8) The Apartment
Great directors have always had the ability to pick the right actor for a part. Looking back at any Billy Wilder film; it really is hard to imagine anyone else playing one of his fantastic characters. The trio in Some Like it Hot will forever be adored, but it is one of his other collaborations with Jack Lemmon, which is completely unimaginable with a different set of actors.
Lemmon is the finest actor in history at walking the line between hilarity and tragedy; and this has never been better demonstrated than in The Apartment (hilarious and tragic are two adjectives perfectly applicable to the film itself); and Shirley MacLaine is completely adorable as the object of his affections.
