The Apartment (1960)
Tagline: "Movie-wise, there has never been anything like it - laugh-wise, love-wise, or otherwise-wise!"
Length: 125 minutesMPAA Rating: NR (not rated)
Winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, The Apartment is another masterpiece from Billy Wilder. This is a movie that mixes drama with the darkly comic as it skewers the cynicism of the corporate world. Jack Lemmon is at his best in the role of C.C. Baxter, a cipher who works for a large, impersonal New York insurance company and is lost in the crowd of employees. In the hopes of advancing his career, Baxter eventually stumbles upon an unusual method of currying favor with his superiors: He lends his apartment to the company’s executives as a trysting place for their extramarital affairs, leading to complications that elicit both laughs and tears. One of the things that makes The Apartment memorable is its performances, including Jack Lemmon’s lost and lovable C.C. Baxter, who is delightful even when you loathe what his character is doing. As J.D. Sheldrake, Baxter’s detestable, deceitful boss, Fred MacMurray gives a performance that is reminiscent of his film noir roles. And who could forget Shirley MacLaine’s performance as Fran Kubelik, Sheldrake’s emotionally vulnerable mistress.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
Cries and Whispers (1972) - Criterion Collection
Tagline: "A haunting and shattering film experience."
Length: 106 minutesMPAA Rating: R
Cries and Whispers is one of Swedish writer-director Ingmar Bergman’s most somber films, but it’s also one of his best. In a country house, Agnes (Harriet Andersson), an unmarried woman in her late thirties, is in the last days of a terminal illness. Agnes’ two unhappily married sisters, Karin (Ingrid Thulin) and Maria (Liv Ullmann), have come to the house for the final days, and Agnes is also attended by her long-time maid Anna (Kari Sylwan). Flashbacks are employed to provide deep psychological insights into these four main characters, and the performances by all four actresses are superb. But perhaps the most memorable thing about the film is how Bergman’s imagery echoes Christian iconography in unexpected ways.
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the Limited Edition Collector's Set DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Marty (1955)
Tagline: "It's the love story of an unsung hero."
Length: 91 minutesMPAA Rating: NR (not rated)
Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Marty features Ernest Borgnine in his most memorable performance as the title character. This film presents a touching and compelling character study of a lonely, homely Bronx butcher who still lives at home with his mother although he is in his thirties. When Marty meets a plain, shy schoolteacher, he wants to begin a courtship and take a chance at finally finding love, but his family and friends seem to fear this and find ways to set up obstacles.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Tagline: "The almighty J.J. ... the columnist with sixty million believers ... his wrath is feared by the great and near great who worship the sweet smell of success!"
Length: 96 minutesMPAA Rating: NR (not rated)
In this superb film noir tale of ambition, corruption, and power, Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) is a sycophantic press agent whose economic survival depends on making sure that the names of his clients continue to be mentioned by influential newspaper gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster). Eventually, Hunsecker skillfully manipulates Falco into trying to end a romance between the columnist’s sister and a jazz musician. James Wong Howe’s cinematography skillfully creates an evocative picture of 1950s Manhattan, and the film is filled with sharp, witty dialogue.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
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