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!
I LOVE this movie. I have watched it dozens of times, but thanks to this great video, I understand it even better. Billy Wilder is my #1 favorite director. The Apartment is a masterpiece.
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.
"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.
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!!!
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.
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.
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 ...
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.
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.
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!
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
I'm currently taking a feature film screenwriting course, trying to learn the basics, and I've gotten a lot of valuable information from this excellent Masterclass. Oh, to write like Billy Wilder! It helps that The Apartment is one of my all-time favourite movies.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
When I started driving and going "downtown" to see movies around 1965, a buddy of mine and I went to a double feature - - The Apartment and The Great Escape. How lucky was that? The Apartment is still in my "top ten of all time." The Great Escape is probably in the "top 20".
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 !
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
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?"
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
That's so cool to hear! Thanks for the comment!
Script-wise, acting-wise, directing-wise, there has never been a better movie, cinema-wise.
That's the way it crumbles, I guess. 😉
You're beginning to sound like Mr. Kirkeby already
I’m gonna offer you a film you can’t refuse. The Godfather is the greatest so far!
Very wise. 😂
But it still ain't no CASABLANCA.
I LOVE this movie. I have watched it dozens of times, but thanks to this great video, I understand it even better. Billy Wilder is my #1 favorite director. The Apartment is a masterpiece.
@@aquaman_1 Glad you liked it!
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.
Sounds like an incredible experience! Thanks for sharing.
Did you hear me, The Apartment? I absolutely ADORE you.
Shut up and deal!
The master of subtext!
@@022171 I love the scene, together, shut up and deal.
😊 🙏 😊 🙏 😊 🙏
Thanks friend, you're wonderful 👏 ❤ 💖
Shut up and post.
"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.
Most definitely. He was truly one of the masters.
He learned that from Lubitsch
This is a breath of fresh air for screenwriter's
Thanks, Eli! And thanks for watching.
One of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. Thanks for this Masterclass.
Thanks for tuning in, Mateo!
LOVE THIS, especially the emotional rollercoaster ending.
Awesome! Thank you for watching.
And welcome to the Script Sleuth gang!
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!!!
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 is criminally underviewed! awesome job!
Thanks, Adrak!
this is definitely educational but above all I hope it reminds more people of how much of a masterpiece this movie is
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.
Excellent insight, John! Thanks for the great comment.
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 ...
Yes! And I love the subtext of when Fran says, "Shut up and deal."
The Apartment just keep climbing on my "Top 100-movies of all time list" every time I see or think about the movie.
Definitely!
This is a really beautiful analysis of the greatest screenplay ever written!
Thanks, Harsha. Really, Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond did all the work. They made it very easy to point out!
+1
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.
Exactly! The best collaboration is just pure magic.
Excellent exposition on my favorite writer-director when I first saw Some Like it Hot and Sunset Boulevard as a ten year old.
So many underwhelming videos on this from much larger channels. Brilliant underrated video
Thanks, Tom!
Wonderful work… Wilder blows me away, I see something new every time I watch his pictures.
Agreed, and thanks for watching!
This analysis deserves an Oscar just like the original screenplay of the film
Ha! If only...
@@ScriptSleuth I wish to connect with you. Please share your insta handle.
@@shashpicious20 scriptsleuth
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.
Those are all great films that you mention! 😎
I've always thought that good directors like to play with our emotions.This is an excellent film I saw many years ago, I plan on watching again.
It's a good point you make. Their #1 job is to make us feel. That's it.
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!
@@rosaenriquez4921 I bet a lot of the humor gets lost in translation. How would you translate when Mildred says, "Mack the Knife"?
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
Thank you, Shanker!
You deserve many more subscribers than you have. Quality all around
Thanks, Elliott!
Let's not forget leaving the best for the last line..." Shut up and deal, " and from Some Like it Hot, " Well, nobody's perfect! "
Masterclass in final lines of dialogue!
Superb breakdown of one of the greatest movies ever made, script-wise, narrative-wise, every way-wise. Bravo. More, please, thank you.💞👏🎥👏💞
Thanks, David, for the kind words! More is on the way really soon.
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.
I would have loved to see this in the theater!
Your analysis is so clear and clean and easy for me to understand! Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
Your choices of films for these Masterclasses are excellent. Top-notch tips from timeless classics, you're doing great work on this channel.
@@deanrane1961 Thank you so much for the kind words!
Billy Wilder's dialogue in 'Sunset Boulevard', "Where you been keeping yourself?" "I haven't been". Classic.
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.
One of Wilder’s themes- disparaging of shallowness and greed in society
So great that you chose Appartement! Keeps it immortal. And your advice is great, too
Thanks for the comment!
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.
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.
Excellent insight. It might be time to watch the movie again!
We expected Fred McMurray to be a good guy. The shock value of his duplicity was a big part of the movie.
I just watched this movie for the first time because of this video. Thanks! It was really good!
Wow, that was fast. Thanks for watching!
@@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.
@@Storyograph Very cool. Thanks again!
Genius..i have watched it 10 times with glee
I'm currently taking a feature film screenwriting course, trying to learn the basics, and I've gotten a lot of valuable information from this excellent Masterclass. Oh, to write like Billy Wilder! It helps that The Apartment is one of my all-time favourite movies.
Glad to hear it was useful!
The ringa ding ding dialogue is also used in the movie one two three by Mr.Wilder. it is a masterpiece!!
Thanks for the nugget!
Thank you!!
So much information!
You're welcome! Thank you for watching!
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.
For screenwriting, I have found no other channel as useful. great stuff for script doctoring, and injecting life into a weak draft.
That's so great to hear! 🙂
Brilliant analysis of all the important elements. Thanks.
Thanks for watching and commenting! Have a great weekend.
Awesome video! I will rewatch it to take notes. Thanks a lot, continue doing this amazing work.
Thanks for watching!
Just discovered your channel, really looking forward to watching all your other analyses on great movies.
Thanks for tuning in!
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.
Most definitely!
@@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.
I love this film
Me, too!
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
Happy New Year!
The perfect movie. ❤️
I must say I really enjoyed watching this video. There is so much observation and insight, very engaging. Thank you for this !
Thank you for watching!
Very good the analisy
Cinema history is full of masterclass films. I watched many, but nobody could watch them all. So thank you for this little demonstration.😊
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! ❤️
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.
Casting is definitely an underestimated but key ingredient! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Great video sire 🤝❤️
Your channel is wonderful. I subscribed!
Thank you, Aysooda!
Excellent Analysis and very Informative. Thanks so much
Cheers, Vasanth!
ワイルダー監督作品で最も好きな映画。レモンとマクレーンというキャスティング。年末には必ず見たくなる。
Excellent….in my top 5 films♥️♥️
This is fantastic work!
Cheers!
SS truly a master with best lessons! Bravo1
Thank you, Tomasito!
You earned a sub and you definitely deserve more fame! Hats off to you.
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.
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.
Sunset Boulevard is on the way!
Great Wilder, all his
Films are, exciting, excellent.
Thank you for the
Information about the script.
I love this movie, it is perhaps my favorite of all time
It's up there for me, too!
Best movie ever.
How in the Lord's name did this old- movie loving 68 YO 🦇 miss this one? Beautiful.
Great work!
Cheers!
Can't wait to buy it on 4K March 8th.
😮
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
Yes, he does! Thanks for the comment.
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
What a great story! Thanks for sharing.
Very nice analysis!
Thanks, Ted! Hope you're doing well.
When I started driving and going "downtown" to see movies around 1965, a buddy of mine and I went to a double feature - - The Apartment and The Great Escape. How lucky was that? The Apartment is still in my "top ten of all time." The Great Escape is probably in the "top 20".
Wow, what a tremendous combo!!! 👏
GENIUS
Thanks for watching!
Great video. The Apartment is amongst the all time great films. Also, do have a link to the music you used?
Thanks, Amandeep! All the music tracks are from UA-cam Audio Library. 🙂
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 !
Good analysis. True that he is explaining what should be Writing 101 using a masterpiece, but still -- good take on the subject.
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
Very well made
Thanks for watching!
I think The Apartment is one of the top ten American films of all time. It's that good.
I really can't argue with that!
My favourite film, apparently simple but masterpiece technically
What other films would you like to see me cover? Let me know in a comment below!
Rashomon, Kurosawa. And any of the classics of Yasujirō Ozu.
@@MrResearcher122 Certainly in the queue!
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?"
@@robertmoraga1501 Great suggestion! I definitely need to watch that film again.
Chinatown 1974
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.
Excellent!
3:37 Don’t know if I would call that crafting…dialog-wise. Character-blending?
Very useful tnx a lot❤❤🔥👌
You're welcome, Hosein. Thank you for watching!
great
this is so good
Thanks for watching, Laetitia!
@@ScriptSleuth you're welcome! hope this channel will soon get the recognition it deserves
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.
Any chance you can cover Billy Wilder's other great films? Double Indemnity and Some Like it Hot
Those are definitely on the list!
Ace in the Hole.
Ace in the Hole.
What do you think is the best Billy Wilder film?
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.
Very funny syory and Jack Lemmom is great!
Am don't know why cherly maclien not get the Oscar in this film she was so much wonderful
my favourite movie ever.
I love your videos (🇧🇷)
Obrigado!
Billy was so far ahead of the curve.
Yup. 😎
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.
"Some Like it Hot" still keeps Billy Wilder's best picture - hands down.
That one will also be analyzed at some point!
The values, if Sheldrake hadn't remembered his values the whole film wouldn't have made sense.
Values are at the center core of building good movies.
I think you mean Baxter. Sheldrake has no values.
The ending was good! But not even a hug?
Subtext! 🙂
@13:51 When the audience knows something that a character doesn't, that's not dramatic irony. That's called "superior position".
Very nicely explained!it’s always much better not to reveal the plot!
Thanks for watching, Ted!
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.
Wow, what a story. Thanks for sharing!
Wow. Never knew…