The Last Romantic Lover Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Last Romantic Lover Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 27, 2022

Just Jaeckin's film "The Last Romantic Lover" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with the director; new program with actress Dayle Haddon; Q&A session filmed at Cinémathèque Française; and promotional materials. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

It is my story. This is how Just Jaeckin describes The Last Romantic Lover in an exclusive new interview that is included on Cult Epics’ Blu-ray release of his film. Jaeckin speaks with a very heavy French accent that a few times makes the words he utters virtually impossible to understand, but it is instantly obvious that he is revealing more about his life than ever before. As a young man, he fell in love with a stunningly beautiful model that became his soulmate, and while their relationship lasted, he experienced the ultimate thrill of life -- true happiness. Later, he loved other women and they were special too, but it was not the same. His relationship with the beautiful model allowed him to experience things that irreversibly changed him as a man and redefined his understanding of what it meant to be alive.

The Last Romantic Lover was the most difficult film Jaeckin directed. In the interview, Jaeckin explains that the success he had with Emmanuelle, The Story of O, and Madame Claude made it impossible for him to shoot films without erotic content. He had carved a niche for himself and the only offers he received were for similar films. It is why when eventually he was asked to do a film he liked, he was reluctant to consider The Last Romantic Lover. Its story was too personal, too sensual, and if he told it the way he thought was right, there was a real chance that the film could be misunderstood.

Even though the great Italian screenwriter Ennio De Concini helped Jaeckin tell the story in a more appealing way, The Last Romantic Lover flopped in France. According to Jaeckin, the local critics disliked The Last Romantic Lover so much that they went on the warpath to destroy it and perhaps even hurt its creator. But in Canada The Last Romantic Lovers had a different fate. The local critics had a lot of kind things to say about it and casual filmgoers fell in love with it. There were even people that thought that it was Jaeckin’s best work. Later, in the United States, The Last Romantic Lover had a good relationship with HBO as well.

So, what could have triggered the French critics to dislike The Last Romantic Lover with such genuine passion?

According to Jaeckin, it was the restructuring of his story that did the trick. Together with De Concini, he switched its point of view from male to female, so the balance of power that is at the center of the relationship between its main protagonists changed as well. As a result, it was easy to produce speculations about sexual politics that were not in the story. This is most certainly not the only reason The Last Romantic Lover flopped, but the fact that there were people that misjudged the film so badly that they wanted to destroy it is quite bizarre. On the other hand, the extreme reaction could make perfect sense too, just as Jaeckin insists, if you consider the type of films he had made before The Last Romantic Lover and how the two sexes are positioned in them.

The story that is told in The Last Romantic Lover has distinct Fellini-esque qualities. The sexually liberated editor-in-chief of a big American women’s magazine (Dayle Haddon) arrives in Paris and organizes a big contest to discover the ultimate romantic lover. After discarding hundreds of different wannabe contestants, she selects twelve very handsome young men and the fun activities begin. The winner is handed a big cash prize, while the runner-up, a shy lion tamer (Gerard Ismael), is offered a ten-day romantic getaway with a girl of his choice. Before the rolling cameras, the lion tamer selects the American visitor and she reluctantly follows him back to his home -- a circus camp somewhere in the French countryside.

The Last Romantic Lover is a very charming little film whose sincerity is its greatest weakness. How is this possible? Imagine baring your soul while retelling your greatest romantic story that makes perfect sense only to you. Some very beautiful, very intense dreams are like that. They make perfect sense while they last and are never forgotten, but once you begin reconstructing them a lot begins to look and feel seriously off. This is how Jaeckin bares his soul in The Last Romantic Lover.

Haddon’s striking beauty and personality make it very easy to compare her to Isabelle Adjani. After she moves to the circus camp, her character often looks like the one Adjani plays in Jean Becker’s classic thriller One Deadly Summer.

The Last Romantic Lover Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Last Romantic Lover arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master that was prepared after the film was fully restored in 4K. The 4K master was supervised and approved by cinematographer Robert Fraisse.

This is the best presentation of a Just Jaeckin film that I have seen to date. Even though I think that the entire film is graded slightly warmer than it needs to be, with blues being toned down just a bit too much, the overall color balance and appearance of the visuals are very solid. Clarity, delineation, and depth are very good. In some darker areas, select shadow details could have been exposed better -- and I think that this is where the color grade should have been more convincing -- but I did not see any serious troubling anomalies. Grain exposure is good. Density levels are strong and stable. Overall image stability is outstanding. Finally, the entire film looks very, very healthy. So, this is a very solid organic presentation of The Last Romantic Lover that will surely remain its definitive presentation on the home video marker. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Last Romantic Lover Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and French Dolby Digital 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the French LPCM 2.0 track. I thought that it was outstanding. It has been fully remastered, and as a result, it is immediately obvious that it is very healthy. Clarity, sharpness, and balance are excellent. Dynamic intensity is average, but this is how the original soundtrack was finalized. The English translation is excellent.

The Last Romantic Lover Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Just Jaeckin - in this exclusive new interview, Just Jaeckin recalls how The Last Romantic Lover came to exist, its critic reception in France and Canada, the tremendous impact the film had on his personal and professional life, and how his career evolved over the years. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Interview with Dayle Haddon - in this exclusive new interview, actress Dayle Haddon discusses her modeling and acting career, how work with Just Jaeckin on The Last Romantic Lover, shooting lovemaking scenes, and her work to redefine female beauty. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Presentation at Cinémathèque Française - presented here is a Q&A session with Just Jaeckin and Dayle Haddon at Cinémathèque Française. The session was filmed on March 30, 2022. In French, with English subtitles. (16 min).

• Promotional Gallery - a collection of vintage promotional materials for The Last Romantic Lover. With music. (2 min).

The Last Romantic Lover Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even though The Last Romantic Lover is not an autobiographical film, it is a very personal film that reveals a lot about Just Jaeckin. I found it irresistibly charming and thought that it had very interesting Fellini-esque qualities. Dayle Haddon looks stunning in it and her appearance and personality reminded me of Isabelle Adjani. Cult Epics' release is sourced from a very beautiful new 4K master that was supervised and approved by cinematographer Robert Fraisse. It is Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.