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career and her true love caused
Antonia to turn to drugs, which destroyed both her looks and her sanity. Fedora realized she could never allow her daughter to leave the island because the inevitable media frenzy surrounding "Fedora's" return would shatter Antonia's fragile mental health. Consumed with guilt over the predicament she had caused, Fedora tended Antonia until Dutch's appearance reminded Antonia of the life she had lost, and she killed herself.
655:, utilizing opulent sets, elegant crane shots, ultra-slow dissolves, and a flourish of voice-overs and flashbacks-within-flashbacks in a final demonstration of virtuoso scenario construction, only to tear it down at the end and show it was all a lie...The film is not perfect, and would have undoubtedly been better still had Wilder been able to persuade Marlene Dietrich to play the Countess, but it's still a worthy late addition to the work of a master."
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At the funeral, Dutch accuses Vando and the countess of murdering Fedora. The countess reveals that she is, in fact, Fedora, with whom Dutch had the affair. The woman who died was her daughter
Antonia, who took her mother's place after one of Fedora's surgical treatments disfigured her face. Antonia
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stepped in. After cutting 12 minutes of the film based on studio recommendations, Wilder previewed the film in Santa
Barbara, California. Halfway through, the audience began derisively laughing at all the wrong places. Dejected by the response and despondent from all the problems he had encountered
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stated, "Its spare classical style, its sense of character, and its occasional romantic excesses are all very much Old
Hollywood...but the deliberate and sometimes dismaying anachronisms are signs of a deep, unshakable commitment to a personal aesthetic – a commitment that is sometimes more moving
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called it "old-fashioned with a vengeance, a proud, passionate remembrance of the way movies used to be, and a bitter smile at what they have become. It is rich, majestic, very close to ridiculous, and also a little bit mad. It seems exactly what Mr. Wilder wants it to be, perfectly self-contained
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Horrified by the revelation, Dutch considers revealing the sordid story to the press, but he realizes he still has feelings toward Fedora and decides she has been punished enough by the loss of her career and her guilt over her daughter. Dutch says goodbye to the elderly Fedora, who dies six weeks
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commented: "Wilder's directorial flair, the fine production dress, Holden's solid presence and
Michael York...and Henry Fonda...add some flavor to this bittersweet bow to the old star system," and added, "Missing are needed hints at Fedora's true star quality, which are not...inherent in Keller's
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wondered: "Should you see it? I dunno. If you do, go with a clear mind and a slight grin on your face and a memory for the movies of the 1940s. Accept the dumb parts, and the unsurprising revelations, as part of the film's style instead of as weaknesses. Trust Wilder to know what he's doing, even
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while making a film with him. She begged her mother to be allowed to tell
Michael the truth, but the scandal would have ruined both Antonia's career and Fedora's legacy. Unable to trust Antonia, Fedora arranged for Antonia's "retirement" and kept her prisoner on the island. The loss of both her
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Dutch is suspicious when Fedora seems confused, disheveled and cannot remember details of their love affair. Fedora tells him she is a prisoner on the island, held captive by the elderly Polish
Countess Sobryanski, her overprotective servant Miss Balfour, her chauffeur Kritos and Dr. Vando, the
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of the director's work. Afterward, it was released in only a handful of select
American and European markets with little fanfare, prompting an insulted Wilder to claim the studio spent "about $ 625 on a marketing campaign". It was later shown as part of the Cannes Classics section of the
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responsible for keeping Fedora looking so young. Dutch attempts to help Fedora flee the island, but Kritos knocks him unconscious. He awakens a week later to discover Fedora has killed herself. Dutch suspects she was murdered by the countess for revealing the secret of her captivity.
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were hesitant to offer Wilder his usual deal. Instead, they paid Wilder and
Diamond to write the screenplay, with the understanding that the studio had forty-five days after the submission to decide if it wanted to proceed with the project. The studio ultimately put it in
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The reclusive foreign-born Fedora is one of the great film stars of the century, and known for retaining her youthful beauty over the course of a career spanning decades. At the height of her fame, however, Fedora withdrew to a private island near
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After viewing a rough cut of the film, Wilder realized to his horror that neither Keller nor Knef could be understood easily, nor did their voices sound very much alike, which was crucial to the film's plot. He hired German actress Inga Bunsch to
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described it as "defiantly and proudly old-fashioned both in style and content, weaving an (intentionally) campy melodrama about the mysterious suicide of a faded movie queen into a spellbinding meditation on cinema and the price of manufactured
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called it "a shamefully underrated film...and one of the most sublime achievements of the '70s...it has a narrative assurance beyond the grasp of most directors nowadays: finely acted, mysterious, witty, moving and magnificent."
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closely resembled her mother physically but was a much better actress, causing people to believe Fedora herself had become more skillful with age. The deception went undetected until
Antonia fell in love with actor
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but the actress had suffered such severe facial nerve injuries in an automobile accident that she was unable to endure wearing the heavy makeup required to transform her into the older character, so he cast
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the dialogue of both women for the film's English-language release. Keller eventually recorded the voices for both characters in the French version, and Knef did likewise for the German release.
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and refused to be seen in public, leading to vast speculation on what became of her. All are shocked when it is confirmed Fedora died by suicide by throwing herself in front of a train.
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is a marvelous lesson in classical storytelling and the pleasures to be had from an absorbing narrative. It's almost as if Wilder is bidding adieu to the
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visiting Fedora two weeks before her death at her villa near Corfu in order to convince her to come out of retirement for a new screen adaptation of
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during the deliberate clichés. See it like that, and I bet you'll like it. See it with a straight face, and you'll think it's boring and obvious.
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make appearances as themselves, although Fonda is credited as "The President of the Academy". In the film, Fonda is the president of the
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and similar to the earlier film, it harshly criticized Hollywood's often shabby treatment of its most prominent talent. However, unlike
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and filled with the echoes of a lifetime; no one could mistake this for the work of a young man. Indeed, it has the resonance of an
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One of her mourners at her funeral is aging has-been Hollywood producer Barry "Dutch" Detweiler, who was once Fedora's lover. Dutch
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had been released four years earlier and had been a critical failure. Furthermore, two more recent Hollywood-based films,
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701:(2020). An abridged version of the book was "Book of the Week" in June 2022 on Radio Four and produced by Clive Brill.
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aren't easily achieved these days without a good deal of self-consciousness. Mr. Wilder achieves them naturally."
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Original poster. The tagline reads, "Youth had been a habit of hers for so long that she could not part with it."
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as her daughter Antonia, but Dietrich despised the original book and thought the screenplay was no improvement.
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is set to play Hollywood legend Billy Wilder in a new film project from director
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as a television movie. Before the network could agree to the offer,
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dropped its deal to distribute the film after it was screened at a
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performance or that of Knef...and which mar pic with disbelief."
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995:"Mr Wilder & Me by Jonathan Coe review – the director's cut"
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was a re-teaming of Wilder with Holden, who had collaborated on
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up to this point, the director refused to make any more edits.
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The making of the film is chronicled in fictionalized form in
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On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder.
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On May 30, 1978, the film had its world premiere at the
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s odd that way: It leaves itself up to the audience."
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877:"Cannes Classics 2013 line-up unveiled"
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1308:The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
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678:than anything in the film itself."
503:. The film's sets were designed by
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779:BFI Film & Television Database
745:BFI Film & Television Database
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1457:Films shot at Billancourt Studios
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993:Lawson, Mark (November 5, 2020).
721:List of German films of the 1970s
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451:in which former fashion model
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432:Wilder originally envisioned
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263:'s novella in the collection
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1427:Films based on short fiction
1422:Films scored by Miklós Rózsa
524:Myasthenia Gravis Foundation
362:as The Young Barry Detweiler
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1482:Films about plastic surgery
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392:as President of the Academy
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1098:The Major and the Minor
653:Golden Age of Hollywood
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178:June 29, 1978
1437:Films about filmmaking
783:British Film Institute
749:British Film Institute
338:as Countess Sobryanski
58:Based on a novella by
1228:Love in the Afternoon
1462:United Artists films
1442:Films shot in Greece
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755:on February 21, 2014
544:Cannes Film Festival
356:as The Hotel Manager
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1208:The Seven Year Itch
1141:(1945, documentary)
789:on February 4, 2014
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485:Billancourt Studios
374:as Count Sobryanski
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1472:1970s French films
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602:The New York Times
595:Critical reception
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417:W.C. Fields and Me
348:Frances Sternhagen
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1148:The Emperor Waltz
915:Chicago Sun-Times
866:Sikov, pp. 560–61
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516:and other films.
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1002:. Retrieved
999:The Guardian
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881:Screen Daily
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787:the original
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753:the original
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564:Michael York
557:
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505:art director
474:
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438:Faye Dunaway
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384:Michael York
344:as Dr. Vando
311:
306:Michael York
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264:
259:is based on
241:Billy Wilder
239:directed by
231:
230:
229:
206:West Germany
194:Running time
171:Release date
118:C'est si bon
114:Miklós Rózsa
92:Gerry Fisher
69:Billy Wilder
52:Billy Wilder
43:Billy Wilder
1348:Buddy Buddy
1138:Death Mills
1075:Filmography
807:Sikov, Ed,
622:Roger Ebert
560:Henry Fonda
390:Henry Fonda
354:Mario Adorf
342:José Ferrer
198:109 minutes
122:Henri Betti
66:Produced by
39:Directed by
1372:1978 films
1366:Categories
886:2013-04-30
781:. London:
747:. London:
727:References
427:turnaround
398:Production
386:as himself
372:Hans Jaray
253:screenplay
237:drama film
182:1978-06-29
145:Geria Film
130:Production
49:Written by
1188:Stalag 17
741:"Credits"
695:'s novel
675:Dave Kehr
605:, critic
402:Wilder's
368:as Kritos
261:Tom Tryon
203:Countries
132:companies
98:Edited by
60:Tom Tryon
929:TV Guide
793:June 27,
775:"Fedora"
759:June 27,
715:See also
673:review,
643:TV Guide
483:and the
213:Language
110:Music by
74:Starring
1318:Avanti!
1198:Sabrina
1004:June 6,
971:Variety
684:Variety
667:In his
624:of the
612:epitaph
501:Madouri
495:around
457:Fedora,
285:recalls
216:English
180: (
141:Lorimar
1351:(1981)
1341:(1978)
1338:Fedora
1331:(1974)
1321:(1972)
1311:(1970)
1301:(1966)
1291:(1964)
1281:(1963)
1271:(1961)
1261:(1960)
1251:(1959)
1241:(1957)
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1211:(1955)
1201:(1954)
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1181:(1951)
1171:(1950)
1161:(1948)
1151:(1948)
1131:(1945)
1121:(1944)
1111:(1943)
1101:(1942)
1091:(1934)
1024:Fedora
973:review
959:review
945:review
931:review
917:review
903:review
815:
649:Fedora
633:Fedora
616:Fedora
589:Fedora
574:Fedora
481:Munich
251:. The
232:Fedora
221:Budget
208:France
124:(1947)
22:Fedora
636:'
587:what
558:Both
497:Corfu
489:Paris
278:Corfu
120:" by
1029:IMDb
1006:2022
813:ISBN
795:2013
761:2013
562:and
414:and
317:Cast
271:Plot
247:and
1027:at
532:CBS
487:in
479:in
470:dub
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