Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Last Embrace 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf December 15, 2024

Throughout the 1970s, director Jonathan Demme started to form a career, doing so via help from Roger Corman, who took a chance on a young man with a vision for exploitation entertainment. Demme delivered “Caged Heat,” “Crazy Mama,” “Fighting Mad,” and “Citizens Band,” crafting escapism for the drive-in crowds, maintaining a sense of humor through most of his cinematic adventures. 1979’s “Last Embrace” offers a maturing Demme hoping to replicate some moves from Alfred Hitchcock, overseeing a mystery/thriller that tries to remain twisty and agitated. The screenplay by David Shaber is an adaptation of a 1977 novel (“The 13th Man”) by Murray Teigh Bloom, and the material remains very literary in design, following a paranoid man’s quest to understand who’s trying to kill him, often doing so through research. “Last Embrace” isn’t a nail-biter, but it has a few explosive moments of suspense and strong performances to support the viewing experience, finding star Roy Scheider hitting all the right beats of anxiety as Demme attempts to make something involving and familiar.

Harry (Roy Scheider) is a government agent recently released from a psychiatric hospital. Three months ago, he couldn’t protect his wife from an armed confrontation in Mexico, and now he’s still dealing with his guilt, trying to put a nervous breakdown behind him. Eager to return to the world of spying, Harry only finds denial from his employer, Eckart (Christopher Walken), who doesn’t want him back on the job. Feeling uneasy and paranoid, believing people are still attempting to kill him, Harry returns to his apartment, only to find Ellie (Janet Margolin) living there as a sublet tenant, and the doctoral student isn’t willing to leave, disturbing her routine. While attempting to manage this chaos, Harry is offered a note written in “biblical Hebrew,” sending him on a quest to understand what the words mean. Gradually recognizing that trouble is coming for him, Harry tries to navigate the danger, confronted by his wife’s angry brother, Dave (Charles Napier), and he meets with Richard (John Glover), an academic who knows more about the notes. And there’s Ellie, who remains in his life, finding the pair growing closer as Harry becomes obsessed with identifying his assassin.

Harry has lost his mind in “Last Embrace,” and understandably so, unable to keep his spouse out of harm’s way, resulting in her murder during a night of celebration. He tries to carry on as a renewed man, stepping out of a hospital and back into his old life, finding nobody wants him to return. Assignments aren’t offered, and a trip to a secret office to confront Eckart results in a refusal to accept a return to duty, putting Harry back out into the world without purpose. He only has his thoughts and his version of reality, believing enemies are still trying to kill him. It’s a ripe set-up for screen tension, and Scheider fits the mood perfectly, delivering a wonderfully itchy performance, digging into the character’s growing hostility with others as he fights to reclaim what’s been lost, including his mind. There’s a sensitivity to the world that’s riveting to watch.

Ellie is less interesting in “Last Embrace,” partially due to Margolin’s lack of chemistry with Scheider. She’s also dealing with a certain stiffness in the writing, making the character shrill instead of intriguing, and a slow descent into attraction between Ellie and Harry doesn’t do much for the feature besides distract it from the central mystery. “Last Embrace” is more confident in detective mode, following Harry as he maintains careful watch everywhere he goes, and he deals with Dave, a brother blaming the agent for his sister’s murder, and he’s not willing to forgive. Demme gets his chance to explore Hitchcock moments throughout the picture, most notably a college courtyard confrontation that becomes a shootout in a bell tower. However, “Last Embrace” isn’t fully committed to physical interactions, spending time with experts and allies, sending Harry into the world of Judaism to best understand the note’s meaning and how it relates to his past.

Last Embrace 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Screencaps are taken from the Blu-ray.

"Last Embrace" was previously issued on Blu-ray in 2014, and returns with a UHD release, listed as a "new 4K restoration from the 35mm OCN." There's obvious improvement here, delivering a fuller sense of color, working with period hues on style and lighting choices. Primaries are striking on signage and yellow raincoats in the film's finale, while the greenness of some imagery is preserved. Hues are secure, along with deep blacks, preserving evening encounters. Skin tones run slightly hot at times, but Scheider's famously tanned appearance is intact. Detail is capable, exploring textured skin surfaces and decorated living spaces. Exteriors retain excellent dimension as action tours Niagara Falls and colleges, joined by New York City neighborhoods. Highlights are tasteful. Grain is fine and film-like. Source is in excellent condition.

Last Embrace 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix offers a secure understanding of dialogue exchanges, balancing intimate encounters and argumentative moments. Performance choices are easily understood. Scoring supports with crisp instrumentation, delivering dramatic strings throughout. Sound effects are appreciable, along with atmospherics as the action heads into more populated areas and visits tourist sites.

Last Embrace 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (on Vinegar pressing) (40 pages) collects essays by Jeva Lange, Justin LaLiberty, and Jim Hemphill.

• Commentary features film historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell.

• Interview (10:41, HD) with producer Michael Taylor immediately returns him to the 1970s, joining co-producer Dan Wigutow at United Artists, "sharing a dream" to make movies. Finding the book "The 13th Man," a script was quickly commissioned, and a hunt for a director was on, eventually locating Jonathan Demme. Memories of Roy Scheider are offered, recalling his professionalism and physical capabilities in the part. The interviewer tries to push a little harder on the actor's reputation for being difficult, but Taylor doesn't take the bait, staying with his initial praise. Co- stars Janet Margolin and Christopher Walken are also highlighted, crediting casting supervisor (and future M&M addict) Scott Rudin for his work. Enjoying the "autonomy" at United Artists, "Last Embrace" slipped through the system without much notice, allowing the filmmakers to maintain their vision. Hitchcockian references are identified, including scoring efforts from Miklos Rozas. Talk of "white slavery" authenticity and the release of the picture closes out the conversation.

• "The Labyrinth of 'Last Embrace'" (16:33, HD) is a video essay by Samm Deighan.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:55, HD) is included.

Last Embrace 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Last Embrace" lacks pulse-pounding pace, but Demme does add some idiosyncrasy along the way to keep things interesting (including unusual locations, giving the feature a fine visual presence), and Harry's mission for information leads to some passably bizarre answers. Thankfully, intensity is escalated in the climax, which brings the hunt to Niagara Falls, handing the picture a distinct location and a pronounced sense of danger, coming close to matching Hitchcock's legacy. "Last Embrace" ends big and cold, which helps the movie immensely, reaching points of pressure the rest of the material struggles to communicate. It remains a film with intermittent excitement and a colorful cast, but it rarely connects as a dynamic thriller.