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A Foreign Affair (1948) More at IMDbPro »

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3 items from 2012

25 May 2012 10:06 AM, PDT | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »

Hollywood goes for blockbuster returns on Memorial Day, but how do the Us-centric hyper-macho films perform overseas?

Memorial Day is fast approaching, so naturally one's thoughts turn to the Fallen, and to the shared sacrifice of European and American continents as they united in common cause against the spectre of global tyranny. But that's enough about the reviews for Battleship.

"A preposterously lunkheaded salute to American naval machismo" snorted Tim Robey in The Daily Telegraph. "It seems that the Us Navy is as much committed to the production of this film as is the toy company" opined Le Monde's Thomas Sotinel. As news of the hostile European reception spread, American critics equipped their reviews with a pre-emptive Euro-snob missile defense shield. "That the movie didn't exactly receive hosannas in Europe should surprise absolutely no one. This is a Super-American movie," bristled Jeff Simon of Buffalo News. "It would be like »

- Tom Shone

9 May 2012 11:00 AM, PDT | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »

There are few directors that had a career like Billy Wilder‘s. There are probably none that reached his level of skill and notability while staying as diverse as a storyteller. The man did drama and comedy with equal acuity, but his dominance of filmmaking almost didn’t happen. Born in what is now present-day Poland, Wilder left for Paris during the initial rise of the Nazi party in Germany and soon left for the States. He got out early, yes, but it’s difficult to think about the magic he’s delivered without being reminded that but for a few years he may have found himself a victim of the fear-mongering and murder that befell European Jews at the height of Hitler. Fortunately, he did get out and did go on to craft some of the best scripts and movies of the era (and, you know, of all time). His breakout was writing the hilarious Best »

- Cole Abaius

27 March 2012 1:44 PM, PDT | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

"I want to thank three persons,” said Michel Hazanavicius, accepting the 2012 Best Picture Oscar for “The Artist.” “I want to thank Billy Wilder, I want to thank Billy Wilder and I want to thank Billy Wilder.” He wasn’t the first director to namecheck Wilder in an acceptance speech. In 1994, Fernando Trueba, accepting the Foreign Language Film Oscar for "Belle Epoque" quipped, "I would like to believe in God in order to thank him. But I just believe in Billy Wilder... so, thank you Mr. Wilder." Wilder reportedly called the next day "Fernando? It's God."

So just what exactly was it that inspired these men to expend some of the most valuable seconds of speechifying airtime they'll ever know, to tip their hats to Wilder? And can we bottle it?

Born in a region of Austria/Hungary that is now part of Poland, Wilder's story feels like an archetype of »

- Oliver Lyttelton

3 items from 2012