A new programme at the BFI Southbank is set to illuminate the extraordinary career of a filmmaker who transformed the silver screen. Running from October to December, the retrospective Almost Perfect pays tribute to Billy Wilder, the émigré auteur whose indelible mark on modern cinema remains unparalleled. From the shadowy depths of film noir to the glitzy comedies of the Swinging Sixties, Wilder’s body of work stands as a testament to his relentless creative vision and his uncanny ability to blend darkness with light.
The Berlin Flush and the Birth of a Legend
Born Samuel Wilder in 1906 to a Jewish family in Austria-Hungary, his mother’s nickname for him—”Billie,” inspired by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows—foreshadowed a life lived firmly under the spotlight. Before conquering Hollywood, he cut his teeth as a journalist and taxi dancer, roles that cultivated an almost