The Fortune Cookie | | Cast : | Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau | | Director : | Billy Wilder | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Black & White, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | October 19, 1966 | | DVD Released Date : | March 06, 2001 | | Language : | Unknown (Dubbed), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | NR (Not Rated) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | March 14, 2005 | | Summary | A Comic Chemistry Class | Content
 | Matthau and Lemon in an underated Billy Wilder film from the mid sixties. Once again Wilder and Diamond put a regular fella in a morally compromising position. Jack Lemmon, a divorced television camera man is involved in an accident with a football player, then is coereced by his low life brother in law, Walter Matthau, into pretending he is paralyzed from the impact and a law suite is put into motion. It is a funny and touching story, wonderfully directed and watching Lemmon and Matthau is always a double treat. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 15, 2002 | | Summary | Four stars for content, but........ | Content
| "The Fortune Cookie" has long been one of my favorite Billy Wilder movies, and I was pleased to see it's release on DVD, especially in the original widescreen format. While the movie and performances are great (especially Walter Matthau in his Oscar-winning turn), and the script by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond hits the target, I was very disappointed in the lackluster transfer to disc that this unqualified classic received. Sure, the letterboxing is great, but halfway through the film, the sound quality takes a turn for the worse - less audible, and almost scratchy at times. Plus, the only "extra" is the original trailer, and there is no additional booklet. Surely a genius like Wilder deserves better preservation than this! |
| Rating | | | Date | October 29, 2000 | | Summary | Semi-cynical, semi-black comedy about greed | Content
| Matthau does steal the show ("Why, the insurance companies have so much money they have to microfilm it!") There are funny parts in this movie--such as the bit about the cryto-Nazi German doctor who suggests throwing Lemmon into a pit of snakes to see if he's really paralyzed--but overall it's just not that amusing. It's definitely worth seeing through. But it is rather disturbing to watch the football player falling apart because he thinks he's badly, if accidentally, hurt Lemmon. Then there's Lemmon's character--none too bright--who's eaten up with guilt. On top of that, he's completely blind as to his gold-digger ex-wife. For dealing with the effects of greed, this is one of the best you'll ever see. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 02, 2000 | | Summary | An Enjoyable Look into Greed | Content
| Many people have pondered why this movie falls into the comedy genre of film . . . when in fact that it is a comedy. Their is a definite chemistry between Lemmon and Mathau (arguably not as strong as in their later films) that makes the entire movie run smoothly. My only complaint is that the movie does seem to drag a bit in the later stages of the film. I personally found the "handicapped" antics of Lemmon to be quite entertaining - especially the high speed wheelchair action of someone who is obviously not handicapped. Additionally, the change of character displayed whenever his wife is tenderly mentioned is classic and real. Mathau, although perhaps not Oscar material, plays the blood-sucking lawyer better than perhaps any performance I can think of. His usual grumpy, greedy self is perfectly kept intact in this role. In fact, his performance is so good that it makes you wonder if it is an act at all. And judging from Mathau's other films, I don't think it is. As far as greed is concerned, there are two types of characters in the film. Those after money and those who are honest. And the ones who are honest are the happy characters and the characters who turn out all right in the end. It perfectly follows the format of films made during this era - good moral lessons. All in all, Fortune Cookie is a delightful film that will entertain you. Watch it if you enjoy the chemistry between these two wonderful actors. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 03, 2000 | | Summary | Very Weak Wilder Comedy | Content
| How exactly this film is billed as a comedy is beyond me. I can't remember laughing at this movie. I guess it's a comedy-of manners, but really lacks wit. I'm suprised to even say that this is a Billy Wilder film. How could the man who made such classics as "Sunset Boulevard", "Some Like It Hot" , and "Double Indemnity" have actually made this movie! A very weak and unfunny screenplay by I.A.L Diamond and Wilder himself. If it weren't for the fact that there are two star performances by Lemmon and Matthau, and fine supporting players like Judi West and Ron Rich, I might consider giving this one star. The story goes something like this, Harry Hinkle (Lemmon) is a camera man who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, see he collides with football star Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Rich). Hinkle's brother-in-law, Willie Gingrich (Matthau) seeks the perfect opportunity to try and pull off a insurance scam. Hinkle of course at first is totally against the whole idea. But when he's ex-wife calls, Sandy (West), to check if her ex is ok, Harry starts to think, maybe he could win his wife back. All of this seems like a pretty good idea. You would think that perhaps some laughs could come out of this. But Wilder and Diamond have something else up their sleeve. They both completely avoided the comedy and seemed to try to give the movie more "heart". It seems like they wanted to make a drama more than a comedy. Which is fine with me. Only I was expecting a comedy. The story really seems to drag, why Wilder felt the movie had to be a little over two hours long I'll never understand. He could of made the same bad movie in 90 minutes. The movie was nominated for 4 Oscars, why I don't know. And was awarded only one, which went to Matthau, for best supporting actor. One of Wilder's weeker films, and one everyone should stay away from. ** 1\2 out of ***** |
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