Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

The Apartment Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 28, 2017

We live in an era when cynicism is celebrated, but it’s often an ugly kind of cynicism, one born of arrogance and a kind of patently weird attitude that seems to suggest, “Hey, I can be more dismissive than you’ll ever be able to be.” For a “kinder, gentler” form of cynicism, one colored not just with the appropriate levels of distrust and subterfuge, but rather oddly suffused (at least at times) with a rather ironic amount of sincerity and honest human emotion, there’s probably no better (cinematic) place to turn than Billy Wilder’s legendary 1960 masterpiece, The Apartment. As is discussed in one of the supplements included on this rather handsomely packaged new release from Arrow Academy, when you consider that The Apartment deals with pimping, prostitution, blackmail and attempted suicide (not a complete list of this film’s litany of peccadilloes, mind you), it’s almost incredible to think that The Apartment is a comedy. Now, The Apartment is not a “traditional” comedy in any sense of the word, something that probably made it even more provocative to 1960 audiences than it may seem to be in our, yes, cynical modern era. What perhaps surprised audiences back at the time of The Apartment’s original theatrical release is that it was Wilder’s follow up to the immensely successful Some Like It Hot, the first of seven collaborations between the writer-director and star Jack Lemmon, and a film that famously offered Lemon and co- star Tony Curtis as two cross dressing musicians attempting to flee nefarious gangsters, in a plot that is for all intents and purposes a classical farce. Audiences who (initially at least) flocked to The Apartment expecting more of the same raucous approach were probably shocked, at least in passing, when the film quickly detailed its conceit: low level insurance clerk C.C. “Bud” Baxter (Jack Lemmon) has been allowing executives at the firm where he works to use his Manhattan apartment for their extra-marital dalliances.

MGM released The Apartment on Blu-ray almost six years ago, and my hunch is most coming to this review are going to be more interested in how the technical merits of this release stack up to the previous one (as well as what supplements this release contains), rather than a rehashing of the by now fairly well known plot. For a thorough summary, I refer you to my colleague Casey Broadwater’s The Apartment Blu-ray review of the previous version. I do want to add a couple of comments, however, including a “second” to Casey’s raves about Shirley MacLaine’s performance in the film. I had a pretty major crush on MacLaine when I was a little boy, something fostered by a childhood trip to see Sweet Charity, a film which completely knocked my young socks off for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was MacLaine’s almost patented combination of vulnerability and steely resilience. Charity Hope Valentine was just one of several characters MacLaine essayed, another one being The Apartment’s Fran Kubelik, where a woman’s quest for romantic fulfilment is hobbled both by (ironically) the men she chooses, but also by the vagaries of her fate, vagaries which perhaps keep her locked in an undesirable socioeconomic status. The other interesting thing about The Apartment from a hindsight perspective is how beautifully (if disturbingly at times) it conveys the whole early sixties “Mad Men” ambience of powerful men treating the women in their lives like possessions, and indeed almost like ornaments.

The Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Apartment is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The hardback book included with this package includes the following information on the restoration:

The Apartment was exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with the original mono soundtrack and a 5.1 mix.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director Scanner at EFilm, Burbank. Upon inspection it was discovered that several sections in the original negative had been removed and replaced with a duplicate negative element, resulting in a noticeable shift in quality. These substitutions were not limited to the optical sections, which would have been standard lab practice at the time. Although lab documentation could not be found, these substitutions were likely performed prior to the film's original release, as all subsequent intermediary film elements also exhibit these changes. The trims from the original negative could not be found as these were likely discarded long ago, but a separate 35mm fine grain positive was sourced and compared against the duplicate negative element for these sections. In each of these instances the best source element was selected to ensure the highest quality presentation possible.

The film was graded on the Nucoda grading system at R3store Studios, London. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, [and] scratches were repaired or removed through a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques. Instances of picture instability, warped sections and damaged rames were also improved.

The original mono soundtrack and 5.1 mix were produced by MGM.

MGM has had a somewhat spotty history with its treatment of its catalog on high definition, but Casey gave very high marks to MGM's 2012 Blu-ray release of The Apartment. Even positing that the previous release was at least above average (for MGM), I can't imagine that most videophiles won't find this new transfer an improvement, and at times rather surprisingly markedly so. As is mentioned above, there are definite fluctuations in brightness, clarity and sharpness (pay attention, for example, when Bud has to spend a night on a park bench or, later, when he brings home Margie MacDougall, and you'll notice a definite if relatively minor downturn in quality), but overall this has a beautifully organic and homogeneous appearance. Casey mentioned how "pristine" the MGM version was, but as the restoration reel shows, there were still at least some issues with flecks and specks, along with some more dramatic damage that has been all but eliminated in this version. Contrast is spot on, grain resolves naturally, and both black levels and grayscale are practically perfect in every way.

The Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Apartment has two audio tracks, the original mono track delivered via LPCM , and the same (or extremely similar) rejiggered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that was on the previous MGM release. As Casey mentions in his review, the surround track is still anchored pretty resolutely front and center, though there are occasional forays into the side and rear channels. The mono track is the way to go, for purists anyway, representing the original theatrical exhibition of the film with excellent fidelity and a nice full bodied presentation of Adolph Deutsch's gorgeous score (which famously stole a previously existing theme by Charles Williams without crediting him, though the massive Top 10 hit version of the theme by Ferrante and Teicher did properly list Williams' name as composer).

The Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary features Bruce Block.


• The Key to The Apartment (1080p; 10:12) features film critic Philip Kemp offering some insight into what he thinks makes the film "click".


• Selected Scene Commentary features Kemp again analyzing a couple of scenes from the film.


• The Flawed Couple (1080p; 20:24) is a video essay by David Cairns which looks at the collaborations between Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon.


• A Letter to Castro (1080p; 13:23) is a 2017 interview with actress Hope Holiday, who portrayed Margie MacDougall. (Interestingly, Marian Mercer won the Tony for her take on this role in Promises, Promises, the musical version of the film that came out in 1968.)


• An Informal Conversation with Billy Wilder (1080i; 23:17) is an archival supplement stemming from the Writers Guild Foundation Oral Histories series.


• Restoration Showreel (1080p; 2:20) is the same piece posted in our News section a few weeks ago.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:19)


• Archival Features

  Inside The Apartment (480i; 29:36) is an enjoyable reminiscence featuring some good interviews with a number of folks ranging from Shirley MacLaine to Robert Osborne.

  
  

  Magic Time: The Art of Jack Lemmon (480i; 12:47) is a sweet homage to Lemmon with interviews with his son, Chris.

Additionally, this is one of the more handsomely packaged limited editions Arrow has put out recently (which is saying quite a bit). The entire package is housed in a sturdy chipboard slipbox, and there's also a beautiful hardback book with several essays, information about the restoration and archival stills.

The Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the marketing strategies employed when The Apartment first appeared was to caution potential viewers that "there has never been anything like [it]", and that singularity continues to be true to this day. This is simply one of the most amazing "combo platters" of wry comedy and piercing emotion that has ever been captured on celluloid, and Arrow has done both the film and itself proud with this sterling new version. My one and only regret is that I didn't get my review copy in time to include this release on my 2017 Top Ten list, for it certainly would be at or near the top. Highly recommended.