Last Embrace - Cinématographe 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Alright, so here’s the thing about Jonathan Demme’s Last Embrace: It was initially criticized for the exact bursts of creativity that mentioned in my introduction, and in a way, those critics were right. Demme put in a ton of work to enliven the screenplay by David Shaber (The Warriors), which you can easily see being directed as a mundane whodunit with just about any other filmmaker. But Demme took a step back, returning to the roots of what makes thrillers thrilling and his own personal obsessions with filmmaking form. It all results in a whirlwind of inspiration and movements, culminating in a climax that answers absolutely zero questions about the film’s central mystery. 

Last Embrace follows Harry Hannan (Roy Scheider), a US Government agent swept up in an arcane mystery shortly after a long stay at an asylum. Harry questions himself at every turn and is haunted by his wife’s death during a botched mission in Mexico. When Harry starts receiving mysterious threats written in Hebrew, he starts down a path that leads him to Princeton doctoral student Ellie Fabian (Janet Margolin). The duo meet and are soon on the run from mysterious figures, taking their adventure from New York City to Niagara Falls. Will they find out the truth before it’s too late?

When I think of Last Embrace, my mind doesn’t immediately jump to the plot, it jumps to all the eccentric sequences that match the equally eccentric filmmaker behind the camera. The opening sequence is an optically diffused slo-mo sequence that revels in the discombobulation resulting from sudden gunfire, upsetting the balance of normalcy for the audience from the first frame. And the tricks don’t stop there, as there’s a legendary shootout in a bell tower between Scheider and regular Demme stalwart Charles Napier, the latter of whom is a mysterious assassin sent to stop Harry. By the time the film reaches its wild final set piece, any semblance of a narrative throughline has been tossed out the window in exchange for deep emotional revelations tied directly to the beating heart of genre cinema. 

That isn’t to say that Last Embrace makes up for its shortcomings with style, far from it. Rather, it has a rather strong, intrinsic connection to the strong emotions that the genre relies upon. You truly won’t get that elsewhere in your genre thrills, especially as it concerns modern filmmakers doing their own riffs. Demme started with Corman and you felt the exploitation wunderkind for the majority of Demme’s career. But here’s a secret: Demme did Corman better than Corman usually did.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-rays
Don’t slip from the Last Embrace, presented here in 4K Ultra HD with a two-disc release that comes with a BD66 for the 4K disc and a BD50 for the standard Blu-ray. Both discs are housed in Cinématographe’s custom mediabook packaging complete with that new book smell, and both discs boot up to standard menu screens with options to play the film, explore bonus features and set up audio.

Last Embrace is presented in 2160p and aided by HDR10 with a presentation sourced from a new 4K restoration of the 35mm original camera negative. The film was shot spherically and in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with Panavision cameras and lenses. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that this is far and away the best the film has ever looked at home, given Cinématographe’s reputation thus far. This new presentation easily beats the old transfer used on the 2014 Blu-ray from Kino Lorber in every regard. Film grain is resplendent, especially during that optically diffused opening sequence, and the boosted contrast brings the most out of that late-70s style of browns and pastels. Black levels have been enhanced wonderfully and offer great depth during darker sequences, plus flesh tones are tuned in just right and aren’t too rosy. The encode handles everything remarkably, although that’s not surprising given that David MacKenzie performed all mastering and authoring at Fidelity in Motion. This is yet another stunner from Cinématographe, and luckily it’s for one of Jonathan Demme’s most overlooked works.

We’re provided with an English 2.0 DTS-HD MA audio track that handles the limited soundscape easily. Miklós Rózsa’s jaunty score is resolved well amidst environmental effects and dialogue. The source seems to be in very good condition with little-to-no damage to note. Demme Heads (what we call ourselves) will be more than satisfied with this audio presentation.

As for supplements, Cinématographe has done their due diligence by fleshing out this release with a new audio commentary by film historians Steve Mitchell and Howard S. Berger, a new video essay by film critic Samm Deighan, plus a remarkable trio of essays by film critic Jim Hemphill, culture critic Jeva Lange and Cinématographe’s own Justin LaLiberty. To give credit where credit’s due, all three essays approach the film from a different perspective and don’t repeat the same material. It’s certainly refreshing given there’s not a ton of critical writing on Last Embrace as is. The video essay by Samm Deighan is terrific as well, as it explores how the film revels in genre hallmarks while pushing things into erotic thriller territory.

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentary with film historians Steve Mitchell and Howard S. Berger

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentary with film historians Steve Mitchell and Howard S. Berger
• The Labyrinth of Last Embrace - a video essay by Samm Deighan (HD 16:33)
• Archival interview with producer Michael Taylor (SD 10:41)
• Theatrical trailer (HD 2:55)
• Written Essays by film critic Jim Hemphill, culture critic Jeva Lange, and Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty

Harry Hannan is on the run. From who? Who knows? Jonathan Demme's Last Embrace comes home in 4K Ultra HD courtesy of Cinématographe’s new two-disc (4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray) release that offers a stellar new 2160p presentation of a 4K restoration aided by HDR10 and a great selection of supplements to deepen your appreciation of the film. Run, don’t walk, to pick up this Highly Recommended release.