What an utterly amazing performance by Ray Milland. So much more raw and edgy than I had imagined a film this old could be. Billy Wilder is becoming one of my favorite directors pretty fast. A master storyteller.

Wilder's chiaroscuro is unmatched, his dialogue is wonderful and his image making is sublime. It's a film noir bent out of shape, and apart from the aesthetic elements the film seems to have lesser impact than others of Wilder's I've seen. It's still marvellous, but just doesn't command that Wilder punch.

Billy Wilder continues to impress. Miland gives an amazing, surprisingly subtle (for the time at least) performance as an alcoholic. Like The Apartment, it shows the darker side of society in an era that would usually try to hide those evils.

The Lost Weekend depicts the life of never-was writer Don Birnam as he deals with his alcoholism. The film is loaded with helpful advice like this:

"Yes, I've heard the facts and they're not too pleasant. But they could be worse. After all, you're not an embezzler or a murderer. You drink too much, and that's not fatal."

Nailed it.

The film is entirely too melodramatic to take seriously, and Don is such a whoa-is-me crybaby that I didn't care if he got over his alcoholism or not.

This isn't Billy Wilder's best offering, but I appreciate his attempt to bring alcoholism into the public discourse.

Wilder's chiaroscuro is unmatched, his dialogue is wonderful and his image making is sublime. It's a film noir bent out of shape, and apart from the aesthetic elements the film seems to have lesser impact than others of Wilder's I've seen. It's still marvellous, but just doesn't command that Wilder punch.

A film about an alcoholic who goes on a weekend binge. The film almost feels like a horror film at times and I found it immediately compelling. Every time he would get near a drink you wanted him to stay away because the consequences were bound to be awful. A great picture from Billy Wilder that features some very powerful images.

Cleaning house at the '46 Oscars, Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend has lost none of it's power 68 years later and remains of the most impactful films regarding addiction I've ever seen. Ray Milland (in an Oscar winning performance) is tremendous in the role of an alcoholic on a final weekend bender, perfectly encapsulating the desperation, despair and pathos of the life of an addict, as he cheats, steals and deceives his way to his next drink. It's sad, hard-hitting and immaculately made by one of cinema's true masters (if you haven't let Billy Wilder into your life yet, what are you waiting for?). Features a cracking hallucination scene involving a bat eating a mouse too. Would make a good double bill with Mike Figgis' Leaving Las Vegas.

Award winning film and for good reason

Directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland

Nearly 70 years after being released and still probably the greatest film and performance with regard to the depiction of alcoholism

Harrowing and thought provoking!

There but for the grace of god go I !!

One of the most powerful films about alcoholism ever made, Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend is an unflinching character study. With a powerhouse performance from Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend is a great, great film that hasn't lost its punch.

Part of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

One of the two movies that have Cannes Grand-Prix and Oscar for Best Picture. An absolute gem of a movie, i would've give it 5,5 stars if that would be possible.

Dark and truthful story of one man's war with his own alcoholism.

It's like Flight if Flight were more than just an acting showcase for Denzel. The characters are fully fleshed out, the direction is not heavy-handed, the plot far from outlandish. From a historical perspective, it's fascinating to see how American culture in the '40s handled alcoholism, and the ways in which it that is both different and similar to today.

Ray Milland does amazing work here as Don Birnam, but I really appreciated Jane Wyman as his supportive but not naive girlfriend.

At the risk of exposing my lack of film cred, I found this a great example of acting in the old school, before the method, modern, naturalistic paradigm shift a decade or so later. Sometimes this more exaggerated, stage-derived acting can ring really false and showy to modern audiences, leading to the conclusion that we're just that much better at acting than we used to be. But performances like these give me pause.