Billy Wilder – Brandon Talks Movies

The Apartment

“Ya know, I used to live like Robinson Crusoe—I mean, shipwrecked among 8 million people. And then one day I saw a footprint in the sand, and there you were.”

Many films that have tried to seamlessly blend tragedy and comedy together. This took off in the 90s and is still going strong today with films like Life is Beautiful, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Sideways. But in 1960, long before this was popular, The Apartment pulled it off beautifully. Directed by Billy Wilder (Some Like it Hot, Sunset Boulevard) and starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, this film is at times funny and silly and at other times dark and depressing, and the change is never jolting. It also deals with depression in a way that’s way ahead of its time. I had never seen this film before today, and it’s now one of my favorite classic films. If you like a little darkness with your comedy, this might be the perfect classic film for you.

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“What are you afraid of? No one’s asking you to have a baby!”

Every once in awhile, a movie comes along that’s so hot and wildly funny that it gets banned in Kansas. The 1959 movie Some Like it Hot is one such movie. Directed by Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity) and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, this is widely considered one of the best comedies of all time. Though fairly tame by today’s standards, it was wildly inappropriate when it was released. More progressive cities like L.A. gave it a standing ovations, while other cities had people walking out (and, as I mentioned, it was initially banned in my home state of Kansas). But the movie is still hilarious today, and worth seeing for any comedy fan.

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