Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Last Embrace Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 28, 2015

Jonathan Demme's "Last Embrace" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Signal One Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film, promotional materials, and new and new audio commentary with freelance writer David Thompson. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Harry Hannan

The desire to create something special by borrowing some of Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma’s tricks can be felt virtually everywhere in this early film from director Jonathan Demme. During the buildup, it works to the film’s advantage, but its puzzle is too easy to solve, and the visual style quite underwhelming.

Intelligence agent Harry Hannan (Roy Scheider, Jaws, Blue Thunder) discovers that he can no longer trust his former colleagues after his wife is tragically killed. When someone attempts to kill him, he also concludes that they probably want him dead because he knows plenty about their secret operations. Hannan then meets Ellie (Janet Margolin, David and Lisa), a beautiful young woman working on a research project, who has moved in the apartment the agency has allowed him to use. Instead of parting ways, however, the two warm up to each other and then decide to find out why Hannah has become a target.

The foundation of the story is placed upon two big character transformations. The first begins almost immediately after the opening credits and continues until the final third of the film. Hannan has suffered a nervous breakdown that has unlocked his defensive mechanisms and made it impossible for him to disable them. This has made him dangerous in the eyes of his former colleagues because he is constantly compromising himself while in public and in the process jeopardizing other agents in the system. A part of Hannan understands that he has changed, but it takes some time before he sees the complete picture. By the time he does, however, he is already chasing a shadow figure that wants him dead.

The second character transformation is like a litmus test. Once it is initiated instantly everything in the film begins to make perfect sense -- the anonymous note with the puzzling Hebrew text, the presence of the people that quietly follow Hannan, and the reasons why men around him die. The problem here is that it really isn’t difficult to figure out what is happening a lot earlier without it. There are details that are revealed at the end, but the plot is so straightforward that these details basically feel like irrelevant embellishments. This does hurt the integrity of the film because for a while it looks like different characters are intentionally avoiding the obvious.

Many of Hitchcock’s thrillers work so well because they very effectively manipulate one’s expectations. Typically, there is a logic in them that works for a certain period of time and then Hitchcock replaces it with a better one. But before that moment arrives there is no need to question the previous logic. De Palma’s best thrillers work in a similar way, but they are more eccentric, and their attitude towards ‘shock value’ is different.

Demme’s film was clearly meant to be a hybrid that fits between Hitchcock and De Palma’s films. Perhaps only a small portion of it works as intended. The rest simply lacks the depth and style that make Hitchcock and De Palma’s work attractive.

The surprisingly beautiful soundtrack was created by the legendary Hungarian-born composer Miklos Rosza, whose credits include such iconic films as Ben-Hur, Double Indemnity, Spellbound, The Killers, and El Cid.

Last Embrace Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jonathan Demme's Last Embrace arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Signal One Entertainment.

The release has been sourced from the same master that Kino Video accessed when they prepared their release of Last Embrace for the U.S. market. It is not a new master, but it is quite good. Well-lit close-ups typically boast very good depth. Some of the wider panoramic shots also look good. During the darker footage, however, some of the master's limitations become obvious. For example, shadow definition fluctuates quite a bit and as a result depth isn't as consistent as it should be (see screencaptures #14 and 17). There are no traces of recent degraining adjustments. Predictably, grain is easy to see, but some light noise is also mixed with it. Edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern. Colors are stable and natural, but saturation can be better and there should be a wider range of nuances. Overall image stability is very good. Finally, there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or torn frames, but a few tiny flecks can be spotted. All in all, even though there is room for some important improvements, this is a pleasing organic organic presentation of Last Embrace. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Last Embrace Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio has not been remastered, but depth and clarity are very good. Balance is also very good throughout the entire film -- there are no sudden spikes or drops in dynamic intensity. The dialog is stable, crisp, and easy to follow. There are no pops, audio dropouts, distracting background hiss, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Last Embrace Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - in this new audio commentary, freelance writer David Thompson discusses the Hitchcockian influence in Lost Embrace, Miklós Rózsa's score and the manner in which the music is used to enhance the tense atmosphere during select sequences, Jonathan Demme, major points of the plot and some of the dilemmas Harry Hannan faces, etc.

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Last Embrace. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Lobby Cards and Stills Gallery -

Last Embrace Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jonathan Demme's Last Embrace is a curious attempt to create something special by borrowing some of Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma's tricks, but the end result is rather underwhelming. There are a few bits here and there that work, but they aren't enough to keep one intrigued until the very end. This is the first release from Signal One Entertainment to reach my desk and I think that it is quite well done. I am very much looking forward to the label's future announcements.