What I think made it so incredible, and what this video doesn't touch on at all, is the use of the object as the reveal. As an object, the affair is revealed visually, without dialogue, which allows the actors expressions and the music to carry the story. And the mirror's history in the film also enables the audience to discover the affair at the same time and in the same way as Baxter, a character we've already become attached to. It's this wordless simultaneous revelation and its consequent emotion that makes the scene so powerful for the audience. We also cannot discount the filmography - the use of the camera angle showing Baxter's face in the mirror, allowing the audience to not only see his reaction reflected through the object of revelation, but also to see the revelation from almost the same point of view as Baxter, putting the audience even more in Baxter's shoes for that dramatic, emotional impact. I'm sure Sage could explain it better if it were the aspect of the scene he was focusing on in the video.
Also, the use of lighting, the light reflecting off the mirror directly into Baxter's eyes, is a nice touch, symbolic of revelation "shedding light" on the affair.
@@pufthemajicdragon And consider that so many bad movies are bad because they are overwritten. Many movie producers would force a script change so that the dialog backstops the visual reveal, because maybe one in ten of the audience wouldn't comprehend what just happened.
@@pufthemajicdragon Maybe but the true genius there, which is another major hidden twist in that scene that thanks to your comment I now noticed, is that the moment the truth is revealed, he's broken. Literally, his reflection in the mirror is broken, and like a broken clock, the mirror works perfectly in that instance. How the f do people write stuff like this? How do you even try ...
It's sad that Billy Wilder is no longer a household name considering what a massive influence he had on cinema, and what an all-around great director and screenwriter he was. Those four films you mentioned, in particular, will go down in history as being among the greatest movies ever made. And his versatility was truly astonishing. My other top five directors (Alfred Hitchcock, Asghar Farhadi, Elia Kazan and Preston Sturges) all mostly stuck to one genre (thriller, drama, drama and comedy, respectively), whereas Wilder (whom I place between Hitch and Farhadi) was equally comfortable in comedy, drama, thriller, film noir, courtroom drama, romance, war story, you name it. That is really rare, especially considering just how *good* he was in all of them. It was a treat to see a video about such a great filmmaker!
True. He's directed a bunch of classics: Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like it Hot, and The Apartment. There's also some other great ones like Sabrina and The Seven Year Itch.
@@cmiller1515 if you're interrested by movies from hollywood's golden age , you MUST know Billy Wilder . he's a genius . he wrote/directed some classic film noirs, comedies, dramas... he's the shit.
What a beautiful presentation of Billy Wilder! You illustrated the multiple genres within his best films, and you described the depth of his talent which includes a sense of humanity, something not everyone notices when attempting to analyze his genius. Thank you! 🙏
Other than the four he mentioned, check out Ace In the Hole, Stalag 17, and The Lost Weekend. Those three gems never get discussed as much as they should.
its sad how people have forgotten Ernst Lubitsch, the one worshiped by Billy Wilder. He made masterpieces like To Be or Not to be, Trouble in paradise,Ninotchika and quite a great many silent features too. The younger generation seem to think cinema only started with The Godfather
They think Quentin Tarantino or Christopher Nolan are the best filmmakers alive. The oldest movie they have ever seen is probably The Godfather. The best movie they have ever seen is Fight Club. That pretty much defines it.
Well, it's good to share this information about these crafts in filmmaking. I don't see how hard it is to go out there and share these old movies and great movies.
As a writer, I cannot imagine not knowing about Billy Wilder. He's easily the best to ever do it, which is doubly impressive in that English was his second language, and he directed his own films. The only writer I know of to come close is Ernest Lehman, who wrote HItchcock's North By Northwest, as well as the film I consider to have the greatest film dialogue of all time - Sweet Smell of Success. I recommend his film Ace in the Hole, which was the Nightcrawler of the 1950's - very similar subject matter, but AITH is *way* darker. It's so dark, it was essentially forgotten for over half a century. It's on blu-ray now in the Criterion Collection.
racewiththefalcons1 The dialogue in Sweet Smell of Success is a pure perfection. Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster gave amazing performances. Ace in the Hole is actually the first Kirk Douglas picture I saw. Will never forget the scene were his character explaines to the young journalist that "good news is no news".The Lost Weekend is also very dark but in a different way.
Actually Ernest Lehman didn't really write much of Sweet Smell of Success. The dialogue was predominantly written by Clifford Odets. newrepublic.com/article/86133/david-thomson-sweet-smell-success
Excellent video. The more Wilder movies I see, the more my esteem for him grows. He is probably not only my favorite screenwriter, but director as well. And its not by choice. I just cannot deny it. No one has ever captured the totality of the human experience as perfectly as Wilder.
Nah! Not no record! My movies all didn't come out on no VHS, and later no DVD! No records are for no music. But speaking of that, I'm also the greatest musician ever. And the best race driver. Never lost any race!
I grew up on Wilder movies, THE APARTMENT one of my personal favorites. I have turned numerous people on to his work. I is nice to see some much needed appreciation for his work. Thanks!
You know, these guys who think Christopher Nolan is the best filmmaker of all time and just love the action-sci-fi movies of the 80's they grew up with, but who know pratically nothing about movies from before the 70's, or even movies that aren't super popular. Most youtube movie reviewers.
Great video. I´ve watched Some Like It Hot recently and was amazed by how funny it still is and how well it holds up (the dialogue is so incredible well written). I think Wilders style has a lot to do with his biography, starting as a screenwriter for light comedies in Germany in the late 1920s and havin to escape from the Nazis in the early 1930s. Havin seen the best and worst of humanity probably shaped his style of writing and directing. (Interestingly, he was the first choice for directing Schindler´s List but declined because of his age)
Oh I love Billy Wilder. His first film as a major director, The Major and The Minor, was one I fell in love with as a young teen. I need to see more of his films
@@fansofst.maximustheconfess8226 In The Major and the Minor, Wilder and Brackett already show the contrast between the more idealistic and patriotic rural Middle America, as represented by both the Major (Ray Milland) and the Minor (Ginger Rogers) vs the New York-based, self-centered, financial elite represented by Mr Osborne (Robert Benchley), the dirty old man who makes a pass at Ginger in the first scene, while his wife is doing air raid drills, and who makes comments to her like "My only regret is that I have but one wife to give to my country" and "Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry Martini".
@@jorgeponce5512 Yup, spot on. Wilder's films have always been multi-layered and in many ways insightful. Fascinating btw., how with different collaborators the movies still retained his "Wilder touch". Brackett or Iz Diamond on their own were rarely as good as when they were collaborating with Billy W. A fun side note: For "Double Indemnity" Wilder turned even crotchy Raymond Chandler into a top tier screenwriter - the anecdotes about their collaboration are nothing but hilarious! 🙄
@@fansofst.maximustheconfess8226 You are right. Billy has said that Chandler was great at dialogue, not so much at plot development and structure, for which he preferred Agatha Christie.
Billy Wilder is an UNBELIEVABLY consistent director, out of his 25 movies on IMDB, only 3 of them have a rating less than 7 (none less than 6). SEVEN of them have an above-8 rating: Double Indemnity (1944) - 8.3 Sunset Blvd. (1950) - 8.4 Ace in the Hole (1951) - 8.1 Stalag 17 (1953) - 8.0 Witness for the Prosecution (1957) - 8.4 Some Like It Hot (1959) - 8.2 The Apartment (1960) - 8.3 For comparison, Vertigo and Citizen Kane both got 8.3. Not that IMDB is the final word, but it's got to count for something.
The thing is that despite sociological changes and changes of styles of dress and manners, a powerful story cuts through all of that and remains in the most important sense, timeless. Wilder achieved this extraordinary result quite often: a result any screenwriter would give their eye teeth for. A strong and moving story with real and emotionally 'true' dialogue cuts through time like a hot knife through butter. Just watch "Double Indemnity" ~ the pleasure of it being a period piece is truly overwhelmed by the story and the dialogue which ring desperately true on almost every level of human emotion and desire. "Sunset Boulevard" is a masterpiece of tragedy; brilliantly written, performed and shot. The result, emotionally and intellectually, is simply staggering and, once again, timeless. Billy Wilder was most certainly a cut above the rest.
The 4 movies you mentioned by Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, and Sunset Boulevard) are some of my all time favorite movies. They're all seriously amazing films!
If someone is interested in less known movies, by Billy Wilder. I strongly recommend "Ace in the Hole" and "Witness for the Prosecution", which, I believe, are one of the best movies I saw, and should be mentioned with the four we heard about in the video. Also, my personal favourite, "Avanti!" which may be not greatest movie of all times, but certainly have a great deal of magic. But to be honest, I saw 21 of his movies (out of 27 he directed) and i dislike maybe two of them, so... You can't go wrong with Billy Wilder.
This channel is so interesting, I was a bit iffy about it at first because I’ve heard so many differing opinions on how to tell a good story, but that’s not a bad thing. Listening to different critics can be really helpful and it can give you a broader perspective on art
"The broken mirror to show a broken man is genius." Not really. It's a pretty common metaphor, like in Snow White. The mirror on the wall just reflects the queen's insecurities.
I find it interesting that there are lots of writer-director hyphenates on the list considering this list was polled from working screenwriters. When I was a student I had to read a lot of screenplays written solely by screenwriters, not hyphenates. Can you do a vid that highlights the different styles/techniques between the two? Is there a difference? Is this a changing trend? Thank you! I love your vids.
My, favorite screenwriter and director, The Apartment and Some Like It Hot are two of my favorite movies of all-time. Great video. Now I have to watch more Ernst Lubitch
I binged almost his entire filmography last month and I'm floored by how versatile he is. Before this, I had considered Tarantino the King of dialogue driven film. Wilder takes that crown easily because of sheer variety alone. And holy crap does his dialogue hold up amazingly well. Watch any other film from the golden age of Hollywood, and even in the well touted classics, the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. Wilder's is truly timeless, like the best literature. He's somewhat similar to Kubrick in the sense that Kubrick was able explore and even master a plethora of genres. Only difference is while Kubrick's versatility was always more epic and grand in scope, Wilder's variety was in more self-contained, tight and personal stories. Between the four you had already mentioned, alongside Ace in the Hole, Witness for the Prosecution, Stalag 17, The Long Weekend and One Two Three, nobody is close to this guy when it comes to the writing side of filmmaking.
I had not heard of the Lubitsch touch until this video. Now that you have explained it, I realize that I have seen it many times before, but not understood it. It seems to me to be a version of Chekov's gun. But a version that is used with a subtle touch. In the example of "The Love Parade", we see the sword being held by Chevalier's character, but pay it no mind, even after he sheaths the sword prior to entering the bedroom. You could even argue that the entire sequence prior to Chevalier's character going to liaise with the queen is dipped in Freudian overtones, but it just plays out right. Nothing is rushed, the scene unfolds organically. Thanks for the vidoeo!
Well done, man! This was an excellent essay. I never knew who that guy was but now I’m interested in his work. The scene with the broken mirror was so masterfully done that it makes me want to look back at s script that I THOUGHT was finished. Keep it up!
Neat little filmmaking detail at 6:50 The light on his face reflected from the mirror is actually from an external light source. You see it fade out instead of move when he closes the lid. It’s cool that they thought to add that to bring the small object more into the wide shot
Nice job. I doubt I watched the four movies you highlighted (maybe The Apartment) but COVID 19 is telling me that there is going to be a Wilder bingeing tonight!
People don't know Billy Wilder... interesting. Sometimes we do live in a bubble and forget that some thing that are familiar for us are not that familiar for people in general.
I think it was a poor and frankly condescending commentary and I think this dude needs to have a little more respect for his audience. Who does he really think is coming on youtube to look for videos talking about screenwriters? It's probably not casual film watchers...
@@davedanger9839 I do not know who he is and it's quite normal for people never heard of this writer. People born after the 90s probably never heard of him. I do not know him just as normal tech geek do not know P = NP. Loving film does not mean I have to know a dude from the black and white age.
@@davedanger9839 totally agree. it's not like he's talking about some obscure filmmaker from an indie background ffs it's billy wilder. even if you're not into films that much you would've heard his name mentioned somewhere.
That was my reaction too. When he first said 'a name you might not know," I was confused. He's made some of the most universally-beloved films of all time.
Are you really surprised? Most people don't search for films beyond the year 1980. Late 70s at best. Older American films may as well be foreign. No one watches em anymore.
What an amazing, amazing video, it really made my day seeing you uploaded today :) Thank you so much for putting in all the effort into creating such a well researched, edited and narrated video!
Love Billy Wilder and I do think he has some other brilliant films. I've always been a golden age Hollywood film fan and would love to see/hear you do more on them.
Great essay. I watched Sunset Blvd recently with a little podcast group. We all loved it. You'll never have a better introduction to a character than William Holden's. Pitching a beloved idea for a story and letting it be totally mutilated without a twitch because he needs the money.
@@vishalmokamati9333 because Moses supposes his toeses are Roses, but Moses supposes erroneously, Moses he knowses his toeses aren't roses, as Moses supposes his toeses to be!
Re Ernst Lubitsch, check out one of his first Hollywood films, Trouble in Paradise (1932). It should be required viewing for all aspiring scriptwriters.
Folks, look, I get it. Everyone now feels they must weigh in on who they think is the best. But that was not the point to this video. It’s a device used to get you to click. The point to this video was a very well crafted and synopsis on Billy Wilder. It matters not who you think is the best. My man is telling you why we should understand why Wilder is the best. And more to the directive of this channel, what we can learn from Mr Wilder.
Gore Vidal once wrote that the greatest screenplay he had ever read was LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS, and after watching this film, along with LE QUAI DES BRUMES and LE ROI ET L'OISEAU, all written by Jacques Prévert, I can see why Gore Vidal would say this.
Whenever I think of Billy Wilder I think of his - canonically - gay Sherlock Holmes, which I saw before any other Sherlock Holmes adaptation when I was very young. And which, to this day, still gravely affects the image I have of Sherlock Holmes. (It's a hilarious movie btw. If you don't know it, please go watch it!)
The film you got an e mail is an example of a modern movie based in a film of Lubitsch. The original movie was The Shop around the corner maybe the best film of him in my opinion.
When I saw the thumbnail for this my heart sank a little because I’m kind of fed up with hearing about the “genius” of most of the people on the picture. So when I found out the video is actually about Wilder I was really happy! Great director, and someone we should be talking more about! I especially love “one, two, three...” but that’s probably just because I’m german.
To get an idea of what an old noire movie looks like and to get ideas for a detective series, i recently watched Double Indemnity... I never thought a movie that old could capture me on my chair :D I went watching it without knowing who acted, wrote and directed it. Now im in love with it
It's very close, to me, between Wilder and the Coen Bros... I think Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, and Raising Arizona, on top of Burn After Reading, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, and True Grit really highlight their versatility. I'd still put Wilder ahead of them, but only just... Wilder had myriad classic films, but he also had A LOT of duds... The Coen have had a few bad movies, but the vast majority are somewhere from good to outstanding.
@@davedanger9839 fair point but Billy Wilders hits heavily outweigh his misses. Either way his films are much more iconic, critically acclaimed, and better than some of the Coen Bros. films. And if I’m going to be honest I think they are a bit overrated.
I think this has been one of the best video essays to not come from screenwriter1 or lessons from the screenplay in such a long time. Engaging, informative and interesting all at the same time. Amazing
he has 4 brilliant films (and 1 pretty good one, and one I've not seen) - Eternal Sunshine, Adaptation, and Synechdoche are masterpieces... Wilder and the Coen Brothers are better still...
@Alexander Supertramp I didn't know that this was a debate... Number of iconic works... accessibility without losing quality of content. Just different styles and while Kaufman is my favorite writer of all time, the Coens and Wilder are far more influential and that with the other points makes me say that they are greater. Really though, it's just picking between the best of the best and Kaufman deserves to be in the discussion.
I was not expecting the answer to be Billy Wilder, but I was very pleasant surprised. I love his movies. I think Otto Preminger was one of my favorite directors of that era. Thanks for the video. You did a great job.
Learning another language fosters creativity because you literally have to learn to hold two patterns in your mind at the same time to be fluent in both.
I don't watch many movies or read many novels. But I never knew that Billy Wilder existed before this video. And thanks to you, I might see some of his movies. It feels like he was a good screenwriter and really knew how to make human characters with comedy and tragedy mixed together to form movies that almost resemble life itself.
I just finished a book, "Watching Wilder," which is being used exclusively (for now) by a film class at UTEP. It explores 25 of his directorial efforts in the U.S. the 26th, "The Death Mills," was hard to find, and is a documentary, so I left it out of the anthology of his works. The course is titled, "Cinematic Auteurs," so I didn't feel I could include the many films he co-wrote or wrote but did not direct. This video will be included in my syllabus, to accompany "Watching Wilder." Well done!
Tarantino - I know many people hate the guy, but he is literally our "Hitchcock" of our time. Just listen carefully to his films, he truly is a master screenwriter, dialogue, character. Sure I'm not necessarily big fan of his over-the-top gore and guts style, but his dialogue is masterful.
He has no idea of how to write dialogue for women... He just writes male lines and has women say them. Its pretty awful. He can direct a film for an editor but I have to disagree on his writing I find it mostly, insufferable
@@DarkMysteriousObject that's a good thing. He writes dialougue for people, not necessarily men or women. Any good actor/actress could play a Tarantino character
@@ethanbunch1948 Listen to it and then tell me... his whole schtick it arch and stagy, boring and predictable. If you enjoy it... well thats all that matters...
@@venatr2865 You made my point for me... Any actor, good or bad can play a tarantino character because there is no depth to them, just a bunch of inchoate lines strung together like grey underwear hanging on a clothes line. Just saw Once upon a time... The overall project is evident: to evict real life and real people from the art film and replace them with generic teases and assorted hommages which is really the theme of most of his films.... No life experiences of the old movie sources to leak through; punchy, flamboyant surface is all. Been there, done that.... Enjoy
When I first saw the title of this, I immediately thought, they'll be too stupid to recognize that the answer is . . . Billy Wilder! Holy crap! They got it right!!!
That was an awesome video! I always enjoyed how people are able to capture the realities of life in films. Just started watching your Channel today watched about 8 videos and join them all! Good show! Keep it going!
Why is everyone acting all offended like Billy Wilder is a household name? We live in an era where American films past the 70s might as well be foreign films; nobody's watching em. Let's not kid ourselves here.
Hey all! Are you guys interested in more videos on older films? Let me know!
Just Write yea deffo. I'd love to hear your interpretation of Some like it hot
Just Write oh wait ignore me I didn't see
Yes
Personally... I want to know what makes GREAT films GREAT. No matter what year they are from! (;
Just Write I would love that!!! :)
Oh, god, I love Wilder's answer to the question.
"What kind of story do you prefer?"
"A good one."
I am totally on board with this guy.
So you think it's more compelling to make pure comedies or pure tragedies, rather than using both to craft a story, like Wilder did?
I don't see how you get that from my comment.
Revolutionary ?
Wilder is the man. Unconditionally.
ehem, excuse me but no?! Your story also has to be politically correct and have an agenda.
Man, that was some next level writing on that reveal in the apartment.
What I think made it so incredible, and what this video doesn't touch on at all, is the use of the object as the reveal. As an object, the affair is revealed visually, without dialogue, which allows the actors expressions and the music to carry the story. And the mirror's history in the film also enables the audience to discover the affair at the same time and in the same way as Baxter, a character we've already become attached to. It's this wordless simultaneous revelation and its consequent emotion that makes the scene so powerful for the audience. We also cannot discount the filmography - the use of the camera angle showing Baxter's face in the mirror, allowing the audience to not only see his reaction reflected through the object of revelation, but also to see the revelation from almost the same point of view as Baxter, putting the audience even more in Baxter's shoes for that dramatic, emotional impact. I'm sure Sage could explain it better if it were the aspect of the scene he was focusing on in the video.
Also, the use of lighting, the light reflecting off the mirror directly into Baxter's eyes, is a nice touch, symbolic of revelation "shedding light" on the affair.
@@pufthemajicdragon And consider that so many bad movies are bad because they are overwritten. Many movie producers would force a script change so that the dialog backstops the visual reveal, because maybe one in ten of the audience wouldn't comprehend what just happened.
@@pufthemajicdragon Maybe but the true genius there, which is another major hidden twist in that scene that thanks to your comment I now noticed, is that the moment the truth is revealed, he's broken. Literally, his reflection in the mirror is broken, and like a broken clock, the mirror works perfectly in that instance. How the f do people write stuff like this? How do you even try ...
and that's just one scene :]
Tommy Wiseau
Aydin R Hahaha, what a suggestion Mark!
Anyway how's your sex life?
Aydin R
YOU’RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Oh hi Mark
Oh hi doggie!
It's sad that Billy Wilder is no longer a household name considering what a massive influence he had on cinema, and what an all-around great director and screenwriter he was. Those four films you mentioned, in particular, will go down in history as being among the greatest movies ever made.
And his versatility was truly astonishing. My other top five directors (Alfred Hitchcock, Asghar Farhadi, Elia Kazan and Preston Sturges) all mostly stuck to one genre (thriller, drama, drama and comedy, respectively), whereas Wilder (whom I place between Hitch and Farhadi) was equally comfortable in comedy, drama, thriller, film noir, courtroom drama, romance, war story, you name it. That is really rare, especially considering just how *good* he was in all of them.
It was a treat to see a video about such a great filmmaker!
True. He's directed a bunch of classics: Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like it Hot, and The Apartment. There's also some other great ones like Sabrina and The Seven Year Itch.
and English is not even his first language. Amazing artist!!
Every film fan should know Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder is in like top 20 most popular directors and he has 6 oscars
is that your opinion? or were you just told to think that?
@@cmiller1515 he saw this in his recommended videos ,and commented to seem interesting
It's true, if you're really interested in films it would be a sin not to know who Billy Wilder was. Unless you don't watch old movies
@@cmiller1515 if you're interrested by movies from hollywood's golden age , you MUST know Billy Wilder . he's a genius . he wrote/directed some classic film noirs, comedies, dramas... he's the shit.
Billy Wilder was the shit. "Ace in the hole" is still one of the best satires on media out there.
What a beautiful presentation of Billy Wilder! You illustrated the multiple genres within his best films, and you described the depth of his talent which includes a sense of humanity, something not everyone notices when attempting to analyze his genius. Thank you! 🙏
Welp, time for me to Google Billy Wilder's entire filmography and marathon it this weekend.
He's made a whooooole lotta films. Good luck with that.
+Samuelito G 26, he can menage
Other than the four he mentioned, check out Ace In the Hole, Stalag 17, and The Lost Weekend. Those three gems never get discussed as much as they should.
Too true. But it is kinda reassuring watching Ace in the Hole and realize that its the same as it's ever been.
Ace in the Hole is one of my all-time favourites. Brilliant film
its sad how people have forgotten Ernst Lubitsch, the one worshiped by Billy Wilder. He made masterpieces like To Be or Not to be, Trouble in paradise,Ninotchika and quite a great many silent features too. The younger generation seem to think cinema only started with The Godfather
They think Quentin Tarantino or Christopher Nolan are the best filmmakers alive. The oldest movie they have ever seen is probably The Godfather. The best movie they have ever seen is Fight Club.
That pretty much defines it.
MumRah357 well people have opinions you know, don’t be an asshole
Please tell me more. 🙏
Well, it's good to share this information about these crafts in filmmaking. I don't see how hard it is to go out there and share these old movies and great movies.
@@MumRah357 you reading me or something ?
I don't get enough recommendations of movies like this one
I will sure start to see it
I learned more from these videos than writing class! Which explains why every new video makes my day.
Azeez Alkalidy same here Dogg!
Azeez Alkalidy Same man! :)
This is my writing class😂
I plan on becoming an author or screenwriter so this guy is my only hope
"I've always heard that you had some talent"
"That was last year. This year I'm trying to make a living"
As a writer, I cannot imagine not knowing about Billy Wilder. He's easily the best to ever do it, which is doubly impressive in that English was his second language, and he directed his own films. The only writer I know of to come close is Ernest Lehman, who wrote HItchcock's North By Northwest, as well as the film I consider to have the greatest film dialogue of all time - Sweet Smell of Success.
I recommend his film Ace in the Hole, which was the Nightcrawler of the 1950's - very similar subject matter, but AITH is *way* darker. It's so dark, it was essentially forgotten for over half a century. It's on blu-ray now in the Criterion Collection.
racewiththefalcons1 The dialogue in Sweet Smell of Success is a pure perfection. Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster gave amazing performances. Ace in the Hole is actually the first Kirk Douglas picture I saw. Will never forget the scene were his character explaines to the young journalist that "good news is no news".The Lost Weekend is also very dark but in a different way.
I always forget Wilder made The Lost Weekend. Thanks for the reminder!
The dialog in Sweet Smell of Success is to die for. So fucking sharp.
Sweet smell of success is purely perfect
Actually Ernest Lehman didn't really write much of Sweet Smell of Success. The dialogue was predominantly written by Clifford Odets. newrepublic.com/article/86133/david-thomson-sweet-smell-success
Excellent video. The more Wilder movies I see, the more my esteem for him grows. He is probably not only my favorite screenwriter, but director as well. And its not by choice. I just cannot deny it. No one has ever captured the totality of the human experience as perfectly as Wilder.
The best screenwriter? Me. I've never produced a single shitty movie!
It's easy to have a clean record when you have no record.
Nah! Not no record! My movies all didn't come out on no VHS, and later no DVD! No records are for no music. But speaking of that, I'm also the greatest musician ever. And the best race driver. Never lost any race!
...well played.
Mikosch2>> *applause*
Not a single good one either.
I grew up on Wilder movies, THE APARTMENT one of my personal favorites. I have turned numerous people on to his work. I is nice to see some much needed appreciation for his work. Thanks!
0:22 I thought Billy Wilder was a name everyone knew. Just as recognizable as John Ford or Orson Welles.
In this age of bro-cinephiles, most people don't know about these guys, which is just sad.
+Matheus Villela what are bro-cinephiles?
You know, these guys who think Christopher Nolan is the best filmmaker of all time and just love the action-sci-fi movies of the 80's they grew up with, but who know pratically nothing about movies from before the 70's, or even movies that aren't super popular. Most youtube movie reviewers.
Prefuckingcisely. They are the equivalent of teenage girls who think Adele is the greatest musician ever.
They talk about Quentin Tarantino, Marvel movies and Christopher Nolan, but don’t know who Billy Wilder, Luis Buñuel or Ingmar Bergman are
Great video.
I´ve watched Some Like It Hot recently and was amazed by how funny it still is and how well it holds up (the dialogue is so incredible well written).
I think Wilders style has a lot to do with his biography, starting as a screenwriter for light comedies in Germany in the late 1920s and havin to escape from the Nazis in the early 1930s. Havin seen the best and worst of humanity probably shaped his style of writing and directing.
(Interestingly, he was the first choice for directing Schindler´s List but declined because of his age)
Oh I love Billy Wilder. His first film as a major director, The Major and The Minor, was one I fell in love with as a young teen. I need to see more of his films
The writing of The Major and the Minor is gold. Funny, intelligent, and multi-layered. Wilder and Brackett at their best.
@@jorgeponce5512 EXACTLY.
@@fansofst.maximustheconfess8226 In The Major and the Minor, Wilder and Brackett already show the contrast between the more idealistic and patriotic rural Middle America, as represented by both the Major (Ray Milland) and the Minor (Ginger Rogers) vs the New York-based, self-centered, financial elite represented by Mr Osborne (Robert Benchley), the dirty old man who makes a pass at Ginger in the first scene, while his wife is doing air raid drills, and who makes comments to her like "My only regret is that I have but one wife to give to my country" and "Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry Martini".
@@jorgeponce5512 Yup, spot on. Wilder's films have always been multi-layered and in many ways insightful. Fascinating btw., how with different collaborators the movies still retained his "Wilder touch". Brackett or Iz Diamond on their own were rarely as good as when they were collaborating with Billy W. A fun side note: For "Double Indemnity" Wilder turned even crotchy Raymond Chandler into a top tier screenwriter - the anecdotes about their collaboration are nothing but hilarious! 🙄
@@fansofst.maximustheconfess8226 You are right. Billy has said that Chandler was great at dialogue, not so much at plot development and structure, for which he preferred Agatha Christie.
Billy Wilder is an UNBELIEVABLY consistent director, out of his 25 movies on IMDB, only 3 of them have a rating less than 7 (none less than 6). SEVEN of them have an above-8 rating:
Double Indemnity (1944) - 8.3
Sunset Blvd. (1950) - 8.4
Ace in the Hole (1951) - 8.1
Stalag 17 (1953) - 8.0
Witness for the Prosecution (1957) - 8.4
Some Like It Hot (1959) - 8.2
The Apartment (1960) - 8.3
For comparison, Vertigo and Citizen Kane both got 8.3. Not that IMDB is the final word, but it's got to count for something.
Prefer the 5 star system, as w general generals, not cereals ...2 much leverage = critic citizen power. Artist are originators.
I just watched The Apartment and it was beautiful. It's definitely a movie of its time but the characters and dialogue are superb.
The thing is that despite sociological changes and changes of styles of dress and manners, a powerful story cuts through all of that and remains in the most important sense, timeless. Wilder achieved this extraordinary result quite often: a result any screenwriter would give their eye teeth for. A strong and moving story with real and emotionally 'true' dialogue cuts through time like a hot knife through butter. Just watch "Double Indemnity" ~ the pleasure of it being a period piece is truly overwhelmed by the story and the dialogue which ring desperately true on almost every level of human emotion and desire. "Sunset Boulevard" is a masterpiece of tragedy; brilliantly written, performed and shot. The result, emotionally and intellectually, is simply staggering and, once again, timeless. Billy Wilder was most certainly a cut above the rest.
@James Bryan yes
ACE IN THE HOLE might be my favorite Wilder movie, because it shows how low one can truly sink for success.
The Apartment is one of the best movies ever made.
I don't like it, but there's a lot of people who agree with you. Sunset Boulevard was a gem, though.
@@Ketutar why don’t you like it?
So happy that billy wilder is being acknowledged. Is and always will be my favourite director. Great video. Continue the amazing work sir
The 4 movies you mentioned by Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, and Sunset Boulevard) are some of my all time favorite movies. They're all seriously amazing films!
Does he spoil them? Can I watch it?
Kind of. But not the big spoilers!
Ace in the Hole is also vastly underrated
Agreed! Among the best movies ever made.
Wilder is my second favorite director, after Hitchcock.
TimeandMonotony Hitchcock and Wilder are actually my two favorite directors as well!
If someone is interested in less known movies, by Billy Wilder. I strongly recommend "Ace in the Hole" and "Witness for the Prosecution", which, I believe, are one of the best movies I saw, and should be mentioned with the four we heard about in the video.
Also, my personal favourite, "Avanti!" which may be not greatest movie of all times, but certainly have a great deal of magic.
But to be honest, I saw 21 of his movies (out of 27 he directed) and i dislike maybe two of them, so... You can't go wrong with Billy Wilder.
Avanti is a film where the things that are wrong with it bother me less and less each time I watch it.
Yes! The Lost Weekend and Stalag 17 are also excellent.
Stalag 17 is one of my favourite films....so funny and dry, but with so much heart and depth.
Witness For the Prosecution is 👌👌👌
Ace in the Hole is great
This channel is so interesting, I was a bit iffy about it at first because I’ve heard so many differing opinions on how to tell a good story, but that’s not a bad thing. Listening to different critics can be really helpful and it can give you a broader perspective on art
Holy Cow! The broken mirror to show a broken man is genius.
*woman. Important distinction.
"The broken mirror to show a broken man is genius."
Not really. It's a pretty common metaphor, like in Snow White.
The mirror on the wall just reflects the queen's insecurities.
@@nossasenhoradoo871 Woah, bro - mirrors, like, show us ourselves but also show other people showing us ourselves.
Wait, what?
@@fuzzydunlop7928
"but also show other people showing us ourselves"
G-d you're so right!
I find it interesting that there are lots of writer-director hyphenates on the list considering this list was polled from working screenwriters. When I was a student I had to read a lot of screenplays written solely by screenwriters, not hyphenates. Can you do a vid that highlights the different styles/techniques between the two? Is there a difference? Is this a changing trend? Thank you! I love your vids.
My, favorite screenwriter and director, The Apartment and Some Like It Hot are two of my favorite movies of all-time. Great video. Now I have to watch more Ernst Lubitch
I binged almost his entire filmography last month and I'm floored by how versatile he is. Before this, I had considered Tarantino the King of dialogue driven film. Wilder takes that crown easily because of sheer variety alone.
And holy crap does his dialogue hold up amazingly well. Watch any other film from the golden age of Hollywood, and even in the well touted classics, the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. Wilder's is truly timeless, like the best literature. He's somewhat similar to Kubrick in the sense that Kubrick was able explore and even master a plethora of genres. Only difference is while Kubrick's versatility was always more epic and grand in scope, Wilder's variety was in more self-contained, tight and personal stories.
Between the four you had already mentioned, alongside Ace in the Hole, Witness for the Prosecution, Stalag 17, The Long Weekend and One Two Three, nobody is close to this guy when it comes to the writing side of filmmaking.
I had not heard of the Lubitsch touch until this video. Now that you have explained it, I realize that I have seen it many times before, but not understood it. It seems to me to be a version of Chekov's gun. But a version that is used with a subtle touch. In the example of "The Love Parade", we see the sword being held by Chevalier's character, but pay it no mind, even after he sheaths the sword prior to entering the bedroom. You could even argue that the entire sequence prior to Chevalier's character going to liaise with the queen is dipped in Freudian overtones, but it just plays out right. Nothing is rushed, the scene unfolds organically. Thanks for the vidoeo!
Well done, man! This was an excellent essay. I never knew who that guy was but now I’m interested in his work. The scene with the broken mirror was so masterfully done that it makes me want to look back at s script that I THOUGHT was finished. Keep it up!
Neat little filmmaking detail at 6:50
The light on his face reflected from the mirror is actually from an external light source. You see it fade out instead of move when he closes the lid.
It’s cool that they thought to add that to bring the small object more into the wide shot
Talking in depth about a classic filmmaker, like from before 1970? Thank you.
Nice job. I doubt I watched the four movies you highlighted (maybe The Apartment) but COVID 19 is telling me that there is going to be a Wilder bingeing tonight!
I have a soft spot for Preston Sturges. He may not have been as versatile as Wilder, but he was hilarious and socially conscience.
Excellent voice and clear speech, superb research and editing. *Very well done!*
People don't know Billy Wilder... interesting. Sometimes we do live in a bubble and forget that some thing that are familiar for us are not that familiar for people in general.
I think it was a poor and frankly condescending commentary and I think this dude needs to have a little more respect for his audience. Who does he really think is coming on youtube to look for videos talking about screenwriters? It's probably not casual film watchers...
@@davedanger9839 I do not know who he is and it's quite normal for people never heard of this writer. People born after the 90s probably never heard of him. I do not know him just as normal tech geek do not know P = NP. Loving film does not mean I have to know a dude from the black and white age.
@@davedanger9839 totally agree. it's not like he's talking about some obscure filmmaker from an indie background ffs it's billy wilder. even if you're not into films that much you would've heard his name mentioned somewhere.
Frankly, I knew him, as a director. I didn't know he was a screenwriter, too.
@@Ketutar most of the big name directors of that era both wrote and directed their films.
Good to hear about some classics. Thanks for doing our research for us
I absolutely loved this video. I've been a fan of wilder ever since a film class I took last year. I'd love to see one about Paddy Chayevsky
This was a nice surprise! Great video, as always.
Do most people not know who Wilder is nowadays? That's sad.
That was my reaction too. When he first said 'a name you might not know," I was confused. He's made some of the most universally-beloved films of all time.
Just a Lonely Blobfish We saw the apartment in middle school. My teacher loved Wilder's films. I do too now.
I had never heard of him :/ But I wil be checking out his films now, for sure
That's awesome! I personally think "The Apartment" is one of the ten best films of all time, and "Double Indemnity" is probably to 20 for me.
Are you really surprised? Most people don't search for films beyond the year 1980. Late 70s at best. Older American films may as well be foreign. No one watches em anymore.
What an amazing, amazing video, it really made my day seeing you uploaded today :) Thank you so much for putting in all the effort into creating such a well researched, edited and narrated video!
Love Billy Wilder and I do think he has some other brilliant films. I've always been a golden age Hollywood film fan and would love to see/hear you do more on them.
Loved it. It did make me sad when you said most would not have heard of Billy Wilder.
Not an older film but I would love to see you analyse three billboards!
Great essay. I watched Sunset Blvd recently with a little podcast group. We all loved it. You'll never have a better introduction to a character than William Holden's. Pitching a beloved idea for a story and letting it be totally mutilated without a twitch because he needs the money.
Billy Wilder is the Moses of screenwriters
Viking12 why Moses, I wonder.
@@vishalmokamati9333 He led us together to the promised land of Perfect Filmmaking.
He should have been drowned as an infant?
@@thisismyname3928 😂🤣
@@vishalmokamati9333 because Moses supposes his toeses are Roses, but Moses supposes erroneously, Moses he knowses his toeses aren't roses, as Moses supposes his toeses to be!
And now I need to watch this man's work. You make his works sound like everything I enjoy in storytelling.
Re Ernst Lubitsch, check out one of his first Hollywood films, Trouble in Paradise (1932). It should be required viewing for all aspiring scriptwriters.
Thank you for showing me this writer. A lot of writers can learn from this...
Not much of a film fan if you haven´t heard of Billy Wilder. What a genius.
Well now I've heard
Folks, look, I get it. Everyone now feels they must weigh in on who they think is the best. But that was not the point to this video. It’s a device used to get you to click. The point to this video was a very well crafted and synopsis on Billy Wilder. It matters not who you think is the best. My man is telling you why we should understand why Wilder is the best. And more to the directive of this channel, what we can learn from Mr Wilder.
Gore Vidal once wrote that the greatest screenplay he had ever read was LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS, and after watching this film, along with LE QUAI DES BRUMES and LE ROI ET L'OISEAU, all written by Jacques Prévert, I can see why Gore Vidal would say this.
Thank you for shining a spotlight on of my favorite screenwriters ever! You rock!
Ok but the apartment and some like it hot are some of my fav films
I just always want your videos to be longer. Thanks for all you do.
Whenever I think of Billy Wilder I think of his - canonically - gay Sherlock Holmes, which I saw before any other Sherlock Holmes adaptation when I was very young. And which, to this day, still gravely affects the image I have of Sherlock Holmes. (It's a hilarious movie btw. If you don't know it, please go watch it!)
Dude, that was so thoughtful, amazing. Good job. You got me laughing, hard !
Are there any examples of the Lubitsch touch in modern time?
IMO, Edgar Wright. Every Frame a Painting has a good explanation of that view.
Shane Black might be another example. Also - obviously - Scorsese constructs his scenes in a similar way.
Any Coen brothers film
@@Buttsmoker i was about to answer just that, a little Sturges/Capra into the mix also
The film you got an e mail is an example of a modern movie based in a film of Lubitsch. The original movie was The Shop around the corner maybe the best film of him in my opinion.
When I saw the thumbnail for this my heart sank a little because I’m kind of fed up with hearing about the “genius” of most of the people on the picture. So when I found out the video is actually about Wilder I was really happy! Great director, and someone we should be talking more about! I especially love “one, two, three...” but that’s probably just because I’m german.
You hit the nail on the head about Billy’s movies. He knew how to end a story.
To get an idea of what an old noire movie looks like and to get ideas for a detective series, i recently watched Double Indemnity...
I never thought a movie that old could capture me on my chair :D
I went watching it without knowing who acted, wrote and directed it. Now im in love with it
As much as I love Tarantino and the Coens, my choice would be Billy Wilder too
It's very close, to me, between Wilder and the Coen Bros... I think Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, and Raising Arizona, on top of Burn After Reading, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, and True Grit really highlight their versatility. I'd still put Wilder ahead of them, but only just... Wilder had myriad classic films, but he also had A LOT of duds... The Coen have had a few bad movies, but the vast majority are somewhere from good to outstanding.
@@davedanger9839 fair point but Billy Wilders hits heavily outweigh his misses. Either way his films are much more iconic, critically acclaimed, and better than some of the Coen Bros. films. And if I’m going to be honest I think they are a bit overrated.
I already knew everything about Wilder and his style. But thanks for the summary.
One of my favorite movies is Wilder's Stalag 17.
I've learned so much from this channel that it's amazing to me to see one of my favorite storytellers being talked about here! Thank you!
"...a name you might not've heard..."
My movie fanatic ass was way proud that i do know of him. Good day to you! 😂
I really appreciate this video. And it feels good to see you showing love to one of my favourite filmmakers I know.
Aunque soy fan número 1 de Wilder ,digo también que Woody Allen merece estar en la lista.
Fantastic video, thanks for just focusing on one person with a lot of detail
Ethan and Joel, woody allen, Bergman
I think this has been one of the best video essays to not come from screenwriter1 or lessons from the screenplay in such a long time. Engaging, informative and interesting all at the same time. Amazing
charlie kaufman obviously
he has 4 brilliant films (and 1 pretty good one, and one I've not seen) - Eternal Sunshine, Adaptation, and Synechdoche are masterpieces... Wilder and the Coen Brothers are better still...
@Alexander Supertramp I didn't know that this was a debate... Number of iconic works... accessibility without losing quality of content. Just different styles and while Kaufman is my favorite writer of all time, the Coens and Wilder are far more influential and that with the other points makes me say that they are greater. Really though, it's just picking between the best of the best and Kaufman deserves to be in the discussion.
@Alexander Supertramp is it okay with you if I have my opinion now?
I was not expecting the answer to be Billy Wilder, but I was very pleasant surprised. I love his movies. I think Otto Preminger was one of my favorite directors of that era. Thanks for the video. You did a great job.
Billy Wilder, what's crazy is German was his first language. "Ace in the Hole" is another masterpiece of his.
And apparently, he learned English after he went to US by watching movies.
Learning another language fosters creativity because you literally have to learn to hold two patterns in your mind at the same time to be fluent in both.
I keep coming back to this video. It's so good.
I saw the title and thought, “They better say Billy Wilder.” Thank goodness I don’t have to pop some spinach on this vid.
I don't watch many movies or read many novels. But I never knew that Billy Wilder existed before this video. And thanks to you, I might see some of his movies. It feels like he was a good screenwriter and really knew how to make human characters with comedy and tragedy mixed together to form movies that almost resemble life itself.
"It's like a Russian nesting doll of sadness"
Stop stealing my dating site 'About Me'.
I just finished a book, "Watching Wilder," which is being used exclusively (for now) by a film class at UTEP. It explores 25 of his directorial efforts in the U.S. the 26th, "The Death Mills," was hard to find, and is a documentary, so I left it out of the anthology of his works. The course is titled, "Cinematic Auteurs," so I didn't feel I could include the many films he co-wrote or wrote but did not direct. This video will be included in my syllabus, to accompany "Watching Wilder." Well done!
Tarantino - I know many people hate the guy, but he is literally our "Hitchcock" of our time. Just listen carefully to his films, he truly is a master screenwriter, dialogue, character. Sure I'm not necessarily big fan of his over-the-top gore and guts style, but his dialogue is masterful.
He has no idea of how to write dialogue for women... He just writes male lines and has women say them. Its pretty awful. He can direct a film for an editor but I have to disagree on his writing I find it mostly, insufferable
@@DarkMysteriousObject but what's a male line and what's a women line? I understand not liking his dialogue but idk about that
@@DarkMysteriousObject that's a good thing. He writes dialougue for people, not necessarily men or women. Any good actor/actress could play a Tarantino character
@@ethanbunch1948 Listen to it and then tell me... his whole schtick it arch and stagy, boring and predictable. If you enjoy it... well thats all that matters...
@@venatr2865 You made my point for me... Any actor, good or bad can play a tarantino character because there is no depth to them, just a bunch of inchoate lines strung together like grey underwear hanging on a clothes line.
Just saw Once upon a time... The overall project is evident: to evict real life and real people from the art film and replace them with generic teases and assorted hommages which is really the theme of most of his films.... No life experiences of the old movie sources to leak through; punchy, flamboyant surface is all.
Been there, done that.... Enjoy
Amazing narrative and insight. Absolutely appreciate the time that went into analyzing the subject.
Hell yeah I love Billy Wilder
Your efforts really paid off. Great work!
When I first saw the title of this, I immediately thought, they'll be too stupid to recognize that the answer is . . . Billy Wilder! Holy crap! They got it right!!!
This was pretty much my thought process.
That was an awesome video! I always enjoyed how people are able to capture the realities of life in films. Just started watching your Channel today watched about 8 videos and join them all! Good show! Keep it going!
Hollywood talking about Hollywood and ignoring the rest of the world.
Great video! Thanks for the knowledge! Thanks for your thoughtful point of view and awesome editing.
As a matter of fact, it was Diamond who came up with the line "nobody's perfect", not Wilder
And even that in itself is funny! 😎
Great stuff! It may me difficult, but I will definitely try to use this in my writing.
That segway tho
It's segue, you fucking inbred
Watching Jack Lemon cook spaghetti with a tennis racquet is classic! Love me some Billy-
Some like it hot is such a brilliant film. It's one of the few films that have me laughing all the way through :)
Love the choice. Thought it right before you said it. And great video on why he is the best. 100%
i think i lose hope on writing each time i sit and think about it
Great video essay and insights :) I just love Wilder‘s films..
Why is everyone acting all offended like Billy Wilder is a household name? We live in an era where American films past the 70s might as well be foreign films; nobody's watching em. Let's not kid ourselves here.
The mainstream toda y has different rules that mainstream in THAT period
Bravo sir. If you keep making videos like this, you will certainly have my viewership.