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THE APARTMENT
Blu-ray Edition
Review by Alex Haberstroh
Technical specs by Michael Jacobson
Stars: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray
Walston
Director: Billy Wilder
Audio: DTS HD 5.1
Video: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Studio: MGM
Features: See Review
Length: 125 minutes
Release Date: January 24, 2011
“You see a girl a couple of times a week for laughs and sooner or later she thinks you’ll divorce your wife. Not fair, is it?”
"No, especially to your wife.”
Film ***
Made the year
after Some Like It Hot, The Apartment marked Director Billy Wilder’s
successful reteaming with actor Jack Lemmon. Nominated
for ten Oscars and garnering five (including Best Picture), I was eager to see what work
the team had produced after their previous comedic gem.
Quite to my surprise
though, from its very opening, The Apartment is far from the type of comedy I
initially expected it to be. Although the
film is certainly filled with some light moments (and is billed as a comedy), the
film is richly laden with black humor that I’m fairly surprised didn’t offend
audiences in the past.
The Apartment is a
scathing comedy that targets sensitive subjects such as infidelity, as well as the
political maneuvering involved in squirming to the top in corporations (sadly, depravity
always helps to make a film ageless).
The film’s
protagonist is C.C. “Bud” Baxter, an ever so affable employee of a New York City
insurance company. Wanting advancement in the
company, and being too much of a pushover to say no, he is left in the precarious position
of having his apartment be the clubhouse for all of his bosses’ flings. Unfortunately, the bosses push Bud out of
his apartment so much so that he is stuck working many hours of overtime and, in one
scene, Bud is pushed out of his apartment at almost midnight, leaving him with nothing to
do but sit on a bench in the rain all night.
When Bud’s bosses
finally recommend him for promotion, he is brought upstairs to the main supervisor, the
slimey Mr. Sheldrake (MacMurray). Sheldrake,
having heard about Bud’s situation with his other bosses, dangles a management
promotion in return for Bud’s key. Bud
acquiesces and takes the promotion, but soon finds out that the woman Sheldrake is seeing
(and mistreating) is the elevator girl he loves (MacLaine).
Despite its huge
success, the film seems incredibly low budget. Watching
the film, I felt as if it had been adapted from a play, as the whole story is not only
dialogue driven, but also mostly takes place in Bud’s office and (yes, you guessed
it) his apartment. Despite its low budget,
the acting is generally top notch, so I can see why the film won its awards.
Although many will most likely feel that they’ve seen this movie already through more recent films such as For Love or Money, etc, this is an interesting, if somewhat predictable look, at making the right decision between selfishness and selflessness.
Video ***1/2
This is a very lovely black and white rendering from MGM. The images are sharp, clean and crisp with good detail and contrast throughout, and only minor noticeable specks and spots here and there...perfectly acceptable for a golden era film.
Audio ***
The soundtrack is mixed for DTS 5.1 sound, and works nicely, but doesn't offer a lot of rear stage usage. The film is mostly dialogue oriented, and the spoken words come through without distortions, and the overall presentation is clean and clear.
Features **1/2
There is an audio commentary from
film producer Bruce Block, a featurette on the late great Jack Lemmon, and a
theatrical trailer.
Summary:
An interesting, older selection with top notch performances from all involved, but especially Lemmon and MacMurray, The Apartment remains a true classic for film fans. This Blu-ray from MGM is a wonderful way to experience it!
