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An ode to the good guy written with truly ravishing intentions, Billy Wilder's The Apartment is the kind of Hollywood classic that never loses its touch, working its way down the generations with a heartfelt tale of unassuming meekness where the only nice guy in a city of big-heads becomes tangled up in a wacky romance.

The Apartment stars Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter, a lonely nobody who works for a huge insurance company. Keen to move up in the world, he greases the wheels by loaning his apartment to his superiors for their extramarital affairs. This works in terms of getting him a promotion, but it plays havoc with his life and health. The breaking point comes when he falls for elevator operator Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), only to find out she’s his boss Jeff D. Sheldrake’s (Fred MacMurray) ‘bit on the side’ and has been brought up to his apartment. This situation takes a shocking turn half way through the film when Kubelik attempts suicide in Baxter’s apartment. After he saves her life and plays nursemaid to the troubled woman, he falls ever more in love and ever more angry at Sheldrake’s mistreatment of her. So Baxter reaches a point where he must decide whether to continue to be a lap dog to his superiors or be a mensch (a human being), as the honourable Dr. Dreyfuss (Jack Kruschen) puts it.

Director: Billy Wilder
Actors: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, David Lewis, Hope Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Naomi Stevens
Country: USA
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

The Apartment (1960) Blu-Ray Arrow Academy
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BD50 | 1080p AVC | 02:05:00 | 44.7 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: English

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)
• 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.

The Apartment (1960) Collector's Edition
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DVD9 | NTSC 16:9 | 02:05:08 | 7.79 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English, Espanol, Francais
Subtitles: English, Espanol

Extras:
• Commentary with Film Historian Bruce Block: Block occasionally falls into the habit of repeating what's happening onscreen--as if we can't see it--but otherwise, this is a great commentary track, filled with informative making-of stories, cast anecdotes, and bits of trivia.
• Inside The Apartment (29:36): A wonderful half-hour special that puts The Apartment in the context of history and Billy Wilder's career. Includes interviews with Shirley MacLaine, Chris Lemmon--Jack Lemmon's son--and a number of film historians.
• Magic Time - The Art of Jack Lemmon (12:47): Chris Lemmon discusses the life and career of his inimitable father.

DVD9 | PAL 16:9 | 02:00:03 | 6.55 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English, Russian
Subtitles: Russian, English, Deutsch

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