Ace in the Hole (1951)

[K1stpierre]

Discuss

[bartonfink]

Brilliantly sharp and creepy satire. Billy Wilder was one of the greatest filmmakers ever.

[TalismanRing]

Wilder an Kirk in top form.  Deeply cynical yet emotionally devastating - showing how the media and the public can make a sideshow circus out of the tragedy of others.   

[TalismanRing]

Brilliantly sharp and creepy satire. Billy Wilder was one of the greatest filmmakers ever.

 

Agreed, and there aren't many truly great directors who are equally great writers. A master.

 

Double Indemnity

The Lost Weekend

Stalag 17

Sunset Blvd

Ace In The Hole

Sabrina

Witness For The Prosecution

Some Like It Hot

The Apartment

One, Two, Three

The Fortune Cookie

 

Even his lesser work, The Major & The Minor, Love In The Afternoon, Avanti etc is rather good.

Edited September 14, 2014 by TalismanRing

[bartonfink]

Agreed, and there aren't many truly great directors who are equally great writers. A master.

 

Double Indemnity

The Lost Weekend

Stalag 17

Sunset Blvd

Ace In The Hole

Sabrina

Witness For The Prosecution

Some Like It Hot

The Apartment

One, Two, Three

The Fortune Cookie

 

Even his lesser work, The Major & The Minor, Love In The Afternoon, Avanti etc is rather good.

 

And don't forget The Seven Year Itch.

[Blankments]

My professor paused this a bit too much to actually rate this, but I can still tell it's a very good film. A meditation on desperate people and the depravity they can accomplish, Ace in the Hole works thanks to a strong lead performance and a very tight script (besides the last two minutes - yikes). It also brilliantly highlights everybody's attraction to the macabre in a way rarely displayed in cinema. Very strong work.

 

Side note: Kirk Douglas looks a lot like Michael Douglas. I know it should be obvious, but I'd never seen a Kirk Douglas film before so yeah.

[johanny]

Looks a nice movie. Can't find it anywhere

[Jake Gittes]

Brilliant up until the ending which smacks of Hays Code. The social commentary hasn't aged a day. Douglas' performance is ridiculously good, one of the most ferocious I've ever seen in any movie.