The Lost Weekend [Blu-ray]

Director: Billy Wilder Billy Wilder

Overview

Billy Wilder's searing portrait of an alcoholic features an Oscar-winning performance by Ray Milland as Don Birnam, a writer whose lust for booze consumes his career, his life, and his loves. The story begins as Don and his brother Wick (Philip Terry) are packing their bags in their New York apartment, preparing for a weekend in the country. Philip, aware of his brother's drinking problem, is keeping an eye of him, making sure he doesn't sneak a drink before the departure of their train. Arriving at the apartment is Don's girlfriend, Helen St. James (Jane Wyman), who has tickets to a Carnegie Hall concert that night. Don persuades Wick and Helen to go to the concert without him, hoping to find one of his well-hidden bottles of booze. But when Wick and Helen go to the concert, Don discovers that Wick has gotten rid of the liquor. Don has no money, so he can't visit the neighborhood bar -- that is, until the cleaning lady arrives to reveal money hidden in a sugar-bowl. Don grabs the cash and hits the street, heading off to Nat's Bar. Nat (Howard Da Silva), a bartender who has seen it all, is surprised to see Don. But when Don shows he can pay for his drinks, Nat reluctantly serves him, telling Don, "One's too many and a thousand's not enough." Soon Don plunges in an alcoholic haze, his boozing landing him in a harrowing drunk tank, presided over by the cynical attendant Bim (Frank Faylen).

Product Details

Release Date:	11/24/2020
UPC:	0738329251062
Original Release:	1945
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	21,660

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ray Milland	Don Birnam
Jane Wyman	Helen St. James
Howard da Silva	Nat
Philip Terry	Nick Birnam,Nick Birnam
Doris Dowling	Gloria
Frank Faylen	Bim
Mary Young	Señorita Deveridge
Anita Sharp-Bolster	Mrs. Foley
Lillian Fontaine	Mrs. St. James
Lewis L. Russell	Charles St. James
Frank Orth	Opera Attendant
Gisela Werbiseck	Mrs. Wertheim
Eddie Laughton	Mr. Brophy
Harry Barris	Piano Player
Jayne Hazard	M.M.
Craig Reynolds	M.M.'s Escort
Walter Baldwin	Albany,Albany
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	Washroom Attendant
Clarence Muse	Washroom Attendant
Gene Ashley	Male Nurse
Jerry James	Male Nurse
William Meader	Male Nurse
Emmett Vogan	Doctor
Milton Wallace	Pawnbroker
Lester Sharpe	Jewish Man
Bertram Warburgh	Jewish Man
Theodora Lynch	Opera Singer
John Garris	Opera Singer
Byron Foulger	Shopkeeper
Helen Dickson	Mrs. Frink
David Clyde	Dave
Anita Bolster	Mrs. Foley
William O'Leary	Irishman
Jess Brooks	Actor
James Millican	Nurse
Pat Moriarity	Irishman
Peter Potter	Shaky and Sweaty
Lee Shumway	Guard
Douglas Spencer	Beetle
Miklos Rozsa	Composer

Technical Credits

Billy Wilder

Charles Brackett

Billy Wilder	Director,Screenwriter
Charles Brackett	Screenwriter,Producer
Gordon Jennings	Special Effects
Stanley Cooley	Sound/Sound Designer
Joel Moss	Sound/Sound Designer
Pat Moore	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

Billy Wilder's harrowing case study of a booze-addicted writer, released in 1945 to international acclaim, heralded a new realism in Hollywood dramas; today, more than five decades later, The Lost Weekend retains the power to shock with its uncompromising depiction of alcoholism. Ray Milland won a richly deserved Oscar for his moving portrayal of a drunken scribe who goes on a three-day bender, plunging himself into a nightmarish phantasmagoria. Jane Wyman delivers a first-rate performance as Milland's heartbroken girlfriend, while Howard Da Silva (as a cynical bartender) and Frank Faylen (as a sanitarium attendant) contribute notable supporting turns. The screen adaptation of Charles Jackson's bestselling novel, penned by Wilder and Charles Brackett, deviated somewhat from the original story but sacrificed none of its potency. The film was deemed so effective, in fact, that a consortium of liquor manufacturers offered Paramount five million dollars to suppress it. Ultimately, Wilder's faith in the project was justified by rave reviews and a slew of Academy Awards (including Best Picture). His film pioneered a new type of socially relevant drama, specimens of which periodically issued from Hollywood studios in the post-World War II era. Its historical importance, however, shouldn't obscure the fact that Lost Weekend is, first and foremost, a tremendously entertaining movie. The new DVD release includes production notes, cast and crew biographies, and the original theatrical trailer.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Charles Bukowski, the poet and novelist well known for his alcoholic excesses, once said admiringly of The Lost Weekend, "It was Ray Milland's only bit of acting, but it was aces." While Bukowski's praise of Milland's work may have been tongue-in-cheek, it was also based in truth: Milland never gave a stronger performance than in this film, in which he captured the alcoholic personality with uncanny accuracy. Years before addiction became common currency in the movies (or in American life), Milland etched an indelible portrait of an alcoholic in denial, willing to lie to friends and family, steal from strangers, and give up his livelihood for a drink; Milland's pained and weary desperation as he searches for a pawnshop or the abject terror of his bout with DTs still ring horribly true. The Lost Weekend also manages the clever (and wholly appropriate) feat of making Milland's Don Birnam sympathetic without asking the audience to feel sorry for him or to ignore the deadly foolishness of his actions. Director Billy Wilder (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Charles M. Brackett) makes clear that Don is intelligent and not without talent; he's also weak-willed and a willing slave to the bottle, and while he knows what drink is doing to him, he's unable to stop himself until a final collapse grinds him to a halt. The Lost Weekend is also punctuated by bitter humor (Frank Faylen as the Bellevue alcoholic ward attendant is as funny as he is devoid of compassion) and a superb supporting cast, especially Howard Da Silva as Nat the bartender and Doris Dowling as the bar girl with a softer heart than we'd imagine; and Wilder seems to relish the unstated irony that the drug that's destroying Don Birnam is openly available and used readily by others all around him.

All Movie Guide - Mark Deming