Cards on the table, Billy Wilder is definitely in my top 5, probably top 3 film directors. He's made many of my all-time favourite movies including "Ball Of Fire" (as co-writer), "Double Indemnity", "Sunset Boulevard", "Some Like It Hot", "The Apartment" and my personal favourite of his, "Ace In The Hole". Here, he's an amiable interviewee of a slightly starchy French reporter who asks him a series of reasonably interesting if not always essential questions about his life and work to date (the programme was shot in 1984).
One is struck immediately with the relatively modest surroundings Wilder inhabits. We first see him in his small, cluttered office. There's no P. A. in sight as Wilder responds frankly and pithily to his mild interrogation. Later we see him in his Malibu beach home and are guided through his priceless modern art collection, featuring works by Picasso, Chagall and Renoir, amongst others and finally he's giving his answers from a hammock in his garden.
His accent is still very thick Eastern European, drawing a parodic impersonation from Jack Lemmon, who chips in with the odd anecdote alongside his cinematic Siamese twin Walter Matthau, but Wilder is more interesting on his own. The one hour, location-switching format rather than a straight face to face encounter means that valuable time is lost as Wilder offers hospitality or small-talk to his guest but it was nice to see how hospitable he was, with no auteur hang-ups on display here.
There were insights into fascinating stars with whom he'd worked like Monroe, Laughton and Dietrich, but not a word about Bogart, Garbo or Swanson. Some films were barely touched upon, like "Sabrina", "Stalag 17" and "Irma La Douce" but what should you expect in in such an abbreviated programme.
Anyway, I saw enough to convince me that Wilder would have been great company, wise, amusing, friendly and generous. A must-see for fans of the great man.
