The Apartment

[therewillbeblus]

I don't know how many times I've seen this film, but I do know that every annual holiday viewing I fall deeper and deeper in love with it. Enough great pieces have been written about its many strengths and analysis of character, including on this board, though it wasn't until this viewing that I became soothed by its denouement in a manner that felt tangible and removed from the cinematic narrative trappings of genre, that are lifting our spirits simultaneously. Similar to my response to the recent Licorice Pizza, I'm drawn to films that remind me that the myopic complacency we find ourselves in at work, in our social lives, and individualistic routes of (in)action are obstacles that are fear-based and self-constructed, and most importantly, changeable. C.C. and Fran both realize this in the end, and liberate themselves from their mirages of hopeless inertia in existential compromises, towards something unknown, but they embrace that mystery with peripheral vision. That's why the confining declaration of love is one Fran refuses to take and return, even if it's a possibility or something she too might mean if stated. The charge to 'deal' the cards, to play the game- but together- is far more meaningful, especially since their smiles and engagement of collective energy in the final glances communicate far more than any restrictive words ever could. They're both up for the game, willing to choose this possibility, while not entering into a contract that would threaten to subscribe to more complacency and tie up the narrative in a dishonest bow. This is only the beginning. It's the perfect antidote to the more ambiguous yet cynically-leaning finale of Eyes Wide Shut, but they are also in many ways the same ending, only this freedom is uniformly fresh, youthful, hopeful, and elevating. Both are perfect holiday films- the Kubrick validating to the tainted worldview we've accrued through brokenness from the experiences that have paved the way into adulthood, and the Wilder inspiring, as a reminder of how we can still find that feeling that negates such cynicism and emancipates us into authentic self-actualization, orbiting another soul with indisputable intimacy. Happy new year indeed.

[Finch]

4K in November

4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

4K restoration from the original camera negative
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless mono audio
Optional lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio remix
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with film producer and historian Bruce Block
The Key to the Apartment, an appreciation by film historian Philip Kemp
Select scene commentary by Philip Kemp
The Flawed Couple, a video essay by filmmaker David Cairns on the collaborations between Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon
A Letter to Castro, an interview with actress Hope Holiday
The Writer Speaks: Billy Wilder, an archival interview from the Writers Guild of America's Oral Histories series
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
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ignatius Fitzpatrick
Collector's booklet featuring writing on the film by Neil Sinyard, Kat Ellinger, Travis Crawford and H.V. Hyche

[Drucker]

Given the high marks their audio tracks have gotten recently, I wonder if the audio track will improve some of the filtering from the blu-ray.

Also who else remembers when this thing had seemed to have sold out on pre-sale?!

[tenia]

Also who else remembers when this thing had seemed to have sold out on pre-sale?!

I do !
(This and that the booklet was one of the most padded I've had ever read)

[agnamaracs]

Also who else remembers when this thing had seemed to have sold out on pre-sale?!

*raises hand* I wound up having to order a copy from the UK.

[Finch]

The Apartment booklet isn't the most egregious offender but too many books/booklets across multiple labels have turned out to be not worth it (especially Second Sight with their arty-farty essays) that I'm willing to miss out on the occasional good one in favor of a regular version.

[JamesF]

Given the high marks their audio tracks have gotten recently, I wonder if the audio track will improve some of the filtering from the blu-ray.

It does have a new and improved presentation of the mono track based off the laserdisc, yes.

[Finch]

On top of that, the Dolby Vision grade. Kino's UHD was SDR only.

[dwk]

The ibighest issue with the essay from the limited edition Blu-ray was the GIANT FONT that stretched the essay to fill the book. It really was like they had a pre-set page count that they had to hit and just kept increasing the font size until they hit it.

[ryannichols7]

the Joseph McBride track from the Kino didn't get ported over so I have to keep that disc.....ugh. still excited but I was hoping to clear out another disc!

[Drucker]

Given the high marks their audio tracks have gotten recently, I wonder if the audio track will improve some of the filtering from the blu-ray.

It does have a new and improved presentation of the mono track based off the laserdisc, yes.

You son of a gun

[Finch]

A BR member knows Brett Cameron who worked on the audio restoration for Arrow (he also restored the audio on Shout's Black Christmas 4K):

Yes, Brett did all of the work needed for this title. Since the disc is officially out now I've been given permission to go more into detail of exactly what was done. I meant to go into this on the actual release date but things happened and I kept pushing it off.

Anyway, a while ago he came to me and asked me about what would be the best audio track for this title to use as basis and I said the laserdisc, but noted the issues that were present on that and how it'd essentially need patch work to get it 100% right. I also mentioned the previous DNR'd mono track and how the Kino Lorber disc also used the laserdisc, but the patchwork on it was a lot sloppier and the final result being an overall mediocre result. So what he ended up doing was essentially using what was the center channel of the 5.1 track and integrated things like missing sound effects and dialogue into the laserdisc mono. There was no looping that was done here, unlike what was done with Kino's track. He also willingly left it hissy to reflect the old Hollywood era in which it came from. I'm honestly really glad that it was him that did this work and no one else, because someone else could've done what Kino did and screw it up badly.

The new audio transfer is probably the best the movie has ever sounded on home video period. Since as I said earlier, even the laserdisc itself had some major issues going on with it. My guess is that a new fresh transfer of the magnetic master would've yielded equally good results as what was done here. I hope that you enjoy what hard work he put into this track.

[tenia]

I wish such details were more widely publicised.

Sound remains a second-thought element of a video release, and unlike video presentations about which additionnal work often is publicised, telling the equivalent has been done on a soundtrack shouldn't be left to the friend of the video producer finding the time to write about it.

At least for this one, James told us here it was a new improved version based on the LD, so there's at least that, but some releases probably didn't even get that.