In 1960, following on from the success of their collaboration on Some Like it Hot, director Billy Wilder (Ace in the Hole, Sunset Boulevard) reteamed with actor Jack Lemmon (The Odd Couple, Glengarry Glen Ross) for what many consider the pinnacle of their respective careers: The Apartment.
C.C. "Bud" Baxter (Lemmon) is a lowly Manhattan office drone with a lucrative sideline in renting out his apartment to adulterous company bosses and their mistresses. When Bud enters into a similar arrangement the firm's personnel director, J.D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray, Double Indemnity), his career prospects begin to look up... and up. But when he discovers that Sheldrake's mistress is Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine, Irma la Douce), the girl of his dreams, he finds himself forced to choose between his career and the woman he loves...
The film itself plays incredibly well for a 50-year-old look at office place sexual politics. While the women in the film (outside of Fran) are fairly one dimensional, so are the men, and in turn, Wilder takes a balanced approach to this particular satire. In the wake of Roger Ailes and Harvey Weinstein, J.D. Sheldrake comes across as a kinder gentler sexual predator. A man who abuses his power but leaves the office plants out of the ritual.
Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, The Apartment features a wealth of Hollywood's finest talent - on both sides of the camera - at the top of their game. By turns cynical, heart-warming and hilarious, Wilder's masterpiece now shines like never before in this all-new, 4K-restored edition from Arrow Films and is a must own for any cinephile.
Bonus Materials
Limited Deluxe Edition Blu-ray [2700 copies]
Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
Optional 5.1 remix in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio
Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with film producer and historian Bruce Block
New appreciation of the film and select scene commentary by film historian Philip Kemp
The Flawed Couple, a new video essay by filmmaker David Cairns on the collaborations between Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon
Billy Wilder ABC, an overview by David Cairns on the life and career of the filmmaker, covering his films, collaborators and more
New interview with actress Hope Holiday
Inside the Apartment, a half-hour “making-of” featurette from 2007 including interviews with Shirley MacLaine, executive producer Walter Mirisch, and others
Magic Time: The Art of Jack Lemmon, an archive profile of the actor from 2007
Original screenplay by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond (BD-ROM content)
Theatrical trailer
Special collector’s packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Ignatius Fitzpatrick
Collector’s 150-page hardcover book featuring new writing by Neil Sinyard, Kat Ellinger, Travis Crawford and Heather Hyche, generously illustrated with rare stills and behind-the-scenes imagery
You can pre-order your copy of this must-own disc from MVD here
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