Search - The Apartment on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Humor, Suitable for Teens Movie Release: 1960 DVD Release: 06/19/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 5 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Comedy Drama, Romantic Comedy, Workplace Comedy, Urban Comedy See Also: The Apartment [Collector's Edition]

Widely regarded as a comedy in 1960, The Apartment seems more melancholy with each passing year. Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a go-getting office worker who loans his tiny apartment to his philandering superiors for their romantic trysts. He runs into trouble when he finds himself sharing a girlfriend (Shirley MacLaine) with his callous boss (Fred MacMurray). Director/co-writer Billy Wilder claimed that the idea for The Apartment stemmed from a short scene in the 1945 romantic drama Brief Encounter in which the illicit lovers (Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson) arrange a rendezvous in a third person's apartment. Wilder was intrigued about what sort of person would willingly vacate his residence to allow virtual strangers a playing field for hanky panky. His answer to that question wound up winning 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. The Apartment was adapted by Neil Simon and Burt Bacharach into the 1969 Broadway musical Promises, Promises. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jack Lemmon - C.C. Baxter
Shirley MacLaine - Fran Kubelik
Fred MacMurray - J.D. Sheldrake
Ray Walston - Mr. Joe Dobisch
Edie Adams - Miss Olsen
David Lewis - Mr. Al Kirkeby

MGM Home Entertainment's DVD release of Billy Wilder's classic Academy Award-winning film The Apartment is a beautiful disc indeed, though one sadly lacking in extras outside of the original theatrical trailer. Regardless, the disc looks great and the film has never looked as good. The print is in very good shape, with only occasional lines or pops in the soundtrack. Otherwise, it looks beautiful. The print looks to have been struck from the same print used for MGM's widescreen VHS tape release. The DVD is offered in its proper theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and has thankfully been enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The original trailer has not been enhanced and is in poor shape, though it makes for a great comparison to the actual film's pristine transfer.
Considering that the film is one of Wilder's best films and contains one of Jack Lemmon's best performances, hopefully the studio will revisit this film with a more definitive DVD release. In the meantime, this disc will have to do. ~ Derek Hill, All Movie Guide