The Apartment 4K UHD Review

New York Swingin’

“It’s all a gorgeous time capsule, written with a suave sense of kink courtesy of Billy Wilder. No one says sex. That’s just implied. A suicide is never called such; someone took too many pills. Much as The Apartment hides reality behind inevitable film censorship of the day, there’s reality inside. Lemon is a natural as the awkward, sheepish Baxter. He’s an instant working man’s hero. Fred MacMurray, the office executive, is appropriately cruel, a corporate caricature if no less plausible. Key characters make themselves believable.”

Read our full The Apartment Blu-ray review for more

Video

Although Kino foregoes any HDR, that choice carries little impact on the resulting imagery. The Apartment looks marvelous in 4K. A simply brilliant, true 4K scan shows dazzling sharpness. New York’s texture glimmers in these conditions, while facial definition and clothing details flourish. Wallpaper cracks inside hallways, alongside precise set details like stray dishes, chair fabrics, and other touches.

Expert grain reproduction lets everything improve over the Blu-ray. Consistent performance from the film stock keeps the grain structure steady, while the print itself doesn’t suffer any stray dirt, damage, or wobbling. It’s flawlessly preserved.

Even minus HDR, gray scale thrives. Precise black levels don’t miss a single opportunity to reach the deepest shadows. Generous highlights provide needed counter balance, and the resulting dimension is one step short of appearing truly 3D. Impeccable.

Audio

Both the mono and 5.1 tracks from Arrow’s disc carry over to Kino. The latter doesn’t use the surrounds for much, generally just crowds at parties or bars, yet the front soundstage has fun. Lemon sits alone, switching TV channels while the TV’s sound bounces between the center and left front. Some dialog will do the same. It’s minor, but a pleasing if slightly unnatural extension of a mono source.

Fidelity isn’t an issue. The Apartment sounds better than its age. The tight score hits peaks sans any problems. Any instance of hiss or cracking disappeared in the restoration.

Extras

Kino brings a previous commentary from Bruce Block, and also includes one from author Joseph McBride. Pop in the Blu-ray for a 12-minute featurette on Jack Lemmon, which is then bested by a great half hour making of.

The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 47 full resolution uncompressed 4K screen shots grabbed directly from the UHD: