reading ofStalag 17 by including comparisons with the Broadway production andthe reasons for Wilder's changes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Cinematic Magic.
Billy Wilder adapted the stage play of STALAG 17 and improved it every way he could. This is a copy of the original screenplay for the movie so all of the scenes are here, including a few snippets that were deleted in the final version of the film. The story is brilliantly put together and it only takes about an hour to ninety minutes to read the whole thing, including the informative introduction. This is a wonderful example to explore for anyone who wants to write or is writing screenplays and it is also great for any movie buff or fan of Wilder.

Quite Simply- Brilliant
If you enjoyed just one episode of Hogans Heroes then you will love Stalag 17, which was the inspiration of that show. Although I must admit that I am not a big fan of the Animal character the script itself is darn close to perfection. Stalag 17 is one of the funniest films of all time. The plot is simple and is basically just several episodes in a german prisoner of war camp in world war II as the prisoners suspect that they have an informer in their midst. The scene where they find out who the informer actually is, is one the best scenes that you can watch or read. William Holden won the best actor oscar for his performance in this film and with material like this too work from it is not hard to understand why. ... Read more

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The films of Billy Wilder, from Double Indemnity to Some Like It Hot, are American classics created by a brilliant Austrian in love with his newfound country. This is a re-examination of the key American films of Wilder, often challenging previous readings of his filmmaking style and personality, emphasizing the pop-cultural, film-historical, and sociohistorical content of well known films like Sunset Boulevard and less frequently remembered ones, like The Fortune Cookie. The book interprets Wilder as more than the "cocky little Viennese" or "closet Romantic" stereotypes often attached to him. Here the student will find provocative analysis and the enthusiast will find evocative commentary on one of the most important figures in American film. Photographs add to the text, and a complete filmography and bibliography are also included. Fully indexed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Rare Item - Snap it up!
The screenplay was published by Studio Vista sometime in the seventies. The screenplays are formatted like a play but these scripts are not verbatim transcripts of the final movie but the actual shooting acripts (orso the introduction claims). Apart from some dialogue changes, the scriptsare virtually identical to the final films. Witty and interesting toscreenwriters everywhere but could have had some more input fromthe twowriters. Its a pity that more of their work isn't more widely available. ... Read more