Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1368 in VHS
• Released on: 1997-02-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 125 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Romance at its most anti-romantic--that is the Billy Wilder stamp of genius, and this Best Picture Academy Award winner from 1960 is no exception. Set in a decidedly unsavory world of corporate climbing and philandering, the great filmmaker's trenchant, witty satire-melodrama takes the office politics of a corporation and plays them out in the apartment of lonely clerk C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon). By lending out his digs to the higher-ups for nightly extramarital flings with their secretaries, Baxter has managed to ascend the business ladder faster than even he imagined. The story turns even uglier, though, when Baxter's crush on the building's melancholy elevator operator (Shirley MacLaine) runs up against her long-standing affair with the big boss (a superbly smarmy Fred MacMurray). The situation comes to a head when she tries to commit suicide in Baxter's apartment. Not the happiest or cleanest of scenarios, and one that earned the famously caustic and cynically humored Wilder his share of outraged responses, but looking at it now, it is a funny, startlingly clear-eyed vision of urban emptiness and is unfailingly understanding of the crazy decisions our hearts sometimes make. Lemmon and MacLaine are ideally matched, and while everyone cites Wilder's Some Like It Hot closing line "Nobody's perfect" as his best, MacLaine's no-nonsense final words--"Shut up and deal"--are every bit as memorable. Wilder won three Oscars for The Apartment, for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (cowritten with longtime collaborator I.A.L. Diamond). --Robert Abele

Customer Reviews

Classic Wilder-but not classic treatment for the DVD
The Apartment is an insightful movie made by one of cinema's most talented directors. The plot is fairly simple, but C.C. Baxter's (Jack Lemmon) is anything but. By innocently lending out his apartment to a coworker, Baxter's residence becomes the love nest for his philandering colleagues. Along the way, Baxter develops a friendship with Fran Kubelik (Shirley Maclaine), one of several attractive female elevator operators. Baxter is rewarded for his generosity by getting promoted by Jeff D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray). Little does he realize that Fran is Sheldrake's latest plaything. The Apartment has all that you expect from the best of Wilder: great performances, witty dialogue, and a plot that holds to this day, even if most of the depiction of the corporate office environment has changed dramatically (When was the last time you saw an elevator operator?). The three stars provide great characterizations, with MacMurray the real surprise here playing against type. This film is also notable for solidifying the Wilder/Lemmon team. With The Apartment, Lemmon was no longer playing second male leads or supporting roles. A worthwhile film that is still enjoyable today, but the DVD version leaves much to be desired. The picture quality is good, but the looping (the sound synchronization) is off and very distracting. Don't know the reason for this, but considering this film's place in cinema history, I would have thought it would have gotten the A treatment. The DVD is a disappointment.

5 Stars...Film-Wise....4 Stars...DVD-Wise
This review refers to the DVD edtion(MGM) of "The Apartment"

This 1960 winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1960,touched our hearts and made us smile 43 years ago and still does today. It has not lost one bit of it's charm and continues to add new fans all the time. It's a treasure chest of great cinema moments, and a must own for collectors of classics, Billy Wilder or Jack Lemmon films.

Lemmon's immense talent shines through as C.C. Baxter, one of thousands of office workers in a huge company who is quickly working his way to the top floor and the executive washroom. He's got what it takes to get ahead...he's a dedicated employee, and a hard worker, he's got they key to success...and it opens the door to his apartment! It seems the powers that be on the upper floors have discovered this single guy's bachelor pad and have badgered Baxter into letting them use it for their little extracurricular activities.

Things get complicated for C.C. though, when the big boss wants in on the action. He wants the apartment for his own use and now C.C. has a chance to go all the way to the top floor.But the rewards are bittersweet..Mr. Sheldrake's girl turns out to be the very sweet elevator operator Miss Fran Kubelik. The very girl that C.C. adores himself.

The moments as we watch C.C. agonize over this dilemma are touchingly funny,and poignant. Lemmon is brillant in his portrayal as he is able to bring all these emotions to the screen.The rest of the cast is excellent as well. Shirley MacLaine(Fran) will touch your heart, Fred MacMurray(Sheldrake) is marvelous at his turn as the philandering exec(you'll see him in a very different light from his "My Three Sons" role), and also look for such great notables as Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, Joan Shawlee,Hope Holiday and the wonderful Edie Adams. Oscar also honored legendary director Billy Wlider for his work as director and another for screenplay along with I.A.L. Diamond. The music by Adolph Deutsch is as sweet as the story and will stay with you for quite some time after the view.

Overall the DVD was quite good. This 43 year old film looked pretty good. It could use a little improvement. There were times when it showed it's age, but the black and white images were clear and bright for the most part.The sound is in Dolby Dig MONO!...."Some Like It Hot" made only 1 year prior to this one, has been enhanced with Dol Dig 5.1(on both DVD editions) and sounds great.The Special Edition of "SLIH", even gives you the choice of watching it in the 5.1 or the original mono. This is a film that deserves at least the same attention. It may be veiwed in French and Spanish and has subtitles in those langauges as well. But..there are no subtitles or captions in English for hearing impaired viewers to enjoy this great classic and that is a shame. This is a film that should be enjoyed by all! MGM..maybe it's time for a new edition of this treasure.

"That's the way it crumbles....cookie-wise"(Shirley MacLaine to Fred MacMurray).....enjoy...Laurie

also recommended:
reading:Inside Oscar, 10th Anniversary Edition

viewing:Some Like It Hot

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.