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Nebs
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:01 pm
Posts: 6385
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 Ace in the Hole Ace in the Hole Quote: Ace in the Hole is a 1951 American drama film starring Kirk Douglas as a cynical, disgraced reporter who stops at nothing to try to regain a job on a major newspaper.
It marked a series of firsts for auteur Billy Wilder: it was the first time he was involved in a project as a writer, producer, and director; his first film following his breakup with long-time writing partner Charles Brackett, with whom he had collaborated on The Lost Weekend and Sunset Boulevard, among others; and his first film to be a critical and commercial failure.
The story is a biting examination of the seedy relationship between the press, the news it reports and the manner in which it reports it. Without consulting Wilder, Paramount Pictures executive Y. Frank Freeman changed the title to The Big Carnival just prior to its release. Early television broadcasts retained that title, but when aired by Turner Classic Movies -- and when released on DVD by The Criterion Collection in July 2007—it reverted to Ace in the Hole.
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Michael A
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:48 am
Posts: 6245
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Re: Ace in the Hole Is Ace a Man or a Story?
Is Billy Wilder god? Probably not, but if polytheism is in fact correct, and there are many gods, than Billy Wilder must be one of them.
The creator of "Sunset Boulevard" which contains perhaps the finest female performance I have ever seen, also created a more overlooked but outrageously brilliant film called "Ace In the Whole."
Featuring Kirk Douglas as the main character Chuck Tatum, this film follows a fame and money obsessed reporter's big shot at getting to the top. However, like any great film, it is much more than the depiction on the surface. As the film evolves it becomes much more than a story. Wilder not only includes warring themes: greed vs. compassion, narcism vs. love, and captialism against humanity, he throws these well thought out themes right in your face, and gives you the chance to decide what exactly they mean.
Wilder's beauty is his ability to be subtle yet blunt at the same time. He never cuts you short in this film, he tells you what exactly you're watching, but at the same time he includes consistent and subtle touches to prod your imagination and add in-conceived depth. He does this both from the writer's desk and director's chair and handles both positions with incredible skill.
Wilder's movies wouldn't be quite what they are without a great acting though. In Sunset Boulevard he had Gloria Swanson playing her heart out right alongside many great actor's and actresses, all giving power house performances. Here the performances are not quite to that caliber, but Douglas gives an incredible turn as the greed filled, snake-with-a-heart reporter. He really sells the films central element, the battle of a man between his self absorption and natural compassion. Douglas also has a great supporting cast with Robert Arthur, Jan Sterling, and Richard Benedict giving excellent performances. However Porter Hall is an absolute scene stealer as Jacob Boot, the man who is the exact opposite of Tatum, a man who is filled with compassion and kindness but has to fight off the temptations of greed.
Summary: This film is almost as good as they get. It is not in the same league as films like Network, All About Eve, or Wilder's year earlier effort, Sunset Boulevard, but it is on the very next tier of movies, and must be described as "magnificent."
10/10
_________________Mr. R wrote: Malcolm wrote: You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself. Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.
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trixster
loyalfromlondon
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:31 pm
Posts: 19697
Location: ville-marie
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Re: Ace in the Hole whatever happened to michael a?
_________________Magic Mike wrote: zwackerm wrote: If John Wick 2 even makes 30 million I will eat 1,000 shoes. Same. Algren wrote: I don't think. I predict. 
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