Absolutely brilliant "Masterclass". I, like thousands of others, am working on writing a mystery novel. I believe many of these techniques will be very helpful in that process as well. So glad I watched this and will be "attending" the rest of your classes very soon!
"Show, don't tell and respect the audience. They'll love you for it." And that's the reason why I love Billy Wilder and so many of his movies, especially The Apartment.
Thank you for this analysis. I absolutely love The Apartment. I can't imagine a more romantic movie and yet the lovers do not even share a kiss. Billy Wilder was a genius. He uses the English language to amazing effect. Though he was not a native speaker, his powers of observation were exceptional.
this movie is just brilliant brilliant brilliant... I so love the last scene.. where they finally sit down to complete the card game.. just so much of a satisfying ending.. warms my heart everytime I see ...
I saw this masterful film in the mid 1990s, at a Billy Wilder retrospective held at the National Film Theatre in London. As well as the laughter, I recall the audience (mainly young adults) audibly gasping at some of the diamond-sharp dialogue, being unaccustomed to hearing such witty, economical exchanges between the characters. I'll never forget that film.
It takes a decade to understand writing this clip is one of the good video essay I watched I really do know how difficult to understand a film studying wiese.... good job all the best
I know "The Apartment" well, but thanks to TCM, I recently watched it twice. It just occurred to me that Jeff Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray) is actually the pivotal character in the script. He is the object that determines the actions of the two principal characters - he rekindles his affair with Kubelik and promotes Baxter. Both are defined by their relationship to him and both are motivated by the chance of advancement - to being an executive or being a wife. They are both willing to compromise their principles to achieve their goals. In both cases, Sheldrake is the key - so to speak. We know Baxter and Kublik are both good people because of the perfect casting. Jack Lemmon - Wilder's favorite actor - is an everyman. He is good, but corrupted by the chance of advancement - as is she. Shirley MacLaine brings an aura of sweetness - she wears a flower - but is also driven to her goal. It's vital we buy into their inner goodness because the denouement is when they both find their "better angels." They both turn their backs on Sheldrake. Lemmon walks - MacLaine runs. Billy Wilder gave Fred MacMurray his two best roles - here and in "Double Indemnity." Usually cast as the nice guy, both times he is cast against type. I wonder if Wilder's cynicism is at work here; beneath every "nice" guy is a stinker. The end is very satisfying because Lemmon and Kubelik become the people we know they can be. They don't just find each other - they find themselves. Thanks for your insight about the script. I hadn't noticed the echoing of words back and forth. Certainly, Wilder does that in "Some Like it Hot" as well.
I have watched this film MULTIPLE times; I don't remember how many and I love it each time! I've even watched some of the scenes in Spanish and some with the Spanish sub-titles...they don't necessarily say the same things!
On New Year’s Eve, watching Fran’s face change as she realizes she HAS finally fallen in love with someone nice is a repeatedly pause-and-replay moment. MacLaine’s performance should have earned the Oscar.
@@ScriptSleuth After her almost imperceptible smile when she says ‘the nerve’ the whole mood changes and the dialogue becomes more playful. Wilder’s writing is always sharp as a tack. He was one of a kind.
@@gpg9516. And the subtle change in Fran’s face when Sheldrake offers her the 100 dollar bill. She doesn’t scream and shout. Fran stays quiet but you can see what Fran is thinking. Wonderful actress.
@@Woodman-Spare-that-tree spot on. Some actors can move through a scene with minimal dialogue but speak volumes with their facial expressions. MacLaine’s almost imperceptible smile when Sheldrake says that Baxter quit tells the audience her true feeling before Fran herself realizes it just a minute or two later. Wilder can pack more meaning and visual impact into a scene than most other directors. When Baxter defends Fran’s honor and takes a punch for his effort he ends up on the floor near the fireplace. The shot includes an out-of-it Baxter next to his little Christmas tree and then Fran leans in to kiss him on the forehead for being a stand up guy. Wilder plays a painful love triangle against the Christmas theme. Another pivotal moment in a film that fires on all eight cylinders with subtlety and intelligence.
An insightful and worthy analysis of one of my favorite, if not absolute favorite, movies of all time! Thank you! I find it interesting that the subtext when Miss Olsen reveals Sheldrake's faithless ways, perhaps comes as much from her blithe (and clearly drunk) delivery (that is, from the actor's and director's choices) as from the words themselves---which, to my mind, highlights the deeply collaborative form of the film medium (even as, in this case, one of the collaborators is collaborating with himself!).
Eddie Adams was really quite good in the role. Her acting is on par with the rest of this outstanding cast of actors. I never knew that the "Murial Cigar Girl" had so much actor training and experience. As a kid, I mostly remember her in those commercials in the 50s and 60s.
@@tinasan3870 She is great. She's not just a "mean, vengeful woman"; she is a deeply hurt girl, thrown away, like Fran is being thrown away. Her love has been for nothing. Her hurt reflects Fran's hurt, like a Greek chorus of all the people hurt that way. She is "going down" in the world, but not without a parting blow of disabusing Fran of his lies, like a friend, and bringing down this predator.
This is a great insight. Thanks. The craziest thing: MacLaine had said that Wilder only had maybe half of the script done when shooting started. He was literally writing to finish the script as they were already shooting it! She said he would take bits of what he heard around the set and put it into the script. Example. MacLaine was at lunch with one of the other actresses. They were commiserating about relationships. MacLaine said to this other actress, "Why do people have to fall in love with people, anyway? Why can't they fall in love with kangaroos?". Wilder overheard that and an iteration of that went into the script (which you showed in this video). It's a lesson in leaving yourself open to the gifts others can give you when you're writing. So often we're told the writer needs to write EVERYTHING, and have the story airtight before anything else can be done. A great film like this shows that it's a process of collaboration by many, and that every story evolves. Leave yourself open to those bits of gold.
He can underwrite subtext because he's also the director. So he knows exactly where and what the beats are. And casting, my god. He nailed it with casting. Everyone in this film is brilliant. The suits, Fred Macmurray... Maclaine is completely gorgeous and Jack Lemmon is pure genius. He manages to do quite a lot physically, with his face, his comedy... but is always truthful. I first saw this in the 70s around the age of 12. I think it was the dialogue that got me... and I was in love with Maclaine.
Amazing analysis. If you think about, all these points are not really complicated and could be argued as things every filmmaker should know. However, the difference is that Wilder does it MASTERFULLY
What a great masterclass - thoroughly enjoyed it. This movie is right up there as one of my all-time favourites - I would add Casting as another key ingredient in the mix alongside screenwriting.
Happy 2023, everyone! Watched this masterpiece a few days after New Year with subtitles so I can read through the dialogue as well - it's pitch-perfect
For me, apart from the things you say, it’s the premise the movie and the worl-building that make it. Those huge organisations did exist in the 50s and conditioned the way people behaved - the premise is very authentic and original - we all recognise hierarchies and bullying and here you have it. This is astute observation of human behaviour and great human satire - you either have that or you don’t as a writer.
The Apartment presents a unique twist on the structure of the classic romantic comedy. In a romcom, the two leads are perfect for each other. They may not know that, at least at the beginning, but the audience does. There's also an obstacle to them getting together. The plot focuses on whether they will be able to overcome that obstacle and live happily ever after. The Apartment is unusual in that it doesn't center the relationship between Jack Lemon and Shirley Maclaine until relatively late in the film. It also presents a unique obstacle that Lemon and Maclaine must overcome - Lemon's philandering boss, wonderfully played by Fred MacMurray. All in all, it's one of my favorite filsm.
Thanks for the sub, it really means a lot! I definitely don't want fame. Just want to make the screenwriting community stronger. But thank you for your nice comment.
I was just thinking about all your points and the single one I most miss in modern film is 'the emotional roller coaster'. This would SEEM to be 'plot-driven' but in reality it is even more so CHARACTER driven.
I absolutely love your break out however I would have added then at the end when she was running to the apartment that her heart was excited with realizing she was in love and that actually happened to me anyway that's with my take away from running down the street anyway that's my type of way and I would love to maybe one day join plus I think that you're very in tune with the elements of what makes a exciting cohesive storyline work and so I thank you again
You skipped to mention the excellent scene where Bud shows Fran that he has a "big date tonight" to make Fran believe his intentions in a negative way in order to support her decision to stay on with the other relationship; and then he walks out crossing the "big date" to the shop to pick a book for the night. Excellent !
have a universal theme and add little pointers to it. Something everyone understands. In "The Apartment" it's "be a mensch" In the end Baxter regains the importance of being a human when he refuses to trade his morals for status.
Thanks for doing this. I saw this for the nth time last night. Never get tired of it. The question is, how did Hollywood fall so hard from being the gold standard of good screenwriting to atrocious mediocre writing in the mid2000s? What happened to the quality of writing so common back then? I have watched classic Hollywood films 3 times a week for the past 3 months and I find many of them better written than the ones today? What happened? Btw, European movies have also not been particularly good of late and the Japanese have been out of it for many decades. Thanks to the Koreans for saving filmmaking and good storytelling. I have watched their films and dramas and I am impressed. The Koreans seem to have lorded it over filmmaking for the past 20 years.
@@denniszenanywhere Thanks for the comment. It's a great point you bring up. I think movies were better back then because they depended mainly on a good story to wow the audience. They didn't have special effects and CGI and Adobe After Effects to distract their focus. But who knows.
@@ScriptSleuth Yes, I agree. I guess I merely wanted to hear it from someone. I remember when James Cameron made a big deal of 3D filmmaking in Avatar. But that was a snoozefest for me. I was never into 3d filmmaking. I would say with confidence that technology has become a crutch to good storytelling.
@@ScriptSleuth Do you not think, that along with having to depend on good writing because of no special effects etc, there were boundaries that had to be respected like language, sexual innuendo and so writers had to be pretty smart to insert certain issues without crossing said boundaries? In this film, no kiss at the end, but it doesn't take away in any form...just my opinion...
@@rosaenriquez4921 Great point, most definitely. Look at the heavy sexual subtext in films like The Big Sleep, It Happened One Night, and North by Northwest. They got around censorship through clever writing. We can learn a lot from classic films.
I've seen this movie many times and am amazed how it all fits together. (The fruitcake from an old girlfriend becomes the hint that Fran is planning a long-term relationship with Baxter.) But there seems to be a missing scene near the end, on New Year's Eve. Fran is at the bar with Sheldrake but she's got this blank look on her face. Why? She's gotten her man and is out in public with him. Does she realize that now that she's caught him, it feels empty? They're at the same bar in the same booth. But there's no explanation for the blank stare. Something should trigger it, but we don't see what it is.
This is an absolutely incredible video. Are you a professional screenwriter? Jesus, you are good. Thank you for your analysis and for sharing this excellent video with us :)) p.s. what a movie, am I right
Wow, what a kind comment! I am not a professional yet. The whole reason for starting this channel was to force myself to break down and analyze every scene of all these films. And, sure enough, I've noticed that my own writing has become so much better. Best education I could have ever asked for.
@@ScriptSleuth Amazing stuff. Your analysis is seriously top notch. Kudos. You are going to achieve whatever it is you're out to achieve. Lastly, I just wanna say thanks again for sharing your work. This video was a joy to watch and I've been mulling it over since watching it and it's made me love this movie so much more so thank you :) I apppreciate you taking the time to reply too. Peace
Very insightful video. Thank you for all the work that went into this. Now will you please stop making RU-vid videos and go write a screenplay for Disney (or any other studio) so that those of us who like good movies can have something decent to go see.
Great great flick... trouble is she never had the hots for him... But the ending is OK: she looks at him fondly... Anyway, Lemmon and Shirley were fab and so were all the others!!!
I probably watch it once a year so will watch it this weekend if I have time. I hate knowing there are other great films I have never heard of so I will mention How green was my valley, on the waterfront, the bicycle thief, these are probably my favorite non color films so far.
Excellent and inspiring analysis. Never thought of studying a movie by exclusively following the characters actions and dialogue. Wonder what you’d have to say about Wilders other masterpieces: Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity! Subscribed, naturally.
I forgot the movie loser from the 90s was heavily inspired by this movie, even the director admits it. That most of the important scenes in the movie was copied from this movie like fran getting overdose with pills and dora from loser getting roofied and staying over jason bigga house.
I discovered the film ten years ago. Though I was already a fan of Billy Wilder, it was revelation. I Watched the film about 12 times in a row, spotting each time other parts of the plot. There is something else to his story writing, brought to a top in this film. The banalities of everyday life at work or home, and hardships of social status make the showcase playground for the true existential route of the 2 main characters. Their private struggles become meaningful beyond the happenings around them, regardless of public morality. This makes the audience complicit to their behaviors, taking side for true moral values of respect and sincerity, indifferent to mere reputation.
Thank God we have 80 years of quality entertainment to look back on. Hollywood today is a mess. I'm sure Hollywood will remake this movie and of course add multiple and unnecessary sex scenes.
That's one of the things I've about this movie: No gratuitous soft- pore corn. It was unnecessary, and it would have broken up the tension. And it would gave distracted from the whole point of the film. Fran and Baxter were much more interested in companionship than in sex.
@@ScriptSleuth Haha! I should clarify. I watched this movie yesterday so that I could watch your premiere without any spoilers. It was fun watching you pick out all the great dialogue in this one.
Can't believe it has been 62 years. I saw this movie at the year it was first released and I can still remember how I reacted. I was shocked that the doctor slapped her several times and dragged her to walk around the apartment. All this to wake her up from her sleep induced state. And I felt good at the end when Shirley said to Jack, 'shut up and deal'. I was 15
1979's Breaking Away! Steve Tesich's screenplay deserved its Oscar that year. With storytelling similar to Wilder, finding both its humor and pathos in the poignancy of everyday life. "I didn't want him to be this miserable; just a little was all I asked for?"
I imagine the apartment was based on Billy Wilder's personal experience. Nothing wrong with that. I didn't see it so kindly though when in 1967, in London, a student of mine from a modelling class asked me to chaperone her to dinner with the great man. This is what happened. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vVLAZqUTP4A.html (read by Emma Gregory)
There's another piece in this film Edie Adams played Miss Olsen, Sheldrake's former mistress. At the time this film was made, Edie was married to comic genius Ernie Kovacs. If you don't know Ernie Kovacs, you should make the time to study his television work. Ernie and Jack Lemmon were best friends and spent hours and hours in each other's company. Billy Wilder loved working with Lemmon, Mr. and Mrs. Kovacs, MacLaine, and a few others. All of these actors and other film people (Lucille Ball and husband Gary Morton, Yves Montand, others) were together at Wilder's home for a party to celebrate the Milton Berle's adoption of a baby son. Edie and Ernie arrived in separate cars and left in separate cars, with Ernie taking her Chevy Corvair station wagon home. As he approached Santa Monica Blvd, the Corvair spun out and Ernie was killed instantly. It was Jack Lemmon who was called to positively identify the body.
