Lost Weekend

UPC: 025192115325

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Not For Children, Substance Abuse]

Summary: 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). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Picture – null Best Actor – null Best Director – null Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Black and White Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Score - Drama or Comedy – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Grand Prix – Cannes Film Festival International Grand Prix For Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actor – National Board of Review Best Picture – New York Film Critics Circle Best Director – New York Film Critics Circle Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Actor – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture – Hollywood Foreign Press Association 10 Best Films – Film Daily 10 Best Films – New York Times

Features: Theatrical trailer
Production notes
Cast and filmmakers biographies
Film highlights

Lost Weekend

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 02/06/2001

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 1 USA & territories, Canada

Runtime: 101 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Chapter List
0. Chapter List
1. Main Titles [1:08]
2. The Birnam Brothers [8:43]
3. Mrs. Foley's Money [2:38]
4. Nat's Bar [5:11]
5. A Sick Person [8:06]
6. Gloria [3:10]
7. "The Bottle" [10:02]
8. Helen's Parents [13:39]
9. Writing? [8:36]
10. Hungover [7:31]
11. Gloria's Help [2:38]
12. Hospitalized [5:01]
13. Escape [7:49]
14. The D.T.'s [5:24]
15. A Pawned Coat [2:19]
16. Death wish [5:10]
17. Nat Pays A Visit [1:56]
18. Novel Plans [1:12]

Mark Deming

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. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Clarence Muse  Actor 
Emmett Vogan  Actor 
Jerry James  Actor 
Jayne Hazard  Actor 
Gisela Werbiseck  Actor 
Theodora Lynch  Actor 
David Clyde  Actor 
James Millican  Actor 
Lee Shumway  Actor 
Pat Moriarity  Actor 
Douglas Spencer  Actor 
Harry Barris  Actor 
William O'Leary  Actor 
Fred "Snowflake" Toones  Actor 
Helen Dickson  Actor 
Walter S. Baldwin  Actor 
Byron Foulger  Actor 
Craig Reynolds  Actor 
Milton Wallace  Actor 
Peter Potter  Actor 
Jess Lee Brooks  Actor 
Eddie Laughton  Actor 
Lester Sharpe  Actor 
Charles Brackett  Producer 
Charles Brackett  Screenwriter 
Miklos Rozsa  Composer (Music Score) 
Billy Wilder  Director 
Billy Wilder  Screenwriter 
Ray Milland  Actor 
Jane Wyman  Actor 
Howard Da Silva  Actor 
Phillip Terry  Actor 
Doris Dowling  Actor 
Frank Faylen  Actor 
Mary Young  Actor 
Anita Bolster  Actor 
Lilian Fontaine  Actor 
Lewis L. Russell  Actor 
Frank Orth  Actor 

Country: USA