CD-Charts Position 1
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Some Like It Hot - Special Edition [1959]

starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O'Brien
directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date November 26, 2001
This film appeals on so many levels - it's a farce, a sophisticated comedy, a gangster movie, a musical - some classic lines and probably a good contender for the best last line ever. Please watch this, it's that good.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

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The Apartment [1960]

starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen
directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date November 26, 2001
The apartment is one of the essential Christmas movies along with the other black and white classics - It's a wonderful life, Miracle on 34th Street, Some like it hot and Scrooge. It's a fantastic film for a cold, dark December night and seems to work best at that time of year, just like The odd couple or Rear window work best in summer.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

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Sunset Boulevard [1950]

starring: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark
directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date April 07, 2003
She's ready, but are you ready for her? In this magnificent film, Billy Wilder bites the hands that feeds him. Gloria Swanson dazzles as desperate, faded silent movie star Norma Desmond, who is trying to claw her way back to the top after years of seclusion in her Hollywood mansion on Sunset Boulvard. However, her time has been and gone, and at fifty years old, this seems impossible. When Joe Gillis (Holden), an equally desperate screenwriter, happens upon her mansion while fleeing some debt collectors, he finds the perfect way to make some money by using Norma. However, will he be able to escape her wrath when she discovers the truth? After all, in the immortal words of Desmond, "No-one ever leaves a star, that's what makes one a star....."

CD-Charts Position 4
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Double Indemnity

starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Jean Heather
directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date February 12, 2007
the theme by now has been done to death itself of two evil lovers plotting the murder of an older spouse to claim his riches ,

that stanwyck is typecast as the hard -blonde who kills without flinching an eyelid and fred is a very atypical insurance agent who falls for a blonde woman of dubious charmS is even more shaky,

but there are delights indeed ,the sharp images ,lyrical shadows ,incisive dialogues and a taut narrative which keep your attention despite the flaws,

and that is billy wilder telling a story and he seldom can go wrong or enter the world of cliches despite being in a stereotyped los angeles where no one is an angel and money is the altar to worship,

i find the movie over-hyped and improbable ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

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Avanti [1972]

starring: Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Clive Revill, Edward Andrews, Gianfranco Barra
directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date June 07, 2004
When "Avanti!" was released in 1972, the world and its cinema had changed irrevocably. This gentle, slightly slow moving romantic-comedy about not-so-hip people had no real place in a film world gripped by gritty realism, escalating cursing and the depiction of ultra-violence. Still "Avanti!" (it means "forward") was nominated for 6 Golden Globes and won one - Best Comedy Actor for Jack Lemmon.

Produced and Directed by the incomparable Billy Wilder, it featured a fabulously inventive and witty script from the dynamite duo of Wilder and his long-time writing buddy L.A.L. Diamond. Check this out. Clive Revill (Nominated as Best Comedy Supporting Actor) is in the Hotel bus on route with Lemmon from the airport telling the busy executive of Armbruster Enterprises ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

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Marilyn Monroe - The Best Of Marilyn : Gentlemen Prefer Blondes / Seven Year Itch / How To Marry A Millionaire / The Final Days Documentary (4 Disc Box Set)

starring: Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, William Powell, James Coburn, Jane Russell
directed by: Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder, Jean Negulesco

Release Date June 19, 2006
This is a good boxset for a new Marilyn fan or one who wants only a few of her films, for they are her most famous ones (although I think it should include 'Some Like it Hot' too.) All of them are pretty short (all under an hour forty-five) but they're all very good.

How to Marry a Millionaire - 1953. Marilyn plays Pola Debevoise, a short-sighted dumb blonde who wants to, well, marry a millionaire, like her friends Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall (who out of the three is the principal character). The film is light and funny, and 'creamy'!

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - 1953. Marilyn plays gold-digging Lorelei Lee in this musical. The film is probably best known for the song 'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend' - excellent by the way - but in fact all of the songs ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

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Sabrina [1954]

starring: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Walter Hampden, John Williams
directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date September 03, 2001
Everybody loves a good Cinderella story, especially if it has a dash of realism and a sense of humour. And unbaked souffles.

And methinks it also helps the case if you have Audrey Hepburn as the modern Cinderella-with-a-wit, which is the strongest point in the charming little romance called "Sabrina." While the chemistry between Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart is never entirely believable, the movie is as buoyant and whimsical as a summer daydream, but with way better dialogue ("Bounce please, ladies").

Sabrina Fairchild (Hepburn) is the daughter of the chauffeur at the palatial Larabee estate. She's also in love with the ne'er-do-well second son, David (William Holden) -- and even attempts suicide after seeing him with one of his many girlfriends, although she's ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

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Some Like It Hot [1959]

starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O'Brien
directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date October 09, 2000
This film appeals on so many levels - it's a farce, a sophisticated comedy, a gangster movie, a musical - some classic lines and probably a good contender for the best last line ever. Please watch this, it's that good.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

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Irma La Douce [1963]

starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Lou Jacobi, Bruce Yarnell, Herschel Bernardi
directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date November 26, 2001
Billy Wilder had the wonderful idea of transferring "Irma La Douce" the musical, to the screen.The only problem was,that when he started to make it, he thought(rather oddly)that the songs slowed down the action!
So what did he do?Tighten up the script,drop an odd song or two?NO,he just ditched ALL the sung lyrics,and used the remaining music as background.
So if you think this is the musical, you are going to be sadly disappointed.
As the reviewer above had said it's a great comedy,but NOT the musical that many people were(and are looking) for.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

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The Fortune Cookie [1967]

starring: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich, Judi West, Cliff Osmond
directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date November 26, 2001
Excellent film, happily first viewed by myself courtesy of the good old BBC in the 70's, way back when they still showed decent films at Christmas (The Apartment etc) and every bit as enjoyable when watched again this weekend, & heaven knows on how many other occasions over the years!!.
I originally purchased this on the sadly dying Laserdisc format, but migrated when released on DVD for the convenience of not having to wrestle with 2 old disks and four sides. Think MGM have used the very same print for this issue as the minor imperfections in an otherwise superb image appear identical. Just go and buy it and immerse yourself in the fun, not sure why anyone would find the characters annoying, or feel that the film does not really go anywhere. The story finally returns full circle after ... Read More: