Look Who it Was Random video

Video Essay: "Before and After THE APARTMENT"

2,059 views · Published 11 December 2018 · 2:54 · Indexed 23 October 2026

Channel: MUBI · 2018 · Entertainment

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A before and after video showing the work done to make the video essay "THE APARTMENT", as a visual reminder of what the location was like when it had inhabitants. For the accompanying text, visit the Notebook: https://mubi.io/2KYDS68
"The location is a character in its own right in this movie." How many times have you read a similar statement in a film review? How many times did you hear a screenwriter, actor or director utter words to that effect in a promotional interview? It is a tried and tested way to play up the setting (or set design) of a movie, a clichéd comment that has become a staple of both film writing and promotion.

In this video essay, the apartment really does get the starring role. Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and all other visitors to C.C. Baxter's bachelor pad have cleared the way for the rooms themselves to shine... All human presence has been scrubbed from Billy Wilder's movie: their appearances erased, their voices replaced by a soundscape. 

For Study Purposes Only.

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