Ace in the Hole (1951)

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When a man is trapped alive in a mine collapse, a self-interested reporter and the townspeople cynically create what we now call a "media circus". (imdb)

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Genre: Drama

AKA: The Big Carnival

Country: USA

Directed By: Billy Wilder

Written By: Billy Wilder, Walter Newman, Lesser Samuels, Victor Desny

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Porter Hall, Frank Cady, Richard Benedict, Lewis Martin, Gene Evans, Ray Teal, John Berkes, Frank Jaquet, Frances Dominguez

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Ace in the Hole belongs to 79 collections

1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (public: moderated by kozan26 - 194 stars)

2. Criterion Collection (public: moderated by caffe - 140 stars)

3. IMDB Top 250 (public: moderated by ppinocchio - 111 stars)

4. Roger Ebert: Great Movies (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 73 stars)

5. Film Noir (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 50 stars)

6. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (public: moderated by Scottathon - 37 stars)

7. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Top 1000 Movies (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 35 stars)

8. They Shoot Pictures 250 Quintessential Noir Films (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 34 stars)

9. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)

10. Martin Scorsese's Film School: The 85 Films You Need to See to Know Anything About Film (public - 30 stars)

11. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (public: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)

12. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)

13. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)

14. Black Comedy (public: moderated by Dorkovsky - 22 stars)

15. National Film Registry (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 22 stars)

16. IMDb Top 250 Complete (public: moderated by Jorg - 21 stars)

17. Academy Award - Oscar - ALL Best Picture, Directing, Acting & Screenplay Nominees (public - 19 stars)

18. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray) (public: moderated by epiphany - 18 stars)

19. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (public: moderated by medium pizza - 17 stars)

20. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (public: moderated by Cinephile - 16 stars)

21. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (public: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)

22. Best of criticker: Top 250 (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 15 stars)

23. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)

24. Slant Magazine's 100 Essential Films (public: moderated by nexus - 12 stars)

25. Films available in HD (public: moderated by kubricksucks - 12 stars)

26. Best of criticker: Drama (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 12 stars)

27. films101.com's 5 star films (public: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)

28. Based On True Events (public: moderated by Spunkie - 10 stars)

29. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (public: moderated by Aron Ericson - 8 stars)

30. Journalism (public: moderated by djross - 6 stars)

31. Black and White Photography (public: moderated by JooJoo - 6 stars)

32. David Thomson's 1000 Films (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 6 stars)

33. Criticker top 250 (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 6 stars)

34. 1,000 Noir Films: They Shot Dark Pictures, Didn't They? (public: moderated by lisa- - 6 stars)

35. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Alternative Top 100 (public: moderated by medium pizza - 5 stars)

36. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (public: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)

37. IMDb Top of The 1950's (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 3 stars)

38. List: Noir of the Week (public: moderated by KasperL - 2 stars)

39. MovieMeter.nl Top 250 (public: moderated by Jorg - 2 stars)

40. Best of criticker: Film Noir (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 2 stars)

41. Roger Ebert's 4-Star Movies (public: moderated by KirkJiggler - 2 stars)

42. Average Percentile >70 (public: moderated by peyrin - 2 stars)

43. J. Castedo's "The Top 100 Films of the 20th Century" (public: moderated by CCLZA - 1 star)

44. List: Empire's masterpiece picks (public: moderated by KasperL - 1 star)

45. Sight and Sound 2002 (Single Vote) (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 1 star)

46. Premiere Magazine's 50 Unsung Classics (public: moderated by Jorg - 1 star)

47. BBC 100 Greatest American Films (public: moderated by jeff_v - 1 star)

48. Spike Lee's List Of Essential Films Every Filmmaker Must See (public: moderated by comepelicula - 1 star)

49. Integrity (or lack of) (public)

50. Moviedrome: Alex Cox (public: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer)

51. New Mexico (public: moderated by Moribunny)

52. Golden film reels from L.A. Noire (public: moderated by juntakinte68)

53. Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time (private: Ross - 33 stars)

54. Cinema Discusso: Movies You Should See (private - 31 stars)

55. Cinema Discusso Yearly Consensus (2008) (private: PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)

56. Djross overrated movies (private: djross - 4 stars)

57. edkrak films to see (private: edkrak - 2 stars)

58. Moribunny finds this highly overrated (private: Moribunny - 1 star)

59. Best of Classic Old Hollywood (pre-70s) (private: 90sCoffee - 1 star)

60. Movies from Another Room (private: umurtas - 1 star)

61. PeaceAnarchy's film of the year (private: PeaceAnarchy)

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64. Owned (BD) (private: bizarre_eye)

65. 1951: Year in Review (private: polanski28)

66. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 6 (private: PeaceAnarchy)

67. Cinetheque (private: sdenka)

68. luke9's Top 101 Favorite Movies (private)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

Order by:

TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Date	User	Rating
Oct 14	Virtus	80 _0%
Oct 14	FrankXVI	90 _89%
Oct 05	Tr1baL	87 _81%
Oct 05	Bruno125	90 _87%
Oct 04	Florin92	60 _41%
Oct 04	mike365365	68 _55%
A well done if not predictable film.
Oct 03	MoonLoop	85 _70%
Sep 26	Jonrock411	8 _77%
Sep 22	Blondone86	75 _86%
Sep 20	mduberst	84 _58%
Sep 13	eespo93	84 _57%
Sep 13	fvosterblom	60 _44%
Sep 11	izideve	50 _10%
Sep 01	Old_Spriggan	75 _59%
Aug 26	lance20000	90 _78%
Aug 22	gurkov	80 _84%
Aug 11	sandman248	90 _81%
Aug 09	bal3x	100 _99%
Aug 01	extreme87	92 _95%
Jul 18	danialinho	80 _96%
Jul 07	Boromi	90 _88%
Jul 04	windmeresfan	75 _47%
Jun 30	1701	90 _91%
Jun 27	mbramhald13	90 _0%
Jun 24	skydog	80 _53%
Jun 22	Dingleberry	60 _34%
Jun 22	xombiemonkey	10 _96%
Jun 15	Gnalkthere	86 _76%
Holy shit dude
Jun 07	Tavarish	88 _80%
Jun 06	Nangijala	80 _81%
Jun 05	smsti	70 _64%
May 30	Bartbaard	70 _65%
A nice watch. Starts of strong but ends very abruptly. It's a bit like being thrown in to a Coen Brothers situation with everything spiraling out of control, but it's not handled all that well, which reflects itself in the ending. Other than that Wilder wrote a great screenplay (ending aside) and Douglas did well
May 25	DeLarge	90 _82%
May 23	TraverseTown	70 _67%
May 17	clayj41	82 _81%
May 08	CinemaLover7	75 _24%
May 05	jam66539	60 _48%
May 03	umutkrdmn95	80 _63%
May 01	victorniglio	7 _12%
Apr 23	AHALE80	80 _0%
Apr 20	ethsings72	85 _74%
Apr 18	Tetsu	83 _66%
Apr 14	jdnolla	8 _88%
Apr 13	gnoffa	70 _48%
Apr 12	boysanilar	86 _91%
Mar 30	Tars3	85 _82%
Mar 24	Kianoto	78 _86%
Mar 24	devrimozkan	83 _97%
Mar 24	vildanden	70 _72%
Mar 22	maddriver52	75 _52%
Mar 16	shanebarlow3	57 _29%
Mar 11	napolenbrady	82 _14%
82.00
Mar 10	Jenny82	86 _91%
Mar 07	jacqueskit	85 _80%
Mar 05	mate_cosido	80 _71%
Mar 04	elimpe	80 _80%
Feb 28	P u l p	82 _88%
I always thought (based on random readings here and there) this movie is about journalism and media and how manipulating and corrupted it can be, but it's not (mainly) about that. It criticizes the people and general public who are the real power; people who can (directly or indirectly) make a journalism to manipulate a story in a way they like better; the people who can even be manipulated into electing a certain president.
Feb 27	CMWL2	1 _0%
Feb 26	Brewster	100 _99%
Feb 26	mmarczi	90 _91%
Feb 21	MortSahlFan	100 _96%
Feb 07	punpun	77 _73%
Feb 05	finchereznor	80 _66%
Feb 01	tjobidoo	60 _52%
Jan 29	cweng50	70 _62%
Jan 23	Flukt710	37 _85%
Jan 19	Deoradh	95 _82%
Jan 19	jokevv	70 _75%
Jan 19	ibi8588	90 _87%
Jan 18	VanillaSky	90 _95%
Jan 15	GFoster	76 _85%
Jan 13	tsebben	77 _71%
Jan 12	nicolino	72 _77%
Jan 12	Ressa	90 _0%
Jan 10	Teerak	60 _33%
Jan 07	Charlie	85 _90%
Jan 06	schnofel	85 _95%
Wilder hits a (gold) mine with this. The story gets better, more feverish and absurd with each passing minute. Only then a pointlessly provoked knife attack puts a halt to normal proceedings and puts our anti-hero in a twisted spot - one of needing redemption. Of all the corrupt, dirty bastards in this story, why him? He was on a streak. Well, newspaperman that he is, he sells his end with a lot of pathos.
Jan 06	Chuck92	80 _70%
Jan 06	gossamer2019	70 _69%
Jan 05	Aeschylus	99 _92%
Jan 04	Kabbjeh	85 _92%
Jan 03	WWallce4prez	91 _97%
Billy Wilder had his finger on the pulse of media, past and future, with this cynical tale. For me, its trip from cynical to darkly absurd is where the film soars. Wilder is able to find humor in this story where we now find ourselves daily.
Dec 29, 2018	lucaspeixoto	95 _93%
Dec 28, 2018	atlasakin	80 _39%
Dec 27, 2018	FraGil	65 _37%
Dec 26, 2018	Triptolemos	50 _26%
Dec 24, 2018	Philosofem	74 _60%
Dec 22, 2018	knives	84 _91%
Dec 05, 2018	mathiasa	70 _0%
Dec 05, 2018	ozdemirb	78 _63%
Dec 01, 2018	catfingers	79 _81%
Nov 30, 2018	vitruvian	90 _76%
Nov 21, 2018	TaakoDurden	39 _10%
Nov 20, 2018	microplast	80 _83%
Nov 17, 2018	Dom92	80 _65%
Nov 12, 2018	renenarciso	95 _82%
Nov 11, 2018	buddhalou	90 _90%
Nov 11, 2018	kappeuter	70 _0%
Oct 21, 2018	Mr. Blue	70 _61%
Oct 18, 2018	ShaunLewis54	87 _80%
Oct 18, 2018	Kitano7	80 _80%
Oct 05, 2018	firdeva	85 _77%
Oct 05, 2018	Zalgoz	80 _0%
Sep 30, 2018	TheBreather	85 _82%
Sep 20, 2018	ce8	68 _70%
Sep 16, 2018	am4	87 _84%
Sep 16, 2018	rosenritter	7 _72%
This is the first Wilder I've seen that felt like it had some flab, and I might've been unkinder to it were it not for that manic final act, overflowing with cynicism even by Wilder standards. I don't think I'll forget that utterly acerbic closing line anytime soon.
Sep 14, 2018	Ifeelfine	76 _61%
Sep 09, 2018	Probus	87 _33%
Sep 09, 2018	Pugs4Less	94 _82%
Sep 09, 2018	Zepheus	70 _0%
Aug 23, 2018	Cinemicrobic	90 _87%
Aug 16, 2018	Nackerman	90 _97%
Aug 09, 2018	Fritz Fass	80 _71%
Aug 07, 2018	filmbantha	70 _63%
Aug 05, 2018	Toke Za	65 _54%
Aug 05, 2018	fluland	92 _93%
Aug 03, 2018	kafka1325	69 _79%
Aug 03, 2018	drdutw	91 _96%
Jul 26, 2018	CMQuinn	100 _96%
Jul 19, 2018	danielst84	90 _90%
Jul 15, 2018	NathanBates	80 _74%
A dark look at what used to be called "yellow journalism," trying to make stars out of newspaper writers. The film, filled with brilliant lines and an outstanding cast, is still relevant today in our own media "circus" (which is literally depicted here).
Jul 14, 2018	nobamba	70 _67%
Jul 11, 2018	britneybitch	85 _21%
Jun 19, 2018	FreddieQuell	97 _98%
Jun 04, 2018	bubbatex	89 _70%
May 29, 2018	mcakmak	81 _58%
May 28, 2018	Batty	80 _73%
May 28, 2018	Curb	93 _95%
May 17, 2018	Angel Eyes	80 _50%
May 17, 2018	Amir abbas	75 _71%
May 13, 2018	HoneyB	73 _46%
May 11, 2018	bholsclaw	77 _83%
May 08, 2018	brennanc	19 _26%
May 07, 2018	Siegel Hans	80 _82%
May 05, 2018	Grandaddy	70 _60%
May 05, 2018	normatic	80 _84%
May 03, 2018	svenerik	80 _56%
May 03, 2018	arash.fo	80 _66%
May 03, 2018	dragos	80 _86%
May 01, 2018	John Milton	80 _87%
Apr 30, 2018	TwoPlusTwo	100 _0%
Apr 29, 2018	Ratticus	93 _75%
Apr 26, 2018	HaileyS	95 _89%
Apr 25, 2018	Kaan Kavusan	80 _83%
Apr 18, 2018	fictionfitz	87 _92%
Apr 15, 2018	AchwellFoley	90 _96%
Apr 14, 2018	myriadVoles	90 _68%
Apr 13, 2018	benrad	65 _32%
Apr 13, 2018	dourface	80 _86%
Apr 01, 2018	1859	50 _31%
Mar 30, 2018	Box Of Frogs	2 _0%
Mar 29, 2018	felixgartner	90 _78%
Mar 23, 2018	horrorjames	80 _85%
Mar 20, 2018	apsays	68 _62%
Mar 17, 2018	allneonslike	78 _83%
Mar 11, 2018	K.Metehan	95 _97%
Mar 09, 2018	scott.mcc	80 _86%
Mar 08, 2018	steelhep	80 _62%
Mar 05, 2018	naco77	90 _92%
Mar 02, 2018	_paula	90 _86%
Feb 27, 2018	Omar96amri	86 _77%
Feb 24, 2018	hamedgolsha	75 _41%
Feb 23, 2018	halilky	90 _65%
Feb 17, 2018	Videogirl88	97 _89%
Feb 17, 2018	coldesser	90 _94%
Feb 17, 2018	R.Brissenden	86 _90%
Feb 04, 2018	cloque	5 _25%
Feb 01, 2018	tjshawn	76 _66%
Jan 30, 2018	JimiAntiloop	50 _23%
Jan 29, 2018	rememberthis	60 _23%
Jan 23, 2018	ZONE	80 _55%
Jan 18, 2018	Proggoth	80 _50%
Jan 14, 2018	ZombieZer0	92 _91%
Jan 12, 2018	Jay96	82 _50%
Jan 12, 2018	fyodor16	90 _72%
Jan 09, 2018	cengaveri	75 _61%
Dec 30, 2017	derzulya	7 _76%
Dec 20, 2017	Systematicer	70 _69%
Dec 19, 2017	bennick218	87 _83%
Dec 17, 2017	Phantom Nook	78 _77%
A pretty good cautionary tale about sensationalism in media, and valuing a great scoop above all else.
Dec 12, 2017	twijfel	67 _59%
Dec 08, 2017	clouseau	82 _95%
Nov 29, 2017	Cocoa	70 _72%
Nov 26, 2017	drowsy	60 _5%
Nov 25, 2017	kjones77	80 _70%
Nov 23, 2017	Taher Zeus	77 _64%
Nov 22, 2017	njm1211	94 _67%
Nov 06, 2017	pedroserpas	93 _70%
Oct 28, 2017	crusse17	0 _19%
Oct 28, 2017	deanjames	80 _77%
Oct 26, 2017	maxmode	70 _60%
Oct 26, 2017	Dthepyek	49 _51%
Oct 23, 2017	Kurtz	9 _94%
Oct 20, 2017	falsebinary	84 _72%
Oct 12, 2017	thornsofsky	80 _57%
Oct 10, 2017	Broony	83 _70%
Sep 24, 2017	Namlod	80 _65%
Sep 10, 2017	jimmyp	75 _47%
Sep 06, 2017	ekotto	84 _91%
Sep 02, 2017	secludix	60 _52%
Aug 28, 2017	toystwo	70 _14%
Aug 21, 2017	izwt936g	95 _92%
Aug 04, 2017	Mpython	10 _95%
Aug 02, 2017	whataboutit	87 _61%
Jul 29, 2017	mzgan	90 _96%
Jul 29, 2017	Jimmy Suede	75 _57%
Great story about an obnoxious, sleazy reporter, who was, well, pretty sleazy and obnoxious (trying not to spoil it here) and superbly acted by Kirk Douglas. Pretty biting commentary on the media. I'd rate it higher except for some required suspension of disbelief concerning his getting away with his scheme so easily for so long, and the ridiculous circus (literally) that it became.
Jul 18, 2017	davidsietsma	100 _92%
Jul 16, 2017	robochaa	60 _26%
Jul 15, 2017	Risselada	83 _80%
Jul 14, 2017	haljordan2	1 _0%
Jul 14, 2017	umurtas	75 _71%
Jul 08, 2017	tinatinas	70 _45%
Jul 07, 2017	sammosummo	70 _54%
Jun 21, 2017	ATLANTIS1	0 _0%
Jun 08, 2017	xmoffx	5 _88%
Jun 05, 2017	kharms	70 _50%
May 24, 2017	leemarvins	85 _87%
May 20, 2017	barryegan	90 _76%
May 15, 2017	DrWade42	88 _87%
May 12, 2017	HillJackBob	80 _80%
May 12, 2017	SirStuckey	75 _67%
Kirk Douglas plays a super asshole. Jan Sterling plays a lazily written idiot asshole. The script is effective in it's cynicism (which I can appreciate) but is super contrived (which I can't). Still despite it's obvious flaws I found it quite compelling.
May 09, 2017	albajos	90 _93%
May 08, 2017	peyez	6 _54%
May 07, 2017	what side	80 _79%
Apr 23, 2017	zya00	72 _34%
Apr 19, 2017	muratkrks	85 _90%
Apr 18, 2017	bybrt	75 _75%
Apr 13, 2017	bleaker	87 _77%
Apr 09, 2017	cripplehorse	32 _26%
Apr 09, 2017	ICMforum	100 _89%
Mar 29, 2017	maneeshgoel	80 _65%
Mar 17, 2017	Winston4th	91 _91%
Mar 15, 2017	marjoline	75 _64%
Mar 11, 2017	RYM-byrates	80 _98%
Mar 06, 2017	pja	86 _89%
Mar 03, 2017	Silp	94 _81%
Mar 03, 2017	tipieserozge	80 _81%
Feb 28, 2017	TMDaines	75 _57%
Feb 25, 2017	mCihhh	90 _94%
Feb 24, 2017	Panunzio	83 _86%
Feb 21, 2017	kode	75 _42%
Feb 21, 2017	tsdcosta	98 _93%
Feb 19, 2017	johnnycash25	80 _16%
Feb 15, 2017	thumhowitz	95 _91%
Feb 13, 2017	Kobaruon	80 _85%
Feb 12, 2017	ArcticLendri	95 _91%
Feb 10, 2017	jsa86_86	60 _24%
Feb 09, 2017	Bibzom	78 _78%
Feb 08, 2017	Angliche92	82 _85%

Displaying 1 to 250 of 1277 total ratings: Prev | Next

Average Percentile 73.76% from 1277 Ratings