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The Apartment
| Media: | DVD | | Directed by: | Billy Wilder | | Starring: | Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray | | Release date: | 18 December, 2001 | | List price: | $14.95 | | Our price: | $12.61 that is 16% off! |
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The Apartment |
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| Wilder at his best... | | Who would have thought that a dark romantic comedy set against a backgroud of corparate politics and sex in the 50's could win best picture in 1960. Billy Wilder's very dark and sometimes shocking film The Apartment did just that!!!!! In his best film Wilder scores a knockout. With telling the story of C.C. Baxter(Jack Lemmon),a loner, working for an insurance company and his dealings with his bosses and love for an elevator opporator named Fran(Shirley MacLaine). This movie is almost a satire of corporate America in the 50's. A story of how people get used and the people who use them. With a dark wit Wilder pushes the envelope of what people were used to seeing in a comedy, remember this movie was made in 1960. Now he had made and would make other dark movies, examples Lost Weekend or the film nior classic Double Indemnity. But most were drama's and none had the wicked satire of the Apartment. Lemmon, Maclaine and Fred MacMurray all give great performances. A +++++++++++++ |
| The Apartment - | | Stay At The Apartment | | The Apartment is Billy Wilder's satirical look at office politics and the Man In The Grey Flannel Suit. Jack Lemmon stars as C.C. Baxter, a lowly office clerk in a huge corporation who is just another faceless working bee in an endless row of desks. When Baxter starts lending his apartment to executives in his firm so they can take their mistresses there, he finds himself moving up the corporate ladder. Although the constant loaning of his apartment starts to be an inconvenience, he keeps doing it as makes sense business wise. In meantime, he meets Fran, an elevator operator in his building, who is involved in affair with the big man in corporation, J.D. Sheldrake, played by Fred MacMurray. Mr. MacMurray is outstanding playing against type as the lascivious lowlife boss and philanderer (although is played another unscrupulous character quite well in The Caine Mutiny). Ms. MacLaine is excellent as the morose Fran who brings the situation between Baxter, Sheldrake and herself to head when she tries to commit suicide. Baxter must decide between his integrity and his career. Mr. Wilder masterfully fills the film with laughs and heart and his look at corporate politics is sharp and incisive. For his efforts, he yet again had a triple win at the Oscars, taking the 1960 Best Director, Screenwriting & Picture awards. The Apartment was also the last black & white film to win the Best Picture Oscar until Schindler's List (which has some elements of color) won in 1993. |
| - The Apartment | | Superb acting and story! | | In "The Apartment", Jack Lemmon gets to showcase and stretch his acting ability like in no other movie, and that's why it's my favorite Lemmon flick. Being a mixture of comedy and drama, we get to see Lemmon's raw talent and the ease at which he is able to accommodate the requirements of a given scene. The 60's N.Y city setting is the perfect backdrop for Lemmon's attempt to climb up the ladder of success, by allowing his "higher-up" co-workers at the insurance company where they work access to his apartment for their various trysts and affairs. While the whole thing started as more or less an accident, Lemmon ("C.C. Baxter") puts up with the many inconveniences of the arrangement because he quickly sees the value ("business-wise", that is) of his beneficent behavior. And it seems to pay off when he finally receives a promotion, only to discover that his new boss ("Mr. Sheldrake", played by Fred MacMurray) also wants in on the apartment "action". The plot then thickens when Lemmon begins to fall for an elevator operator (Shirley MacLaine) who happens to be the girl that Sheldrake is having an affair with..... The storyline moves quickly so there is never a boring moment and the viewer easily becomes sympathetic to Baxter, who ultimately must make the "career vs. integrity" decision. As the movie continues, the funny lines and scenes (and they are top-notch) diminish somewhat and the more poignant moments surface - Lemmon is equally at home in both worlds. MacMurray as "the villain" works surprisingly well, and although I am not a Shirley MacLaine fan, she is excellent in this movie. The DVD quality is very good and far surpasses my old VHS copy, plus it's in wide screen format. Directed by Billy Wilder. The black and white works exceptionally well, creating an ironic sense of isolation and despair in the ever-bustling and often humorous world of unstoppable human.....progress? Not only my favorite Lemmon movie, but one of my favorite movies period, and one I watch 2 or 3 times each year. Highly recommended. |
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