18. The Lost Weekend (1945)

Director: Billy Wilder

Starring: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman

Other Oscar Wins: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Ray Milland), Best Director, Best Writing

Other Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Score

Favourite Line: "Don't wipe it away, Nat. Let me have my little vicious circle. You know, the circle is the perfect geometric figure. No end, no beginning."

Ray Milland in The Lost Weekend.

 The Lost Weekend is an absolutely incredible film, full of wonderful cinematography, moving performances, and brilliant storytelling. The film, based on a novel of the same name, shows, quite harshly, the tragedy and struggle of a man dealing with alcoholism, and the toll it takes on those around him as well as himself.

The filming itself is very impressive in this picture, and there are a number of beautiful and very interesting shots. The script is also brilliant, and so it is no surprise that this film took home an Oscar for the screenplay. However, the most compelling and stunning part of The Lost Weekend, is the performance by Ray Milland as the films lead. All the performances were wonderful, to be sure, but Milland's is of special note. He is breathtaking, and so invested in his role, that you feel so strongly for the character and his struggle, even when he does wrong again and again. In fact, director Billy Wilder guessed, upon completion of the film, that Milland would win the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance. His guess was right, and the award was well deserved.

Art by Olly Moss.

Here are my few fun facts about The Lost Weekend. Before the film's release, the studio was frequently attacked by the alcohol industry, demanding the film not be released, as it presented alcohol in such a bad light, and they feared sales would decrease. At the same time, other groups tried to stop the film's release as they thought it would encourage drinking. Another interesting fact about The Lost Weekend is that it is the first film to feature the theremin (a musical instrument) on the soundtrack. The strange sound was so effective for the nightmarish atmosphere of the film, that the theremin became very commonly used in science-fiction film scores.

Overall, The Lost Weekend is a brilliant film that must be seen. It is well deserving of it's Best Picture award.