| Lost Weekend [VHS] | ![Lost Weekend [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BYDFD7C2L._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Billy Wilder
Actors: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Howard Da Silva, Doris Dowling
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: Video
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $2.25
You Save: $7.73 (77%)
New (17) Used (25) Collectible (8) from $1.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 4933
Format: Black & White, Hifi Sound, Original Recording Reissued, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 101 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 1558806512
UPC: 096898035439
EAN: 9786301005746
ASIN: 6301005740
Theatrical Release Date: 1945
Release Date: March 1, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential video
"I'm not a drinker--I'm a drunk." These words, and the serious message behind them, were still potent enough in 1945 to shock audiences flocking to The Lost Weekend. The speaker is Don Birnam (Ray Milland), a handsome, talented, articulate alcoholic. The writing team of producer Charles Brackett and director Billy Wilder pull no punches in their depiction of Birnam's massive weekend bender, a tailspin that finds him reeling from his favorite watering hole to Bellevue Hospital. Location shooting in New York helps the street-level atmosphere, especially a sequence in which Birnam, a budding writer, tries to hock his typewriter for booze money. He desperately staggers past shuttered storefronts--it's Yom Kippur, and the pawnshops are closed. Milland, previously known as a lightweight leading man (he'd starred in Wilder's hilarious The Major and the Minor three years earlier), burrows convincingly under the skin of the character, whether waxing poetic about the escape of drinking or screaming his lungs out in the D.T.'s sequence. Wilder, having just made the ultra-noir Double Indemnity, brought a new kind of frankness and darkness to Hollywood's treatment of a social problem. At first the film may have seemed too bold; Paramount Pictures nearly killed the release of the picture after it tested poorly with preview audiences. But once in release, The Lost Weekend became a substantial hit, and won four Oscars: for picture, director, screenplay, and actor. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 65 more reviews...
 Hollywood Horror Story About The World's Most Available Drug. June 18, 2009
Terrifying Best Picture winner of 1945 is this classic movie that may feature Ray Milland's all time greatest performance.
Milland stars as a chronic alcoholic who is controlled and tormented by the spectre of the brew. He originally is supposed to take a weekend with his brother until his addiction catches up to him and he fails to meer up with his brother, ending up stranded in his apartment with no one but his desire for alcohol.
His weekend becomes a nightmare as he recounts his past and what led him to this point and the extremes that he'll go to further his addiction. At one point he ends up in an asylum and escapes, only to steal from a liquor store and lose his mind when he holds up in his apartment, suffering from creepy hallucinations.
His devoted girlfriend, beautiful Jane Wyman, is the only thing that holds him together and ultimately gets him through his personal hell.
A truly first rate film that melded the scenery and feel of the rising art of Film Noir with a true human drama, this was a landmark in mature cinema. While far from a "good time" film, this is a brave little picture that attacks a deep and troubling issue and presents it with sensitvity and intelligence and emerges as one of the absolutely best films of the 1940s.
Any true film buff owes him/herself a glance at this film classic.
Lost Weekend DVD May 22, 2009
I was extremely satisfied with my purchase and the ordering process from Amazon. The price was commensurate with the product, it was easy to buy on-line and the product arrived quickly and in perfect condition.
A Classic Film With A Great Message ref: Alcoholism May 2, 2009
Anyone that has had to deal with alcoholism, will quickly realize that this film is right on the mark. Everything from the blackouts, the denial that there is a problem, the tremors, family disintegration, etc.
It was made in 1944, but it's impact and its significance is just as huge as if it were filmed in 2009. I highly recommend the film.
Very Effective, Sobering Story March 14, 2009
This was a very sobering story, pun somewhat intended but not to make light of a serious problem. Stories about alcoholism can be really depressing but I found this simply a fascinating account of what an alcoholic goes through. I doubt if any film since this as been as effective in telling its sordid story, but not in a sordid manner.
The acting is excellent, led by Ray Milland's performance and complemented by memorable supporting turns by Howard da Silva, Doris Dowling, Frank Faylen, Phillip Terry and Jane Wyman.
I particularly enjoyed the characters played by Faylen, da Silva and Dowling. Faylen had only one scene, but it's a beauty. As a hospital aide, he gives Milland a short but riveting speech that still haunts me when I recall it. Dowling served up some great film noir-type dialog and was a sexy woman, at least in this picture, and da Silva was perfect as the bartender.
This is an involving story and has a few spots with some good cinematography, too. Another plus is the fact that it doesn't appear dated even though it is 60 years old. How many films can say that?
""""spoilers *** The only flaw, I thought, was the ending. Anyone has hooked on booze to the degree Milland was in this film, would not be able to just quit like that....but happy-ending movies are usually what work.
I hope this film's reputation encourages a few people who need to see and hear this message, to take a look. They don't have to worry about a boring, heavy-handed message. This is just plain interesting and always entertaining. It earned all the awards it received.
3.5 stars out of 4 January 16, 2009
The Bottom Line:
For those who can take a depressing movie that spends most of its time with a very unpleasant character, The Lost Weekend is a gripping portrait of the lower depths which eschews Hollywood's typical portrayal of drunks in order to deliver a searing depiction of alcholism and need.
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