The Apartment - Jack Lemmon Shirley MacLaine

directed by Billy Wilder
U.S. 1960

Diamond-sharp satire with a brilliant performance from Lemmon as the insurance clerk who forges ahead in the rat race by lending his apartment out to philandering senior executives, only to outsmart himself when the girl of his dreams is brought there by his boss. Full of sly bits of business (MacLaine admitting to three affairs but betrayed by fingers unconsciously announcing four), and with its jaundiced vision leavened by a tender sympathy for the frailty of human motives. Even the cop-out ending (boy forgives girl and all's well) is rather moving, given the delicate skill with which Lemmon and MacLaine commute between comedy and pathos.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

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Theatrical Release Date: June 15th, 1960

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DVD Comparison:

MGM (Collector's Edition) - Region 1- NTSC vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region 2 - PAL

(MGM (Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. MGM - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	MGM (Collector's Edition) Region 1 - NTSC	MGM Region 1 - NTSC	MGM Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	2:05:04	2:05:00	1:59:56 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.65 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	2.32:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate:5.13 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	2.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.86 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: MGM Collector's Edition
Bitrate: MGM Original NTSC release
Bitrate: MGM Region 2
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Mono) DUBS: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUBS: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUBS: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) , German (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, and none	Spanish, French and none	English, German, Italian, Spanish, French and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: MGM Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by film historian Bruce Block • Featurette: 'Inside The Apartment' (29:35) • Featurette: 'Magic Time: the Art of Jack Lemmon' (12:47) DVD Release Date: February 5th, 2008 Keep Case Chapters 28	Release Information: Studio: MGM/UA Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.32:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer - 4:3 - 2:16 DVD Release Date: December 18, 2001 Keep Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: MGM Home Ent. (Europe) Ltd. Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.33:1 Edition Details: • Original Theatrical Trailer DVD Release Date: 26 November, 2001 Keep Case Chapters 16

Comments:

ADDITION: Collector's Edition - January 08': Funny the things you don't initially notice - both 2001 releases now look vertically compressed to me - especially the shot of Lemmon on the couch. Anyway, the new Collector's Edition has far superior contrast (the old looked somewhat muddy) and with the black levels increased it has brought up the sharpness to a small degree. Grayscale is vastly improved - as is the bitrate. There is definite movement in the frame with the new having shifted somewhat to the left. Bottom line is the Collector's Edition image is significantly improved - I am quite surprised.

Audio offers a useless 5.1 upgrade but the mono is still included and it sounded fine to me. Unlike the old NTSC this new includes optional English subtitles.

What else? Well you get even more for your $14 - a new commentary from historian Bruce Block - he discusses a lot about Wilder and his demands for detail including a brief reading of the script and its meticulous mention of the actions of Lemmon's character. The commentary is full of good information and although not at Criterion level of proficiency - it is still well worth listening to. Also we have two featurettes - 'Inside The Apartment' has input from Chris Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Walter Mirisch, Drew Casper and others. It has much to share in its 30 minutes. Finally we have 'Magic Time: The Art of Jack Lemmon' - a 12 minute spotlight on the actors craft and skills with input from colleagues.

I am almost shocked that MGM have done such a good job. This is a fabulous film and it never looked better the digital medium. Tack onto that the supplements and you have the best film-to-DVD value of the year at less than $15. Strongly recommended!

ON THE ORIGINAL NTSC VS. THE PAL: The Region 1 MGM DVD is much sharper than the Region 2 PAL. The Region 2 offers more choices for sound and subtitle options and perhaps this is why the bitrate is so much higher but the image quality lower. I don't know. Both discs are anamorphic and the Region 1 is very slightly cropped along the right vertical edge. Unless you require the Foreign language dubs or sub-titles buy the Region 1. The Region 2 PAL is hazy by comparison.

NOTE: The 1st screen capture is NOT from the exact corresponding frame, but I believe the rest are.

Gary W. Tooze

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(MGM (Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC)

(MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. MGM - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

Screen Captures