The Last Detail 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Last Detail 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 28, 2022

Several films which have had prior releases on Twilight Time have been cropping up under new licensing agreements. Sandpiper Films seems to have been the major beneficiary of this change of distributors, but Shout! Factory's Shout Select imprint finagled rights to The Last Detail, and is offering the added allure of a 4K UHD presentation from the original camera negative, along with some new supplements, for this release.

For those wanting a plot recap and my general thoughts on the film, I'll point you to my The Last Detail Blu-ray review of that now long ago Twilight Time Blu-ray release. I will say from the looks of our database that this particular "sold out" edition is still available from some online emporia, and not at the exorbitant prices some of these so- called "limited editions" seem to fetch for some reason.

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

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc included in this package.

The Last Detail is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Shout! Factory's Shout! Select imprint with a 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. As can even be made out in the 1080 screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review (and where I attempted to come close to replicating frames I captured for my review of the original Twilight Time Blu-ray release), the Shout! version is to my eyes noticeably brighter and skewed a bit more toward yellow, which may make an already almost grimy and often riddled with yellow grain field look even dirtier. As I mentioned in my original review of the Twilight Time version, the grain field is so thick that this almost looks like Super 16 at times, and that simply may not transfer completely winningly to the "world" of 4K UHD, frankly. I had forgotten that I had actually watched the Twilight Time release on my then new 4K setup back in the day just to see what the grain in particular looked like, since it had an almost chroma effect on that release, and I found that viewing experience to at least somewhat ameliorate the situation. The exact opposite happened with this Shout! set, where the grain is even more "active" with attendant chroma like anomalies in the 2160 version than on the 1080 version. While Dolby Vision and/or HDR does add some interesting if subtle highlights, especially in some of the ubiquitous and kind of garish greens that show up as backgrounds (which actually are interestingly kind of now tamped down a bit in the 4K UHD presentation), the 4K UHD version suffers from some of the same flirtations with crush that the 1080 version does, especially with regard to things like the heavy Navy overcoats the guys wear. The thickness of the grain may actually end up acting as a mask for fine detail in some of the more dimly lit moments, and in fact generally speaking I just didn't notice a huge uptick in detail levels when comparing Shout!'s 1080 and 2160 presentations. I actually liked the increased texture of the 1080 version on this release, though some may prefer the slightly smoother appearance that the Twilight Time version offers (which I think is more due to relative darkness, since the Twilight Time version also has a completely observable grain field). This is another shot on film production where I'm just not sure the increased resolution is a friend to the appearance. My score for the 4K UHD presentation is 3.25.

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

I frankly noticed no discernable difference between this set's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track and the DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track on the Twilight Time release. I give a few more thoughts in my original The Last Detail Blu-ray review. Like that disc, this one offers optional English subtitles.

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

Both the 1080 and 4K UHD discs in this package sport the same slate of supplements:

• An Introduction by Filmmaker Alexander Payne (HD; 5:10) offers Payne reading some program notes he wrote on the film.


• About a Trip - An Appreciation by Alexander Payne (HD; 16:25) offers Payne again opining on the film and Hal Ashby.


• A Search for Truth (HD; 20:34) is an interview with editor Robert C. Jones.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:58)

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

This may be a mixed bag for some. I personally found the 1080 version to be preferable to the 4K UHD version, though I wouldn't be surprised if some fans actually like the somewhat darker, smoother look of the Twilight Time 1080 presentation. This release does have some new supplements which may help to sweeten the pot for those who may be considering making a purchase.