Name: New York on Film: “The Apartment” with Molly Haskell and Imogen Sara Smith
Start: 2024-12-03T18:00:00-05:00
End: 2024-12-03T21:00:00-05:00
Location: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Lower Manhattan

$New York on Film: \u201cThe Apartment\u201d with Molly Haskell and Imogen Sara Smith$

Rediscover one of Hollywood’s most celebrated films and learn how its social commentary speaks to both its time and ours .
About this Event

Step back into the world of 1960s Manhattan at the Downtown Alliance’s latest installation of New York on Film! Join us for a special screening of Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” followed by a thought-provoking discussion with distinguished film critics Molly Haskell and Imogen Sara Smith.

Wilder’s timeless classic stars Jack Lemmon as C.C. “Bud” Baxter, a lonely but ambitious office worker who lends his apartment to company executives for their extramarital affairs, hoping to climb the corporate ladder. Baxter’s life becomes complicated when he falls for Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), an elevator operator who has her own troubles with the company’s powerful men. Through clever wit, poignant performances and an unflinching portrayal of corporate life, “The Apartment” deftly balances comedy with a dark, reflective lens on love, loneliness and ethics.

Following the screening, Haskell and Smith will examine how Wilder’s New York is both a place of isolation and possibility and dissect the film’s nuanced portrayal of gender and power. They will explore how these portrayals resonate with today’s discussions around workplace dynamics, consent and gender equity, illuminating the ways “The Apartment” remains relevant to modern audiences.

Don’t miss this opportunity to rediscover one of Hollywood’s most celebrated films and gain a deeper understanding of how its social commentary speaks to both its time and ours. This event is a must-attend for cinephiles, cultural critics and those interested in the ever-evolving narratives of gender and power on screen.

Tickets are $5 and include popcorn and a beverage. All proceeds will be donated to a charity of our speakers' choice.

Please note that seating is not assigned and seats will be chosen on a first come, first served basis.

Molly Haskell lives in New York City and is the author of six books, including “From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movie”; the memoir “Love and Other Infectious Diseases”; “Frankly, My Dear: Gone with the Wind Revisited”; and, most recently, “Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films.”

She has taught at Columbia, Barnard and Sarah Lawrence, served as film critic for The Village Voice and New York Magazine and written for many publications, including the New York Times, the New York Review of Books, and the Guardian UK. She won a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2010 and an Athena Award in 2013, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Film Critics Circle in 2018 and co-hosted Turner Classic Movies’ The Essentials with Robert Osborne.

Imogen Sara Smith is a film critic and historian based in New York City. She is the author of two books, “In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City” and “Buster Keaton: The Persistence of Comedy,” and her work has appeared in Film Comment, Sight & Sound, Cineaste, Reverse Shot, The Criterion Collection, and many other venues. She is a regular speaker on the Criterion Channel, on disc releases from Criterion, Kino Lorber and other distributors, and at national and international film festivals. She has taught courses on film noir at the School of Visual Arts in New York.