Billy Wilder 1961-1981 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 9)

About the episode

Hollywood’s 1960s began with Billy Wilder winning three Oscars for The Apartment. But Wilder’s biggest success would also prove to be his last film to be afforded such respectability, as Wilder largely abandoned the type of material that the Academy embraced, and veered gleefully into disreputability. Of the 9 films Wilder made in the 20 years after The Apartment, in this episode we’ll pay special attention to three that were engaged with the rapidly changing culture – in Hollywood and beyond: One, Two, Three (1961); Avanti (1972); and Fedora (1978). (00:00) Wilder’s Long Journey to Weirdness (10:50) Wilder in the 1960s and pre-production on Avanti! (22:18) Italy, Juliet Mills, and Generational Strife (29:18) Critical Reappraisal and Legacy (36:50) Fedora and the Ghost of Sunset Boulevard (46:04) “A quintessential old man’s film” (56:25) Wilder’s Last Films and Later Life