Fedora

This is not a sequel to "Sunset Blvd" however "Fedora" reunits the director of "Sunset Blvd" (Billy Wilder) and star William Holden. A Hollywood legend is being seeked out by a down and out film producer who needs "Fedora" in order to get his film made. However "Fedora" is now reclusive. She walked off of her last film. She is now a shadow of her former self however a producer is bound and detrimen to get her back in front of the cameras. When in pursuit of "Fedora" he stumbles upon one thing after another. This film is well worth watching! Seek it out!

For Wilder buffs - and what serious film fan isn't - his penultimate film is a referentialists dream. The setting, Corfu, is not a million miles from Ischia, the setting for Avanti and where Avanti boasted two stiffs Fedora boasts one in a literal sense and one in a symbolic sense. The casting of Bill Holden in the lead invites direct comparison with Sunset Boulevard where a young Holden (Joe Gillis) lucked into an ageing movie star by chance and exploited the situation to the full; here, an older Holden (Barry Detweiler) contrives to get next to an ageing movie star who, he hopes, can rescue his flagging career. Wilder manages some pertinent barbs at the 'new' schools and practitioners of film-making, makes some risible casting choices in minor roles - Ferdy Mayne, Michael York, Marte Keller - but generally pulls off another minor gem. Well worth a place in any Wilder DVD collection.

Fedora is one of the most bizarre films I've ever seen, to say the least. At points I'm almost laughing at the movie's plot twist yet the more bizarre and highly improbable the movie became the more I found myself getting engaged in the story, waiting in eager anticipation to find out what will happen next with those oh so joyous "I did not see that coming" moments. The film's highly implausible plot manages to draw the thin line between being completely absurd but never feeling like a parody. The character of Fedora herself is a reclusive movie star who goes to extreme lengths in order to stay "on top" and retain her eternal youth to the point which even Norma Desmond would consider crazy. Early during the film, I suspected Greta Garbo to be the likely source of inspiration for the character of Fedora (whom Wilder always had great admiration for) but as the plot progressed I thought to myself "ok even Garbo was never this nuts". One of Fedora's other intriguing aspects is the film's critique of New Hollywood and how times have changed since Hollywood's golden era came to pass. Fedora is the only film I've seen which displays a harsh attitude towards New Hollywood with lines referring to Hollywood being taken over by kids with beards who don't need a script, just a handheld camera with a zoom lens as well as the demise of glamorous movie stars of the past. This is one of several aspects of Fedora which makes it similar to what you could call its spiritual cousin Sunset Boulevard; which itself commented upon what was lost when the silent era came to an end. I could go on making comparisons between the two films from William Holden playing a Hollywood hack in both films to Michael York's role the in film being similar to the role Cecil B. Millie played in Sunset Boulevard. I imagined by 1978 Wilder was far past his directing prime, not to mention after the 1950's he seemed to become content with only directing comedies; thus I'm surprised to consider Fedora as one of his greatest films and a return to the roots of his earlier work as a director. As soon as William Holden's narration begins you can instantly tell this is classic, old-school Billy Wilder.

...as this one seemed to just be retreading familiar ground. This was director-scenarist Billy Wilder's late '70s return to Sunset Boulevard territory, reuniting him with William Holden in a role not at all dissimilar to that which had skyrocketed the actor's career in the 1950 classic. In this film he plays an aging independent Hollywood producer, desperate for a success, who travels to a Greek island with the hope of luring a reclusive Garboesque film queen out of retirement with a screenplay based on Anna Karenina. The star, remarkably well preserved with a bizarre collection of hangers on surrounding her (or are they imprisoning her?) is erratic, to say the least, once Holden finally succeeds in meeting her. Wilder fans may be intrigued with the film's premise for a while (based on a story by Thomas Tryon) but this film largely told in flashback after beginning with the film star's Anna Karenina-like suicide in front of a train lacks the wit and sardonic black humor that had so distinguished Sunset Boulevard. In fact, this suitably bizarre tale has no leveling humor at all, and it is sorely missed. The cast is adequate, nothing more. Holden, his character so integral to Sunset Boulevard, is largely reduced to the role of observer here, and Marthe Keller as the mysterious Fedora lacks any sense of depth or fascination as the aging Hollywood queen whose youthful appearance is eerily similar to that of a female Dorian Gray. Hildegarde Knef as an embittered Countess who lives with her, and Jose Ferrer, as her doctor, fill out the cast. There are also brief appearances by Michael York and Henry Fonda. While ultimately the film must be judged a disappointment, considering the impressive pedigree of those involved, fans of Wilder will still want to see it - at least once. But there's only so much interest one can develop for a film in which it is difficult for its audience to muster any emotional involvement for any of its characters.

After just finishing Ed Sikov's wonderful biography of Billy Wilder, I got interested in this movie, seeing as it was another pairing of Wilder and one of my favorite actors, William Holden. Shot in 1978, it has a very dream like quality to it, due to the cinematography, which adds to the somewhat creepy atmosphere of the movie. Trying to track an elusive movie star who has retired to a Mediterranean villa to star in his latest film, Barry Detweiller (Holden) cannot seem to catch the elusive beauty. Her compound is secluded, and all access is restricted. His calls and letters go unanswered. But he must get in to see the elusive Fedora. After sneaking in to the compound, Detweiller believes he has caught his quarry. But a strange turn of events, reveal to him that all is not what it seems in paradise. Wilder's next to last film, is something of a return to his great "Sunset Blvd' featuring another Joe Gillis like character, and a another Norma Desmond as well. The two movies do bookend each other I believe, and if you are a fan of the former, you should try and see the latter.

It is embarrassing to watch a former master of the medium (Billy Wilder) create a shallow, bitter little piece like this. His lead character, a filmmaker desperate to work again, chases an aging movie star for his movie. He rails against the new kids taking over the movie industry with their hand-held cameras, dismissing in a stroke a whole new generation of filmmakers. The story is based on the thinnest of ideas, Holden looks like he has a hangover in every scene, and there is the stench of desperation hanging over the whole enterprise. We have all seen played out far too many times the sad tale of the former great this- or-that attempting a comeback and flopping because the juice is gone. That sums this movie up in spades. All in all it's a sad piece of work, and a reminder to bow out gracefully.

Many reasons for see this little gem. the performances, the atmosphere, the crumbs of old Hollywood, the tragedy of glory in passing time. and a touching story. remembering "Sunset Blvd". but being, for its bitter poetry, so different. for me, the basic motif for see it was the presence in cast of William Holden. and this "key" works. for discover not exactly a world but a form of survive. and its precise limits. a film about the traits of past. and meeting with wise use of suggestion, from illustrious names to small details of biographies for transform the film in a form of trip across Hollywood Golden Age.

Years ago, I started watching Fedora with my girlfriend. I'm a huge fan of Billy Wilder, who has made many brilliant movies, and I was shocked by how bad this one was. It seemed downright inept. After 20 minutes to half an hour I decided I had enough. My girlfriend though, even though she wasn't thrilled with it, decided to continue watching it in hopes it would improve. About half an hour later she called to me and said, START WATCHING IT AGAIN: IT'S A COMEDY! And the odd thing is, if one looks at Fedora as a sort of parody of Sunset Boulevard it's actually quite amusing. The movie popped into my head recently so I decided to check out reviews here to see if anyone else had the same take on it, but no one does. And so I wonder, did Wilder made a sly satire or just a bad movie? But if you don't like it try and think about that. If I ever see it on TV I'll have to take another look.

Billy Wilder's second-last film comes full circle from 1950's Sunset Boulevard. Fedora begins with a news announcement of the great actress' death. Dutch Detweiler (William Holden) narrates the film, and attends Fedora's lying in state. He recalls what led up to that moment, and the story begins. Dutch (William Holden) has a script that is perfect for the actress Fedora (Marthe Keller), a Garbo-like myth wrapped in a legend, who lives a reclusive life in Corfu. One day, he sees her in town and reintroduces himself - they knew each other 30 years earlier. He is astounded by her unchanged beauty. She wears gloves because her doctor can't do anything about aging hands. and she asks him for a few dollars. When he asks if she received his script, she says that they hide the mail from her. After some spying on Fedora, Dutch comes to the conclusion that she is not being well treated and is imprisoned. Desperate to see her, he tries every way he can to gain entrance to the house, and at one point actually breaks in, only to be knocked out by someone who acts as her chauffeur. When he comes to, he's in his hotel, and a week has passed. And lots has happened. Fedora is based on the story in Tom Tryon's book, "Crowned Heads," which is three stories - the first about a Lana Turner-type, the second a combination of Clifton Webb and Ramon Navarro, and the third Fedora, actually based on Dietrich, Garbo, and a few other actresses. The first two stories were kind of sleazy. Fedora is really the best one. I remember this did not get good reviews at the time. Billy Wilder had no end of problems with it. It did not get a full release internationally or nationally; it was not publicized; and it was so badly cut that audiences laughed in all the wrong places when it was shown initially. It's pathetic to me that a great talent like Billy Wilder was treated so badly by modern Hollywood, but I'm not surprised. I think this is an interesting story and if Wilder had been allowed to do what he wanted, it would have been a marvelous film. One of the things that brought it down for me was the abominable performance of Marthe Keller. This role brought an end to her brief Hollywood career. What really bothered me was all the dubbing. Neither Knef's nor Keller's voices were used, and it's obvious. The actresses just sound dubbed with very little effort at performances. I may be overly sensitive; that dubbing sound is a big turnoff for me, but maybe not for others. I think this plays better on television than it probably did in the theaters, and it's definitely worth seeing for Holden at least, who is Joe Gillis had he lived. A series of unfortunate events spoiled what this film could have been, but it's still Billy Wilder, it's still William Holden, and you can't go too wrong.

This late Billy Wilder flick, one in a series of European productions that were to close the curtain on his long-running career, is in a way as rancid as the smell surrounding the main character it portrays, a storyboard synthesis of several real-life movie stars ranging from Garbo to Dietrich. Drawing on biographical accounts of the secluded lives of geriatric Hollywood divas from the Golden Age of post-War cinema, Wilder clumsily attempts to weave in an intrigue, which never really takes off as it is hopelessly drowned in tiresome dialogues, seemingly endless takes, fatuously clichéd characterisations and across-the-board foul acting (with the notable exception of William Holden). Though the starting premise may sound appealing – a nostalgic glimpse on a waning period in the history of film replete with rumor-ridden accounts of the lives of the rich and famous – it falls miles short of a feature-length story. Wilder must have sensed this as he was going along, since he spends considerable time on paraphernalia and frighteningly lame side acts, the worst of which is undoubtedly Mario Adorf casting a shrewd Greek hotel manager, literally crumbling under a make-up that turns him into Manuel of the Fawlty Towers series – minus the slapstick. What could have been an insightful commentary on Wilder's own professional milieu, feeding on the filmmaker's unique experience, ended up as a sluggish conspiracy plot leading to an anticlimactic half-hour long resolve with a distinct TV feel to it. Film buffs should probably see it, because it shows where Old Hollywood went in the 1970s while a brat generation took over the studios and set an entirely different pace. Billy Wilder deserves credit for trying to find his own in this new environment, but Fedora is a somewhat dispiriting example of an aging cinéaste grappling with his own glorious past.