Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.5

The Last Castle 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 23, 2024

Rod Lurie's "The Last Castle" (2001) arrives on Blu-ray 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by Rod Lurie; deleted scenes with optional audio commentary; archival featurette on the making of the film; promotional trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Someone should have politely asked Rod Lurie to spend a night with John Frankenheimer’s film Against the Wall. Lurie’s viewing experience with this film would have been beneficial in several ways. However, the most important one would have provided him with a proper understanding of what a legit ‘castle’ looks like on the inside and how the people that are kept there behave. Lurie had an interesting story to tell, but his film The Last Castle cannot be taken seriously. Next to Against the Wall, and many other films like it that emerged decades earlier, it frequently looks like a parody.

In Lurie’s film, the ’castle’ is a very large maximum security military prison that hosts some of America’s worst criminals. Some are killers, some are drug traffickers, some have done it all. Many of them have been given lengthy sentences and plenty are lifers. The ‘castle’ is run by Colonel Winter (James Gandolfini), a brash brute hiding in a uniform, who has reached his zenith and convinced himself that he is untouchable.

The ’castle’ begins a slow but irreversible transformation on the day Winter welcomes three-star General Irwin (Robert Redford), one of his idols, not as a guest but as a high-profile prisoner who has been court-martialed. A single comment instantly shatters Winter’s perception of Irwin, and he begins viewing him as an ideological enemy that must be destroyed, no matter the consequences. To accomplish his goal, Winter then invents various pretexts to crush Irwin, first psychologically and then physically, but much to his surprise discovers that his opponent is ready to resist and win the conflict. Soon after, Winter is also informed that Irwin has begun organizing the prisoners for a much bigger conflict that will force him to resign.

The strangest thing about The Last Castle is that it desperately wants to be taken very, very seriously while operating with enormously silly material. For example, it spends a lot of time explaining military truths few people are confused about, like the one about the ‘great’ leaders who have never been on the battlefield. It also explains how in the modern era a ‘castle’ became something else. It even explains how if given a chance hardened criminals could easily evolve into patriotic soldiers. Without the action, these ongoing lessons occupy approximately two-thirds of the narrative and are so bad that the drama is never given a chance to appear authentic.

The strong cast is fully engaged in these bad lessons, too. Redford's arrival, for instance, is depicted as a borderline cathartic experience, and he works hard to exceed the expectations of the smitten criminals. Sometimes he speaks as an ancient Chinese scholar, sometimes he moves massive stones with his bare hands. (Oddly, despite having the necessary deep scars on his back, he was not asked to carry a giant cross). Gandolfini is permanently miffed after his precious collection of military memorabilia is disrespected, but he too clarifies with authority what it takes to keep a place like the ‘castle’ function as it should. Mark Ruffalo shows a willingness to be an independent thinker, but at the right time, he also demonstrates how little it takes to be like Rambo. Only Delroy Lindo looks out of synch because he instantly notices how a lot of what he sees and hears is genuinely off.

The final act is surreal. Redford leads a small army of modern gladiators that utilize a catapult, a hand-made bazooka, and several flamethrowers, while Gandolfini watches in dismay. Lindo phones to let the latter know that he is bringing more men to protect his ‘castle’ from falling, but is promptly told that everything is under control. The American flag is raised upside down and, amid a deafening silence, the gladiators-turned-prisoners again proudly salute it.

Oscar-winner Jerry Goldsmith gives The Last Castle a predictably excellent soundtrack, but the intense harmonies often seem misplaced.

The Last Castle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of The Last Castle is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-27 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #30-38 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces a recent 4K makeover of The Last Castle that was prepared by Paramount Pictures. The 4K makeover can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision.

I do not have previous experience with this Blu-ray release, so I do not know how good The Last Castle looks on it. However, on my system, this film looked pretty incredible. In fact, I did not notice anything that I did not like. Delineation, clarity, and sharpness were consistently outstanding, while fluidity was as impressive as I thought it could and should be. There is plenty of fast-moving action footage, too. Color balance was very convincing. All primaries were rich and nature while the supporting nuances were wonderfully balanced. I did several tests with the Blu-ray that is included, and my impression is that the Dolby Vision handles darker areas very well. I did not see any areas where darker nuances were crushed or backgrounds appeared flat. On the contrary, I thought that alot of darker areas revealed better balanced nuanced and ultimately more convincing depth. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks very healthy, too.

The Last Castle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

It is not surprising that the action footage sounds terrific because it is mixed very well. However, there is plenty of surprisingly impressive material where Jerry Goldsmith's score is very effectively used. I am not a fan of the film, but I like the soundtrack a lot and could not be more pleased how great it sounded on my system. The dialog is very clear, sharp, and always easy to follow.

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

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this archival audio commentary, Rod Lurie explains why he loves doing and listening to these types of commentaries and what makes them educational. After that, Lurie discusses in great detail the conception of The Last Castle, the concept of leadership that is at the center of the film (and how it links James Gandolfini and Robert Redford's characters), and the exact type of drama that gives the film its identity. There are some quite interesting comments during the final act, where the most impressive/surreal action visuals are.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this archival audio commentary, Rod Lurie explains why he loves doing and listening to these types of commentaries and what makes them educational. After that, Lurie discusses in great detail the conception of The Last Castle, the concept of leadership that is at the center of the film (and how it links James Gandolfini and Robert Redford's characters), and the exact type of drama that gives the film its identity. There are some quite interesting comments during the final act, where the most impressive/surreal action visuals are.

• Rod Lurie on The Last Castle - in this archival program, Rod Lurie explains what motivated him to direct The Last Castle, how he managed to convince James Gandolfini to commit to it after Robert Redford agreed to do it, and why he and his crew had to do a lot of improvisational work once the shoot was underway. Also, there are some quite interesting comments about an old prison in Tennessee, very similar to the 'castle', that Lurie and his crew visited. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• HBO First Look - Inside the Walls of The Last Castle - an archival EPK produced for HBO. Included in it are clips from interviews with Rod Lurie, Robert Redford, and James Gandolfini, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• A Hero's Farewell - A Discussion on the Alternate Ending - in this piece, Rod Lurie quickly addresses an alternate sequences that was shot but dropped. Footage from this sequence is included. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Deleted Scenes - the deleted scenes that are listed below can be viewed with optional audio commentary by Rod Lurie. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).
  
  1. Colonel Winter
  2. The Bookie
  3. We're Square
  4. Colonel's Workout
  5. DOD Investigation
  6. Shadows of Soldiers
  7. Pruno
  8. Triage
  9. Makeshift Defibrillator

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Last Castle. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

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

Surreal, bordering a parody film. This is my short description of Rod Lurie's The Last Castle. I enjoy prison films (and books), have a substantial number of them in my library, and The Last Castle is one of the worst I have seen. It does so many silly things that its insistence to be taken very seriously is beyond perplexing. Its investigation of the concept of leadership is most problematic, too. If you disagree and want to have a definitive release of The Last Castle in your collection, I think that this combo pack from Kino Lorber is what you have been waiting for.