chanandre
28Mar12
there are still a costa-gavras around...
Wall
Displaying wall posts 1 - 30 of 34 in total
LifeofFiction
22May12
The profound themes and the absolutely electric structuring make this one of the best films ever made.
Coheed 2.0
20May12
The heavy-handedness of the main issue did undermine the film for me, far too unsubtle when a more controlled, but still this cynical, tone would have made it still scathing and striking for me. When Kirk Douglas goes beyond being a soulless bastard this film gets far more interesting, awash with beautiful yet overbearing cinematography, getting closer to the unsettling ideas its trying to reach and a great ending.
Alexander Robino
17Mar12
So scathing you would swear it had been directed by Fueller. And it's beautifully photographed!
Marcelo Pereira
22Dec11
I don't see it as a bad piece of work (it's well written and constructed), but once it was over I couldn't help thinking: so what, Billy Wilder?
Dave
25Jun11
it’s not just the media that Wilder attacks – he lampoons everyone involved. Even the general public – the audience of the film included – is ridiculed, as Wilder mocks how willingly people enjoy the misery created by people like Tatum. This is Wilder at his most cynical, as everyone is shown to be a buffoon. A classic, very much ahead of its time.
film_lies101 and Rohit like this
Lee
4May11
When I first watched this I was utterly shocked. It has venom in its veins and it is literally decades ahead of its times. Also, Kirk Douglas walks such a perfect line between hero and villain. Billy Wilder aint nothing to fuck with.
Derriere Garde likes this
Zachary George Najarian-Najafi
8Jan11
Two words: brutal and uncompromising. Ace in the Hole may be Wilder's best film, and it's ripe for re-discovery because its subject matter has never been more relevant. Kirk Douglas shines as Tatum, delivering Wilder's cynical dialogue with a punch. In fact the whole movie is a punch to the gut. The cinematography is amazing with perfect light and shadow play, and the landscapes dwarf the characters. Masterpiece.
film_lies101 and Rohit like this
Anastasia
7Jan11
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Except nowadays no one would have the guts to produce this nowadays. One of the darkest films of the 50s.
film_lies101 and 2 others like this
JP. Schmidt
22Jul10
One of my favorite final frames of a film I've seen, and final lines too probably.
thesecretlivesofcats
13May10
This was very depressing. Kirk Douglas' character is the hero and the nemesis. Well, I know he's evil, but Douglas gives him a glimmer of humanity to make the whole bad situation that much more distressing
BenDrummer
24Mar10
Very much an influence for "There Will Be Blood" ,in terms of cinematography, this underrated Billy Wilder film has one of my favourite performances ever from Kirk Douglas.
Jazzaloha
23Jan10
Startling that this was made in 1950's Hollywood. The last 30 minutes was almost too painful to watch. There's an opportunity for some redemption and a fairly gratifying ending for audiences, but Wilder refuses, and rides that bleak boat all the way. Wow.
film_lies101 likes this
Daniel S.
6Oct09
What striked me the most about ACE IN THE HOLE is the feeling that every detail Billy Wilder put on the screen was meaningful. For instance, I wondered for a long time why Wilder insisted so heavily on Sheriff Gus Kretzer's baby rattlesnake until the scene of Tatum/Lorraine's final confrontation. And so on. This is first class cinema. An award in Venice and three Academy awards nominations. Masterpiece.
film_lies101 likes this
Spencer Draper
5Sep09
His best film, and after it's disastrous release he retreated into light fare and comedies until the 60's. Probably the most scathing film noir ever made. (More so than Lang films in parts.)
film_lies101 likes this
Shaheen Schleifer
6Jun09
Simply brilliant. Anyone in Europe who scathes about the fact that the 'business' in movie business is valued more than the art or intelligence should lock themselves in a room with the collected works of Billy Wilder and John Huston, and sit themselves down for an education in how to make such films effortlessly.
SERKAN MOLVAY
10Mar09
this film story good drama beatiful filmnoir, this film see then alternative referance film = Network.