From the Collection: Some Like It Hot
Billy Wilder’s classic comedy Some Like It Hot recently got a 4K upgrade from the Criterion Collection.
One of the most beloved films of all time, this sizzling masterpiece by Billy Wilder set a new standard for Hollywood comedy. After witnessing a mob hit, Chicago musicians Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, in landmark performances) skip town by donning drag and joining an all-female band en route to Miami. The charm of the group’s singer, Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe, at the height of her bombshell powers), leads them ever further into extravagant lies, as Joe assumes the persona of a millionaire to woo her and Jerry’s female alter ego winds up engaged to a tycoon. With a whip-smart script by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond, and sparking chemistry among its finely tuned cast, Some Like It Hot is as deliriously funny and fresh today as it was when it first knocked audiences out several decades ago.
Here’s What the Disc Includes:
- 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary from 1989 featuring film scholar Howard Suber
- Program on Orry-Kelly’s costumes for the film, featuring costume designer and historian Deborah Nadoolman Landis and costume historian and archivist Larry McQueen
- Three behind-the-scenes documentaries
- Appearances by director Billy Wilder on The Dick Cavett Show from 1982
- Conversation from 2001 between actor Tony Curtis and film critic Leonard Maltin
- French television interview from 1988 with actor Jack Lemmon
- Radio interview from 1955 with actor Marilyn Monroe
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Cover by F. Ron Miller
- PLUS: An essay by author Sam Wasson
What more is there to say about Some Like It Hot that hasn’t already been said? This is one of the greatest comedies of all time and one of my personal favorites. Curtis and Lemmon are superb, and Marilyn Monroe exudes movie stardom and was robbed of an Oscar nomination for the best performance of her career. What I love most about the film is how effortlessly it blends several genres together. It’s a comedy, a buddy comedy, a music film, a road movie, a romance, a gangster film, and a parody of a gangster film (especially with the casting of Scarface star George Raft as the main gangster) all rolled into one glorious piece of cinema.
The new 4K release from Criterion is excellent. It’s a beautiful restoration with terrific sound and picture. The disc is loaded with bonus features, including several interesting interviews with Wilder, Lemmon, Curtis, and Monroe. My favorite special feature was the look at the film’s costuming. While nominated for six Academy Awards at the 1960 ceremony, the film’s only win came in Costume Design, Black and White, so this special feature diving into the award-winning costumes was a real treat.
You can buy Some Like It Hot on the Criterion Collection website or wherever Criterion movies are sold.
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From the Collection is an analysis of non-new-release movies, whether seen on DVD, streaming, or in a theater. It includes a brief history of the film, a review of the film, and content about the experience of seeing the film and/or the contents of the film’s DVD.
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