The Apartment
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Movie Reviews of The Apartment
Movie Review: ATTENTION: a Home Theatre/HDTV/16:9/480p DVD Review!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Now that the Home Theatre environment is becoming more common it is time to sort the GOOD from the BAD DVD's. This is only from a videophile who enjoys the total viewing and listening Home Theatre experience. The movies themselves are the main ingredient but unfortunately Film Studios don't always give us what we think we are getting. (Quality vs quantity) Another words they are already re-releasing DVD movies with enhancements and extras for wide screen TV's etc. So we need to buy right the first time and not repeat buying on the same movie.My first (#1) Home Theatre DVD Review "The Apartment" is an AFI (American Film Institute) top 100 movie of the last 100 years. It won "5" Oscars including "Best Picture of 1960", and Best Director, Billy Wilder (in 1959 he directed, "Some Like It Hot" - voted by AFI as the #1 Comedy in the last 100 years) So you can see this was and is a GREAT Comedy (filmed in Black and White). Jack Lemmon, Shirely MacClaine and Fred MacMurray lead the emsemble cast.
Simply put its a boy meets girl, falls in love she is distracted by another man and "The Apartment" brings them together. A great story, great characters and the greatest comedic director.
Now this DVD is Digitally ReMasterd (Picture and Sound). It is enhanced for widescreen 16:9 (Aspect Ratio) TV's & HDTV's. The movie's 235:1 means you still get a LETTERBOX presentation but it is enhanced for maximum viewing enjoyment. The Picture clarity is perfect (480p - 480 horz lines with Progressive Scan (a line doubler feature. NOTE: regular DVD players are 480i). The only extra is a Trailer. "The Apartment" is a must both for its entertainment value and viewing quality. It is the best!!!!
Movie Review: Wilder's Best
Summary: 5 Stars
The Apartment is my favourite Billy Wilder film. It is a perfect marriage of drama and comedy. The story at times is quite dark and shows the sordid side of office life. The main themes of the film are infidelity and despair, but Wilder is able to inject humour into these themes so that the film becomes paradoxically warm and full of emotion. Shirley MacLaine was never better than in her role as Fran Kubelik the `elevator girl' trapped in a hopeless affair. Jack Lemmon likewise gives one of his best performances as `Bud' Baxter trying to get ahead in the office, but a man with principles also and finally a man willing to stand up and be counted. Fred MacMurray did all his best work with Wilder and is wonderfully slimy as J.D. Sheldrake the treacherous boss after only one thing. The film is helped immeasurably by a superb score by Adolph Deutsch, particularly the main theme which I find quite heartbreaking. The MGM DVD is good. It is presented in anamorphic widescreen which shows off the original Panavision print very well. I found the quality of this print to be fine. The images are clear and sharp and the print hardly shows its age at all. The sound quality on this DVD is also good with very little background noise. The dialogue is always audible and the music sounds great. Of course the film neither looks nor sounds like a film released this year, but as a presentation of a film made more than forty years ago this DVD is more than acceptable. The only extra on this DVD is a theatrical trailer which unfortunately is not presented in its correct aspect ratio. The trailer is of interest mainly because it fails to mention the main theme of the movie, i.e. infidelity.
Movie Review: We All live There!
Summary: 5 Stars
Jack lemmon has this undeniable presence that just draws you into what ever role he played! He Just fit into this every man magic that it seemed as if a hidden camera is placed into his real life situations and we are allowed to observe. This quality trancends acting this just is Jack Lemmon, he never was an actor he was just a genius! The Apartment gives him the ultimate setup and sceneray to chew on and he rips into like a beaver attacking a sequoia! The film places him in the midst of being the ultimate underdog, he goes to work everyday to earn a living and returns home to his home life, one that he lives alone but even his home life is over run by those who have more power than him his co-workers at work. The higher ups use his apartment for rendevous and at times demand the key to his place, leaving lemmon no choice but to sleep on a park bench on a rainy moonlit night. But why does Lemmon put up with being the ultimate punching bag? Why do any of us? Because we have to survive and bite the bullet but as the film progresses and we meet the ultimate swine played to perfection by MacMurray and falls in love with Shirley MacLaine his reolve is tested and he breaks and when the plot spins from haate to love to suicide to friendship and back to love you never ever loose faith in Jack Lemmon you never doubt him or think of him as being weak or shallow because he is not Lemmon's character is the ultimate creation, the force of all great films, he is everyone! As the film went on I didn't find myself rooting for him to get the girl, or to get a great job or to even get even with those who have broken his spirit i just wanted Lemmon's Charater C.C. Baxter to be happy!Movie Review: We've seen it all before, or maybe we've experienced it!
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this movie on TV when I was first starting my career in Houston, Texas. It gave me some perspective on the life that exists within the walls of the workplace. In the words of the Shirley MacClaine character, "Some people are givers, and some people are takers". We find both types in the workplace and in life. How often have you known someone, maybe even us who've been used by a "taker".This movie tells the price you pay, when you sacrifice your morals for selfish reasons. Jack Lemmon plays a young accountant, who has found a unique way to advance his career up the corporate ladder. He loans out his apartment in the city, for [dates] by executives in his company. He actually receives little real help, most of them are just using their position, to shine him on, and get what they want.
When one of the bigger bosses in the company finds out about the arrangement, and decides he wants exclusive rights, the young accountant must decide what is more important. The good news is: this big boss really can help him advance his career. Is it worth selling his morality, for higher position within the company?
Of course he gets a little help making up his mind. Depressed from finding out a girl he likes is just another, "businessman's special", who uses his apartment. ....
Like many Billy Wilder films, this movie has the power to touch our emotions. It does so in ways we wouldn't have thought possible. It has enough humor to balance some of the tragic moments, and not to decend into the realm of melodrama. It is intentionally filmed in black and white, so not to distract from the story. It won the Best Picture Oscar for 1960.
Movie Review: Bud's success is an open door policy...
Summary: 5 Stars
'Bud' Baxter (Jack Lemon) works for an insurance company in New York and throughout his career he has seen the slow process of few people advancing within the company. However, Bud has found the quick way for professional success and progress as he lends out his apartment to his superiors. The apartment functions as a love nest for his bosses as they can continue their secret love affairs unhindered . Regularly Bud has to return late at night as his superiors are leaving his apartment after a rendezvous with a mistress. This is wearing out Bud both emotionally and physically as he must clean up the mess and deal with the neighbors gossip. When the head of the company wants to borrow his key to his apartment he does not only advance his career, he also discovers the woman of his life. But it comes with a price as he must chose between his career and love. Billy Wilder is canny as he crafts this story about Bud and the escapades around his apartment. There are two factors that Wilder uses that make the film readily available for a large audience. First Wilder tells a story which people can relate to and second he makes it a comedy, which makes people laugh. These two simple steps are fundamental for a successful film. In addition, Wilder displays his remarkable storytelling skills as he creates this comedy with serious undertones similar to some of William Shakespeare's comedies and this offers depth and makes this film also a good one. In the end, Wilder leaves the audience with a first class story that offers a brilliant cinematic experience as it leaves the audience with a message.