Billy was sui generis, a petulant child as an old man, a bitter octogenarian as a youth. A contrarian, a vulgarian, a gentleman. One of the best writers in film history, and a writer who rarely wrote a thing. But ideas, oh the ideas, and the complications, and the implications of the complications -- in that he was genius writ large.
When I say that he didn't 'write', I mean that he was much more the instigator, the innovator, the man who knew where the picture was going and his collaborator had better be able to follow. He relied on Bracket and Diamond (in the main) for facility and
… More cleverness in English, a language in which he, to the end, had more ability than confidence. As a director he was unspectacular. But he wasn't making spectacles. He was making movies (not 'films') and at that he is unsurpassed. Is Some Like It Hot the greatest comedy of all time? Maybe not. But it's damn good. Is Sunset Boulevard the greatest behind-the-scenes drama about Hollywood of all time? Maybe not, but it's damn good. There are a couple of flicks Billy made that are not damn good. But they are few, far between, and if you don't go and watch everything this man ever worked on, you don't belong on this site.
