This film is currently unavailable
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_480x270/public/hero-images/81630d78743ac02a0870c45a04aadeaa.jpg?itok=CaDzAYw0)
The Lost Weekend
Billy Wilder’s still searing film about alcoholism remains one of only two films to have won the Best Picture Oscar and the top prize at Cannes Film Festival.
Director: Billy Wilder
Overview
Billy Wilder’s still searing film about the dangers of alcohol stars Ray Milland as a writer struggling with the demon drink. Tricking his brother and partner into believing he’s decamping to the country for a sober break, he returns to his dingy flat for what will turn out to be a dark weekend of the soul.
The first Hollywood film to portray alcoholism is all its uncompromising detail, from the DTs to hallucinations, Lost Weekend was rewarded with four Academy Awards and remains one of only two films to have won the Best Picture Oscar and the top prize at Cannes Film Festival. Billy Wilder was inspired to embark on the project following the painful experience of working with recovering alcoholic Raymond Chandler on Double Indemnity, hoping that Chandler would recognise some of himself in the film and act upon it. In his attempts to accentuate the story’s gritty realism, Wilder hoped to release the film with no music score, only for early screenings to fall flat. The film was eventually released with Miklós Rózsa’s highly influential theremin score.
Related
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/BARRIO-BOY-08.jpg?itok=nZwhSzh5)
Barrio Boy Barrio Boy
Romance 2022 83 mins Director: Dennis Shinners
A Latino barber embarks on an erotically charged odyssey of self-discovery over one hot summer in Brooklyn.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/small-things-like-these.jpg?itok=L0EcAV2F)
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Tim Mielants
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/rafiki1_0.jpg?itok=zpdLQV5y)
Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/2073-1.jpg?itok=UUYmG8Zc)
2073 2073
Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia
Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/who-we-love-01.jpg?itok=ovWlqLp7)
Who We Love Who We Love
Drama 2021 94 mins Director: Graham Cantwell
Bullied for her sexuality, Dublin schoolgirl Lily turns to her gay best friend for support in this vibrant coming-out, coming-of-age drama.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Only-the-River-Flows-04.jpg?itok=sZtVwqWT)
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/1479de164aa343ef9f954ca22d668fba.jpg?itok=d01-0IiB)
45 Years 45 Years
Drama 2015 95 mins Director: Andrew Haigh
One of the most acclaimed British features of recent years, starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a couple rocked by news from the past.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/8f0887c1ceffeb95ef7a9668207f9d2c.jpg?itok=hBQ-uk5H)
52 Tuesdays 52 Tuesdays
Drama 2013 110 mins Director: Sophie Hyde
A mother undergoing a gender transition meets his estranged daughter every Tuesday, changing gradually each time they meet. An intelligent indie hit about modern identity.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/a657a666b8f01f4753de0dd2c4c3d955.jpg?itok=eC6eZEu1)
99 Homes 99 Homes
Drama 2014 112 mins Director: Ramin Bahrani
With precision and pertinence, Ramin Bahrani’s drama reveals the human cost of the 21st-century economic crisis.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/f4d784b63fc3981ad2563d0890a78a5d.jpg?itok=AKOYetQn)
Akenfield Akenfield
Drama 1975 98 mins Director: Peter Hall
Peter Hall’s extraordinary, long-unseen work of sublime poetic realism traces three generations of one Suffolk family and their lives in the farming industry.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/5d35e3d8d1e26dc9156b8500ea9c7ca1.jpg?itok=1lVueTt3)
All Quiet on the Western Front All Quiet on the Western Front
War 1930 133 mins Director: Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone's pioneering, Oscar®-winning film is one of the most powerful films about the consequences of war
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/6a87294a3219d9131706780111a2347f.jpg?itok=F_c1-cVt)
American Gangster American Gangster
Crime 2007 157 mins Director: Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott’s heavyweight crime drama follows the rise and fall of drug-runner Frank Lucas, commandingly portrayed by Denzel Washington.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/184347e9c70b08c045fe849f1be04c39.jpg?itok=IxB4fmPn)
Lady from the Sea Lady from the Sea
Romance 1930 59 mins Director: Castleton Knight
Racy sea tale of unbridled passions with Ray Milland's Walmer lifeboatman caught in the vice-like grip of a sultry French vamp.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo235053702_2.jpg?itok=6W9nEGeq)
The Uncanny The Uncanny
Horror 1977 85 mins Director: Denis Héroux
An author becomes convinced he's unearthed a feline conspiracy to control mankind.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/BARRIO-BOY-08.jpg?itok=nZwhSzh5)
Barrio Boy Barrio Boy
Romance 2022 83 mins Director: Dennis Shinners
A Latino barber embarks on an erotically charged odyssey of self-discovery over one hot summer in Brooklyn.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/small-things-like-these.jpg?itok=L0EcAV2F)
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Tim Mielants
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/rafiki1_0.jpg?itok=zpdLQV5y)
Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/luxor2.jpg?itok=RtvEwHXF)
Luxor Luxor
Romance 2020 86 mins Director: Zeina Durra
Andrea Riseborough stars as an aid worker processing the trauma of working on the frontline on the Jordanian-Syrian border.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/2073-1.jpg?itok=UUYmG8Zc)
2073 2073
Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia
Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/who-we-love-01.jpg?itok=ovWlqLp7)
Who We Love Who We Love
Drama 2021 94 mins Director: Graham Cantwell
Bullied for her sexuality, Dublin schoolgirl Lily turns to her gay best friend for support in this vibrant coming-out, coming-of-age drama.