Harry Hannan (Roy Scheider, The French Connection) is a United States government agent newly released from a long stay at an asylum following the murder of his wife during a botched mission in Mexico. Upon returning to government work, Hannan becomes increasingly paranoid, constantly questioning his sanity and who he can trust in the wake of receiving mysterious threats written in Hebrew. Hannan, along with Princeton doctoral student Ellie Fabian (Janet Margolin, David and Lisa), must unravel an arcane mystery that follows them from the streets of New York City to the rushing waters of Niagara Falls, before time runs out.
Based on the novel The 13th Man by Murray Teigh and adapted for the screen by David Shaber (The Warriors), LAST EMBRACE is an often overlooked entry in the career of Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs), deftly weaving conventions of classic espionage with elements of the budding erotic thriller genre that would become pervasive in the following decade. Featuring striking cinematography by consistent Demme collaborator Tak Fujimoto (Something Wild, Philadelphia), a rousing score by film noir veteran Miklós Rózsa (Double Indemnity, The Asphalt Jungle) and a supporting cast that includes Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter), John Glover (Melvin and Howard), Charles Napier (Miami Blues) and a brief, but memorable, Joe Spinell (Rocky). Cinématographe is proud to bring LAST EMBRACE to 4K UHD for the first time in the world, in a new restoration from its original camera negative.
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Video Quality
Cinématographe presents Last Embrace with a rich 2160p/HDR transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio sourced from a 4K restoration of the Original 35mm Camera Negative. This film was previously released on Blu-Ray courtesy of Kino Lorber in 2014, but we do not have that release to compare. By all accounts, it was a decent release, but there is no doubt this jump to 4K UHD Blu-Ray blows it out of the water. There is a world of fine detail to delight in thanks to this careful restoration. The texture present in the clothing and within the various landscapes allows this film to feel more tactile than ever. We did not spot even a fleeting moment when print damage or stray specks might muddy up this restoration. The encoding appears to be devoid of any digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or other such nuisances.
The implementation of HDR10 for refined color output greatly benefits the numerous locales. The lush landscapes are represented with a level of precision that must be admired. Director of Photography Tak Fujimoto achieves some astounding compositions within his framing which get a chance to thrive with this disc. The film grain is lovely and consistently natural without any signs of unwanted manipulation as everything resolves perfectly. Even bright skies avoid any spiking, swarming, or other stray encoding issues. Black levels are solid with nothing in the way of crush present, and highlights are firm with no blooming in play. Cinématographe maintains the level of care we expect from them.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of the film comes with the original DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono track which accomplishes everything that is asked of it with ease. From the opening moments, the score from Miklós Rózsa sets the perfect mysterious tone that flows out of the speakers with perfect fidelity. It plays well with the dialogue which comes through clearly without being clipped by competing elements. All of the various sounds along the journey seem precisely executed so that nothing ever feels unnatural. Some thrilling moments such as the finale liven up the speakers without devolving into sonic sludge, as every noise is acutely delineated. This presentation is clear of any hiss or other age-related wear-and-tear. Cinématographe has done nice work with this one to make it sound as strong as possible. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
Special Features
The Limited Edition version of Last Embrace comes beautifully packaged in a hard outer slipcase that opens up to a MediaBook that includes a bound booklet featuring new essays by film critic Jim Hemphill, culture critic Jeva Lange, and Cinématographe’s Justin LaLiberty plus select archival photo reproductions. These essays delve into the film from multiple angles and provide a great analysis in a thoughtfully written style. The on-disc special features are as follows:
Disc One (4K UHD)
- Audio Commentary: Film historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell provide a great commentary track in which they discuss the production of the film, where this fits into the career of Jonathan Demme, the cinematography of Tak Fujimoto, the thematic underpinnings, details about the shooting locations, the background of the performers, how this fits into the work of the actors, and much more that puts things into context.
Disc Two (Blu-Ray)
- Audio Commentary: Film historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell
- An Interview with Producer Michael Taylor: A nearly 11-minute archival interview with the producer who talks about the development of the film, selecting Jonathan Demme to direct, working with Roy Scheider, the freedom given by United Artists, the film’s legacy, and more.
- Video Essay by Samm Deighan: A great 17-minute visual essay is provided in which the insightful film historian discusses the career of Jonathan Demme, the numerous subgenres explored in Last Embrace, unique moments of composition, homages to Hitchcock, and much more.
- Theatrical Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Last Embrace is a very strong early effort from Jonathan Demme that shows how much talent he had from the beginning. His influences are on full display throughout, but they never seem to be used as a crutch. He gets a nuanced performance out of Roy Scheider that is a bit different from what he was known for at the time. The only slight stumble here pertains to the script and its handling of the Janet Margolin character, who has to take on some big swings that feel a bit forced. This does not ruin the movie, but it may be one of the reasons it is not as widely embraced as a classic. As it stands, it is still a film that stands proudly in Demme’s filmography. Cinématographe has delivered a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a sensational A/V presentation and a nice assortment of special features. Recommended
Last Embrace is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD + Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Cinématographe has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.