Two billion years in the future, humanity finds itself on the verge of extinction. Almost all that remains are lone, surreal monuments— the futuristic, solemn, Brutalist stone slabs erected during the communist era in the former Yugoslav republics, arrestingly photographed in luminous 16mm black-and-white. A stunning feature debut and final cinematic testament from the late composer and musician Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, Arrival, Mandy) conjures a world of surreal and phantasmagorical monuments, once intended as symbols of unity and brotherhood, now abandoned beacons beaming their message into the wilderness. Based on the cult 1930 science fiction novel by British author Olaf Stapledon, with narration by Tilda Swinton, Last and First Men is a poetic, hopeful, and tragic work: an allegory of remembrance, ideals, and the death of Utopia.

For thoughts on Last and First Men, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/l1PXBES-HHw?t=3865]

Video Quality

Last and First Men comes to Blu-Ray in its original aspect ratio from a beautiful high definition master. The film mostly consists of extended shots of unique architecture and distinct landscapes in black and white 16mm footage. Every element looks as technically excellent as it can look on the format. The transfer appears to have plenty of room to breathe and there are no issues with compression artifacts, banding or other digital nuisances. The transfer preserves that natural film grain which gives a palpable texture to each shot. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows, and highlights are never in bloom. I do not see how this disc could have been improved visually. It’s a stunning transfer handled with care by Kino Lorber.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with both a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 & 2.0 Master Audio track that captures this material perfectly. Narration from Tilda Swinton is the driving force of the narrative, and it comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. Jóhannsson does a really great job of making sure all information comes through with supreme clarity. The lovely score establishes the mood of the film and is resolved well here as music constantly permeates the room. The audio track is not pushed to the limit with this content, but it nonetheless proves to be an excellent sounding presentation for this feature. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for those who desire them.

Special Features

Trailer: The minute-and-a-half long trailer for Last and First Men is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Last and First Men is a unique effort that shows what we may have gotten if Jóhann Jóhannsson had lived to develop himself as a filmmaker in addition to being a brilliant composer. This is closer to a modern art piece than a traditional film, but it holds a captivating beauty that lures you into its web of sci-fi intrigue. Tilda Swinton is the perfect performer to lend a voice to this material, and the way in which the score complements her is lovely. Kino Lorber and Metrograph Pictures have released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and next to nothing in the way of supplemental features. This may be too much of an “arthouse” movie for most audiences, but those into non-traditional narratives will find something of value here. Recommended

Last and First Men is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Lorber and Metrograph Pictures have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.