The Apartment

Winner of five 1960 Academy Awards, this bittersweet Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine pairing is one of writer/director Billy Wilder's brightest gems. Lemmon (how we miss him already!) stars as young corporate ladder climber C.C. "Bud" Baxter, who realizes that the key to his bachelor apartment could also be the "key" to his executive aspirations when he starts lending it out to his philandering bosses. That is, until the apple-of-his-eye elevator girl Fran Kubelik (MacLaine) becomes one of their sad victims, and the no-longer-team-player Baxter loses his job in the fallout, and his heart to Fran. A perfect mix of comedy and pathos, this film was long overdue on DVD, so could someone explain why MGM gave this b&w classic a no-frills release with an uncharacteristically weak mastering? I'm confident the studio will remedy their error at some point in the future, but until then, even though it lacks the remodeling it so deserves, The Apartment is still sine qua non for any serious film collection. Our highest recommendation. Editor's Choice. (S. C. Sickles)[DVD Review—Feb. 5, 2008—MGM, 125 min., not rated, $19.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1960's The Apartment (Collector's Edition) boasts a fine transfer. DVD extras include an audio commentary by film historian Bruce Block, a half-hour “Inside The Apartment” retrospective “making-of” featurette, a “Magic Time: The Art of Jack Lemmon” featurette on the star (13 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine edition of a classic.][Blu-ray Review—Feb. 14, 2012—MGM, 125 min., not rated, $24.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1960's The Apartment sports a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Bonus features are identical to the DVD release, including an audio commentary by film historian Bruce Block, a retrospective “making-of” featurette (30 min.), a “Magic Time: The Art of Jack Lemmon” featurette (13 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a comedy classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]