Fedora

The former successful and famous Polish actress Fedora (Marthe Keller) commits suicide at the Mortcerf Station, jumping off in front of a train. The broken Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler (William Holden) attends the funeral at her house in Paris and recalls that he might have caused her death.

Two weeks ago, Dutch traveled to Greece Island of Corfu seeking Fedora out in the Vila Calypso, located in an isolated island owned by the bitter Countess Sobryanski (Hildegard Knef). Fedora has been living an unsocial reclusive life for the last years in the villa with the countess, the plastic surgeon Doctor Vando (José Ferrer) and her assistant Miss Balfour (Frances Sternhagen), since she abandoned the set of a film that she was shooting in London with Michael York.

Dutch brings the screenplay with a version of "Anna Karenina" to offer to Fedora, with the promise that investors would finance the film if Fedora accepts the lead role. Fedora, who is impressively young, is receptive to the offer, but the countess and the doctor tell that she is mentally unstable and paranoid and can not act again.

When Dutch discovers that Fedora will be secretly sent to a mental institution owned by Dr. Vando in Mortcert, he tries to rescue the actress from the island but he is hit on the head and faints with a concussion. One week later, when he awakes, he learns that Fedora is dead. Dutch travels to Paris and meets Countess Sobryanski that him the truth about Fedora.

"Fedora" is the swan song of Billy Wilder, with an engaging story; a complex screenplay and many twists about aging, selfishness and loss of youth and identity. The plot has many elements of "Sunset Boulevard", with a washed-up producer looking for a former glamorous Hollywood actress that surprisingly has not aged like she should and might represent his comeback to the glory. The secret about Fedora and her friends is unpredictable. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

I devoured Tom Tryon's book and I made my own film in my mind. Needless to say, I loved it. Then I heard that Billy Wilder was going to direct the film version. Perfect, I thought, perfect. I wanted to write to Mr. Wilder to let him know about the film I had already in my mind, not camera shots, naturally, but casting. There was only one actress who could play the Garboesque Fedora in all her mysterious splendor and that was Vanessa Redgrave, then,at that exact moment in time. She was the only actress who could be all the other actresses we've always known and loved rolled into one. That in itself made her unique, spellbinding. Rachel Kempson a great British actress plus Vanessa's mother in real life, to play the old lady. The film was made with Marthe Keller and Hildegarde Kneff in those roles. I hoped for Terence Stamp to be the actor of Fedora's dreams. They chose Michael York. I remember a review by Pauline Kael I believe, when she came to review Michael York in this film her comment was succinct: "Michael York plays himself, unconvincingly". Maybe this is a suitable case for remake. With all due respect to Mr. Wilder, one of my heroes, maybe Cameron Crowe should have a go.

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.

Billy Wilder revisits the territory of his Hollywood Babylon classic Sunset Boulevard, with the same male lead (William Holden) in an almost identical role as a washed-up screenwriter trying to get to a reclusive and mysteriously ageless one-time screen queen in order to pitch her a comeback script. Story elements include Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray and (off-screen) the many mad-doctor yarns of the 1930s and 1940s in which Boris Karloff messes about with Things We Were Never Meant To Know. Looks great in a brittle and glitzy 1970s way, as befits its scornfully depicted international-rich-white-trash milieu. Essentially it's a sombre but humanistic sermon on the hopeless worship of physical youth and beauty: as a medieval English writer put it, "who sows hope in the flesh reaps bones". A very relevant film for our narcissistic times, its only big flaw is that it's a mighty chilly piece of work, easier to admire than to love.

A shamefully overlooked movie , it is Wilder's testament with a lot of attractive ingredients as brooding drama , thrills , sensitive theme , amazing twist finale, in a word , emotion . It deals with a washed-out producer : William Holden who attempts to hire an old star called Fedora : Marthe Keller , she is nowadays retired and living at a mansion in Corfu along with a cripple countess : Hildegard Knef , their assistant : Frances Sternhagen and a mysterious doctor : Jose Ferrer.

Dramatic and witty film about cinema world containing realism, illusion, a twisted love story and tragedy . A flashy film and cynical at times , compellingly made by the great maestro Billy Wilder , at his last feature along with Buddy Buddy, but Fedora only superficially does it resemble Sunset Blvd . Colorfully set on Corfu , including nice cinematography by George Fisher , but a perfect remastering being really necessary . It explores deeply the basis of the cinema by thought-provoking and deranged portrayals of tarnished stars and the disastrous attempts to make time stop , providing a narrative assurance beyond the grasp of most filmmakers today.

Accompanying by a sensitive and stirring musical score by classy composer Miklos Rozsa . This moving motion picture was stunningly directed by the great Billy Wilder , giving one of the most sublime achievements of the Seventies , though it failed at the international boxoffice . Wilder was one of the best Hollywood directors who made various masterpieces and with special penchant for comedy , such as : The Major and the Minor , The Seven Year Itch , Sabrina , Some Like Hot The Apartment , One Two Three , Irma La Douce , Kiss Me Stupid , The Fortune Cookie , Avanti , The Front Page . Although Wilder also made Film Noir and Dramas, such as : The Lost Weekend , Double Indemnity , Five Graves to Cairo , A Foreign Affair , Ace in the Hole , Stalag 17 , The Spirit of St Louis , Witness for the Prosecution , Fedora , among others .