The Apartment (1960)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Orlan K, Sep 5, 2008.

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  1. Orlan K

    Orlan K New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Overland Park, KS
    Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine. Saw it for the first time in 35+ years last night. Quite good. Billy Wilder film.
     
  2. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Very fine movie. I enjoyed it back in my younger years. I need to see this again. Is the DVD well transferred?
     
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  3. Orlan K

    Orlan K New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Overland Park, KS
    So-so. There are a couple of noticeable blips.
     
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  4. scotto

    scotto Senior Member

    One of my all-time favorite films and one of Jack Lemmon's best performances.
    I watch this one a lot.
     
  5. sadie

    sadie New Member

    Location:
    Illinois
    A truly terrific movie. Jack and Shirley were able to play off each other so well. And an excellent performance by Fred MacMurray. Well done all around.

    Sadie
     
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  6. jkauff

    jkauff Senior Member

    Location:
    Akron, OH
    A true classic. Fred MacMurray got so much negative fan mail that he swore never to play a bad guy again, and headed off to Disney. Too bad, because he was a great bad guy.
     
  7. A classic indeed - love that movie.
     
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  8. Joe Koz

    Joe Koz Prodigal Bone Brotherâ„¢ In Memoriam

    Location:
    Chicagoland
    One of my favorite Jack Lemmon movies.

    This was also a great period for Shirley MacLaine, IMO.

    As good as Fred MacMurray was in this movie. Every time I watch it, I can't help thinking about Walter Matthau playing the bosses (MacMurray's) part. Lemmon & Matthau were great together.
     
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  9. Kayaker

    Kayaker Senior Member

    Location:
    New Joisey Now
    Brilliant!
    Really captures NYC in that time. The original "Mad Men".
     
  10. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca

    No....it's only marginally better than the LD. See it anyway 'cause it's a great film. Maybe it'll make Blu-ray in a few years with a new master?
     
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  11. antonkk

    antonkk Senior Member

    Location:
    moscow
    Great movie!:righton:
     
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  12. vinyl anachronist

    vinyl anachronist Senior Member

    Location:
    Lakeside, Oregon
    My favorite Billy Wilder film. Just watched it again the other night.

    "Shut up and deal."
     
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  13. JBStephens

    JBStephens I don't "like", "share", "tweet", or CARE. In Memoriam

    Location:
    South Mountain, NC
    Yeah, he was very good at being bad in spite of his "loveable doofus" typecasting. The Postman Always Rings Twice is a great example. And didn't you just loathe him in Caine Mutiny? But he was also a fairly good saxophone player and great with comic ad-libs.

    I don't think there's any such thing as a bad Billy Wilder film, The Apartment is great, but my favorite is One, Two, Three, which I think is the role that inspired James Cagney to retire.
     
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  14. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    I suspect you mean Double Indemnity, which MacMurray starred in .
    Actually, MacMurray stepped into the role in The Apartment at the last minute, after the original choice for the role, Paul Douglas, died suddenly before production.
     
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  15. erniebert

    erniebert Shoe-string audiophile

    Location:
    Toronto area
    I always thought the movie was a little strange how it starts out seeming like it might be a comedy or a romantic comedy but then gets more and more serious.

    "Hang on! This isn't a romantic comedy!" :)
     
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  16. I like this movie really well and often think of Fred MacMurray when I think of it, although the main lead stars are also very good. My exposure to Fred's work was first with Disney films, then "My Three Sons" and then his more serious film roles where he was sometimes completely out of what I had assumed was his character, with roles in "The Caine Mutiny", "Double Indemnity" and this film. He really was a good actor and had a long and successful career. IMDb shows his last role was in "The Swarm", thankfully for Henry Fonda, Henry worked after a role in that film.

    Chris
     
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  17. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Regarding Fred MacMurray.

    The Absent Minded Professor (1961)...how cool a flying car !
     
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  18. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    great movie! I was thrilled when this showed up on DVD! Jack Lemmon ws one of my favorite actors when I was a kid...
     
  19. minerwerks

    minerwerks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    Absolutely adore this movie. Got to see it for the first time as a 35mm print during a summer classic movies series a few years back.

    This is a huge influence on Cameron Crowe, and there are some clear homages in 'Almost Famous,' another movie I absolutely adore.
     
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  20. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    The most recent "Collector's Edition" DVD is a huge improvement over all previous releases in video quality and extras, but the amateurish photoshopped cover art is horrible. Just keep telling yourself "It's the film that counts". :)
    [​IMG]

    Regards,
     
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  21. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    One of Jack Lemmon's best movies. Great acting from all...
     
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  22. Solaris

    Solaris a bullet in flight

    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    Somehow I'd never seen this film straight through -- always in pieces -- so I watched it last night. What struck me most, aside from the overall excellent acting and Lemmon and MacLaine's chemistry, was how loathsome all the male characters are at Lemmon's office. As someone mentioned above, it starts off as something of a comedy but becomes a much more serious film (because of those loathsome characters), even though it never really lets go of that comic element, mainly thanks to Jack Lemmon's energetic performance. This strange tonal uncertainty is something I couldn't settle into, even though there's a great deal to like in parts.

    The Apartment came out the same year as The Alamo, which it beat out for Best Picture, as well as Psycho, which wasn't nominated (a huge oversight, I think, as it's better than either of those two films). The widescreen black and white photography here is very well done, and has a notably small number of close-ups, befitting the shooting style. I think Wilder really wanted you to appreciate the widescreen compositions, which are quite good.
     
  23. dustybooks

    dustybooks rabbit advocate

    Location:
    Wilmington, NC
    For me, this is the greatest of all films to win the Best Picture Oscar, with Casablanca and The Best Years of Our Lives just underneath. It never stops being moving and hilarious (and impeccably well-judged) to me. I say that as someone who thinks Psycho is a masterpiece, too.
     
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  24. BurgerKing

    BurgerKing Forum Resident

    Wow-- that's saying a lot. Did someone make you an offer you couldn't refuse? ;)
     
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  25. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    The gold standard for sophisticated romantic comedies. Love it.
     
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