Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Le Dernier Combat Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 4, 2009

Luc Besson's debut feature film "Le dernier combat" a.k.a. "The Last Battle" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Gaumont. The only supplemental feature on this disc is the original French theatrical trailer for the film. Please note that unlike the UK Blu-ray release of "The Last Battle", which is Region-B "locked", this release is Region-Free and perfectly playable in North America. Optional English subtitles are not provided, but such are not needed.

Flying

For a number of years, Luc Besson’s first feature film was impossible to see outside of France. During the late '80s, I was lucky enough to see it theatrically on the Left Bank, but only because I had fallen in love with Subway. If I recall correctly, at the time Besson and his films were virtually unknown in the U.S.

Nikita changed everything. The film became an instant success in France and went on to win a Cesar for Best Actress (Anne Parillaud). International distributors immediately flocked to buy the rights to the film from Gaumont. Then came Leon, and everyone started looking for Besson’s early films. In the U.S., Sony Pictures responded with a slate of DVD and VHS releases around 2001.

I don’t know if commercial success was the best thing that could have happened to Besson, though. I knew that after Nikita the big boys in Hollywood would approach him, and they certainly did. Soon after, as expected, the French director ended up producing a number of English-language films. I think that this was when a lot of people, myself included, lost interest in his work.

The Last Battle, which was initially distributed in the U.S. under its French title, Le dernier combat, is about a lonely man who tries to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. He lives in a giant half-demolished skyscraper with an inflatable doll. He is skinny, unshaved and mute.

In his lair, which must have been a conference room of some sort before disaster struck, the man has built a mini-plane. Minutes before a group of armed men break down the door to the lair, he jumps in the mini-plane and takes off. Shortly after, the man crashes in the middle of what once must have been a busy business district of a large metropolis.

There are other men living in the area, too. A small group has settled in front of a junkyard granting access to an underground storage facility. The group has a leader (Fritz Wepper) who likes to cut off the fingers of anyone that dares to question his authority. He also likes his 'toy' (Maurice Lamy), a weird looking man with a helmet and a pair of diving glasses, whom he has locked in the trunk of an old car.

Eventually the man from the mini-plane ends up in an abandoned hospital where he is seriously hurt by another loner (Jean Reno). He is saved by a freaky doctor (Jean Bouise) who has been dodging the loner for a while. The two become friends and the doctor shows him something he has never seen before -- a woman locked in a cell (Petra Müller). The loner then strikes one more time and kills the doctor, but the man from the mini-plane ends up his misery.

The Last Battle is virtually a dialog-free film that relies on the strength of its visuals. Its main protagonist is played by actor-director-producer Pierre Jolivet, who co-wrote the film with Besson. Two years after The Last Battle premiered, the duo collaborated again on Subway.

The short but haunting music score was composed by a man who would eventually become an inseparable part of Besson’s team -- Eric Serra. Twelve years after The Last Battle, Serra would compose the music score for Martin Campbell’s Golden Eye.

Unlike every other Besson film, The Last Battle is impossible to accurately describe with simple words. As cliché as it may sound, one has to see it in order to fully understand and appreciate it. I personally think that it is one of the most unique French science fiction films from the last thirty or so years.

Le Dernier Combat Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Luc Besson's The Last Battle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Gaumont.

Gaumont's transfer looks practically identical to the one Optimum Home Entertainment used for their Blu-ray release in the UK (the UK distributors probably had access to the exact same elements Gaumont used). Once again, there is some mild flickering throughout the film, a bit of digital noise, and quite a few flecks popping up here and there. Generally speaking, the color-scheme is pleasing - blacks, whites and grays look lush and well saturated. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not a serious issue of concern; the former, however, is occasionally noticeable. Still, a quick comparison with the R1 DVD Sony Pictures released back in 2001 would immediately reveal how vastly superior the Blu-ray is. There is substantially more depth and clarity on it that are not present on the DVD. With other words, despite its dated look, this Blu-ray release of The Last Battle is a serious upgrade over previous treatments this most original film has received. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no PAL or 1080/50i data preceding the main menu).

Le Dernier Combat Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Gaumont have provided optional French HOH subtitles.

The Last Battle is basically a dialog-free feature. Eric Serra's score has a unique role in the film, but is very much restricted as well. With other words, the only activity that you would notice in your speakers is during the numerous action scenes. For the record, I could not hear much of a difference between the French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track this release features and the French LPCM 2.0 track found on the UK release courtesy of Optimum Home Entertainment.

Le Dernier Combat Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, the only supplemental feature on this Blu-ray disc is the original theatrical trailer for the film (in PAL).

Le Dernier Combat Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gaumont's Blu-ray release of Luc Besson's The Last Battle appears identical to the one Optimum Home Entertainment put on the UK market. However, unlike the UK release, which is Region-B "locked", this French release is Region-Free and perfectly playable in Region-A players. There are no optional English subtitles on the disc, but as I have noted elsewhere, they are not needed. RECOMMENDED.