Rating summary
| Movie |  | 4.0 |
| Video |  | 4.5 |
| Audio | | 4.5 |
| Extras |  | 0.0 |
| Overall | | 4.0 |
The Last Supper Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 15, 2014
Christian believers who come to The Last Supper based on title alone may be disappointed to find out this is instead a film dealing with
ancient Chinese history, but if at least some of them are fans of Shakespeare’s King Lear or even Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, they may recognize at least a few similar elements. As in
Shakespeare’s famous tragedy and Kurosawa’s fanciful reimagining, The Last Supper deals with an aging ruler who has a lifetime of
regrets and questions about both his and his country’s future. Taking place toward the very end of the Qin Dynasty, The Last Supper is
big (gargantuan, even) and visually epic, but due to its fragmented storytelling style may fail to connect with Western audiences who don’t
know the actual history behind the tale.
Perhaps not so coincidentally, that same difficulty for outsiders to decipher the historical import of
The Last Supper also afflicted
White Vengeance, another film dealing with the same
historical milieu and some of the same story elements.
The Last Supper, while touted as a martial arts film on this keepcase’s insert, is
actually the more ruminative of the two, especially given the focus on aging Emperor Liu Bang (Liu Ye). The film is told resolutely from the
Emperor’s point of view, and in fact even lapses into his interior (hallucination filled?) mind, giving this film a really interestingly intimate dynamic.
Acclaimed director Lu Chuan (
City of Life and Death
) imbues the film with a lot of style, offering both jaw dropping outdoor work and a cloistered, almost claustrophobic, feel for the
machinations of Liu Bang’s contentious court.
The Last Supper Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
The Last Supper is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Random Media and Cinedigm with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Much of
The Last Supper takes place in the shadowy confines of Liu Bang's court, and shadow detail, contrast and overall clarity are commendable
throughout these sequences. Some of the brighter lit outdoor scenes have been variously color graded, often to a kind of dirty beige or brown
color, and those scenes offer excellent depth of field if somewhat less abundant fine detail. The image is stable and problem free throughout this
presentation. There are no signs of problematic denoising or sharpening and The Last Supper is very organic and natural appearing.
The Last Supper Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
The Last Supper's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very immersive, albeit in a somewhat subdued fashion, at least with regard
to the court sequences. The film contains some narration, which is prominently placed front and center, but both dialogue and action sequences
fill the surrounds with excellently discrete, spatially accurate, placement of talking and effects. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is very wide
on this problem free track.
The Last Supper Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
There are no supplements on this disc.
The Last Supper Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
The Last Supper is a surprisingly "interior" film (in more ways than one) for a historical epic, but for those willing to go with the flow
(meaning perhaps not everything will be clearly understood, at least the first time through), the film offers some stunning panoramas along with
a really fascinating look at an increasingly addled elder ruler who may be suffering from terminal paranoia. Technical merits here are very strong,
and even without any supplements, The Last Supper comes Recommended.
