Well, yes, perhaps I did make a stronger statement than intended via the use of a mathematical symbol. In my book, preferring one entity doesn't entirely negate one to which it is compared.
It's indisputable that Wilder was a genius in film. Stalag 17 has a permanent spot on my Top 10; and a movie that is widely considered one of his lesser efforts will always be a sentimental favorite of mine. That being said, it is my opinion that Wilder seems to get all the love; and someone else who could be considered equally talented and innovative with regard to comedy and/or a cinematic forebear (again, re comedy) to Wilder might receive less attention and credit than he is due. Short story long, I admit that Wilder is probably all that, but maybe not all that and a bag of chips. (And personally, for as many Wilder films that are well thought of, I think there is a fair number of stinkers on his CV.) To circle back to my original thought, I do think Lubitsch's contributions to film comedy are often overlooked.
Were Wilder the subject of the essay, I'd include Sturges in the comparison because they were working largely concurrently. But Sturges becomes active in the industry when Lubitsch's career was tailing off. Preston Sturges' first directing credit is in 1940 and writing in 1930 (though he was leading a pretty interesting life, so can't blame him for a late start), and Lubitsch died in 1947 with 75 directing credits. Just my opinion, but Sturges and Lubitsch weren't really contemporaries in the industry, or were only for a figurative 5 minutes. The two are closer in age to each other than either of them is to Wilder, and both died relatively young -- so they have that in common.
ETA:
Yes, Lubitsch and Wilder were friends and collaborators. There's no Wilder v Lubitsch cage match in play or anything.
