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The Lost Weekend

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Ray Milland stars as alcoholic writer Don Birnam in Billy Wilder's first unabashedly dramatic film, and one of the first to deal in such painstaking detail with the disease of alcoholism. Don shares an apartment in New York City in the 1940s with his brother Wick (Phillip Terry) who has his hands full trying to deal with his brother's drinking problem. One night, Don encourages his brother to take his girlfriend Helen St. James (Jane Wyman) to hear some music only so that he can be out from under their watchful eyes. Taking the money left for the maid, he goes out to buy some liquor, stashing one bottle in the chandelier. When he goes to the bar the next day, Nat (Howard Da Silva), the owner berates him for treating his girlfriend badly and warns him that he's on a path toward death. Don returns to the apartment to try to work on his novel "The Bottle," but consumed by self-doubt, goes to another bar, and steals a woman's purse to buy a drink. As the weekend wears on, his spiral downward continues apace. Although dated in some respects, the film's unadorned portrait of the relentless torture that is alcoholism still packs a powerful punch thanks to Wilder's sharp script, the deep-focus camerawork of John Seitz, and a career performance by Ray Milland.
Academy Awards Best Picture 1945
Academy Awards Best Actor 1945 Ray Milland Welsh-born actor, THE LOST WEEKEND/LOVE STORY
Cannes Best Actor 1946 Ray Milland Welsh-born actor, THE LOST WEEKEND/LOVE STORY
Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay 1945 Billy Wilder Director/screenwriter/producer
Academy Awards Best Director 1945 Billy Wilder Director/screenwriter/producer
Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay 1945 Charles Brackett Screenwriter and Producer, collaborated with Billy Wilder
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 21153
Credits

Ray Milland, Reginald Truscott-Jones, Reginald Mullane, Spike Milland, Raymond Milland, Jane Wyman, Sarah Jane Faulks, Jane Durrell, Philip Terry, Howard Da Silva, Doris Dowling, Frank Faylen, Mary Young, Anita Bolster
Critic Reviews

"Every addiction film since has taken a page from LOST WEEKEND; if only they'd been as good."
Premiere