153 reviews
Though the film's storyline diverges from the more existential theme of the Darryl Ponicsan novel from which it was adapted, 'The Last Detail' was, is, and remains the only real deal film about navy enlisted men. Hollywood never did sailors so well as it does them here.
If you don't care for testosterone-impelled behavior, parochial esprit de corps, scatology, and profanity - well, never mind: the dialogue here is true-to-life sailorese, and the hi- and low-jinks antics are too. If you can't take the heat, get the hell out of the galley.
Gritty cinematography of the earthy, low-rent world of enlisted sailors (for example, watching the "decent peoples' world" pass by the filth-streaked windows of a worn, smelly railway car) communicates much of the characters' experience of life in the margins and their ethos and how they came by them. The Johnny Mandel score is often oddly, and too-cheerfully irrelevant, though one suspects its breezy take on nautical marches and ditties was meant to be satirical; but it's often discordant with the serious themes - 'the individual versus society', existential choice and haplessness - of 'The Last Detail'.
In a role that could have been tailor-made for him Jack Nicholson's acting is perhaps the best of his career - a superior foreshadowing of his later turn in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. But without Otis Young as his fellow seasoned petty officer and Randy Quaid as the naive young, brig-bound seaman, Nicholson's tour de force would have fallen as flat as a flathat (for all you landlubbers: the navy blue "Donald Duck" US NAVY-ribbon bound winter sailors' hats, which sailors hated intensely, that were abolished in the early 60's).
Politically correct left-leaning folks should discover in Gunners Mate 1st Class "Mule" Mulhall a perfect example of an African American professional sailor: serious yet fun-loving; jocular but no-nonsense; competent and quietly self-assured: in short, a sailor among sailors, a man among men. I know because I served, and when the chips were up or down no sailor cared about color, and each of us cared only that he or she could rely, or not, on our shipmates. Though it has its arcane rules, written and unwritten, the naval service is remarkably egalitarian in opportunity - and it is so without all the hue and cry of civilian "social consciousness".
Though it's a marvel of a film, 'The Last Detail' could not cram into its running time all the humor and pathos of the eponymous, tough-tender Ponicsan novel (in which petty officer Mulhall's character looms quite a bit larger than he does in the movie, and Billy Buddusky's reflexive resorting to signalling with his Signalman's semaphoring hands spells out apt clues to his worldview); and the novel (which, incidentally, I read while on active duty, before the film had been made) turns out with a dramatically different ending - with a true denouement absent from the screenplay's conclusion that left me wanting, and which is the film's only grave, if quibbling, flaw. But the screenplay incorporates characters, scenes (Carol Kane as the careworn young whore providing Quaid's Seaman Meadows his first experience of coupling), and dialogue that might also have helped the novel to better flesh out and plumb the characters and their experience. Small matter, really: the book and the film contrast and complement each other perfectly.
Anyone considering enlistment should see 'The Last Detail' because it tells enlisted sailors' life like it is. If you can take life like it is, with or without the occasional fix ('An Officer and a Gentleman' anyone?) of kitschy, unrealizable romantic fantasy, then 'The Last Detail' is your meat.
The Real Deal. Chow Call, Chow Call - All hands lay to the messdeck! Take all you want - Eat all you take. Down to 'The Last Detail'.
If you don't care for testosterone-impelled behavior, parochial esprit de corps, scatology, and profanity - well, never mind: the dialogue here is true-to-life sailorese, and the hi- and low-jinks antics are too. If you can't take the heat, get the hell out of the galley.
Gritty cinematography of the earthy, low-rent world of enlisted sailors (for example, watching the "decent peoples' world" pass by the filth-streaked windows of a worn, smelly railway car) communicates much of the characters' experience of life in the margins and their ethos and how they came by them. The Johnny Mandel score is often oddly, and too-cheerfully irrelevant, though one suspects its breezy take on nautical marches and ditties was meant to be satirical; but it's often discordant with the serious themes - 'the individual versus society', existential choice and haplessness - of 'The Last Detail'.
In a role that could have been tailor-made for him Jack Nicholson's acting is perhaps the best of his career - a superior foreshadowing of his later turn in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. But without Otis Young as his fellow seasoned petty officer and Randy Quaid as the naive young, brig-bound seaman, Nicholson's tour de force would have fallen as flat as a flathat (for all you landlubbers: the navy blue "Donald Duck" US NAVY-ribbon bound winter sailors' hats, which sailors hated intensely, that were abolished in the early 60's).
Politically correct left-leaning folks should discover in Gunners Mate 1st Class "Mule" Mulhall a perfect example of an African American professional sailor: serious yet fun-loving; jocular but no-nonsense; competent and quietly self-assured: in short, a sailor among sailors, a man among men. I know because I served, and when the chips were up or down no sailor cared about color, and each of us cared only that he or she could rely, or not, on our shipmates. Though it has its arcane rules, written and unwritten, the naval service is remarkably egalitarian in opportunity - and it is so without all the hue and cry of civilian "social consciousness".
Though it's a marvel of a film, 'The Last Detail' could not cram into its running time all the humor and pathos of the eponymous, tough-tender Ponicsan novel (in which petty officer Mulhall's character looms quite a bit larger than he does in the movie, and Billy Buddusky's reflexive resorting to signalling with his Signalman's semaphoring hands spells out apt clues to his worldview); and the novel (which, incidentally, I read while on active duty, before the film had been made) turns out with a dramatically different ending - with a true denouement absent from the screenplay's conclusion that left me wanting, and which is the film's only grave, if quibbling, flaw. But the screenplay incorporates characters, scenes (Carol Kane as the careworn young whore providing Quaid's Seaman Meadows his first experience of coupling), and dialogue that might also have helped the novel to better flesh out and plumb the characters and their experience. Small matter, really: the book and the film contrast and complement each other perfectly.
Anyone considering enlistment should see 'The Last Detail' because it tells enlisted sailors' life like it is. If you can take life like it is, with or without the occasional fix ('An Officer and a Gentleman' anyone?) of kitschy, unrealizable romantic fantasy, then 'The Last Detail' is your meat.
The Real Deal. Chow Call, Chow Call - All hands lay to the messdeck! Take all you want - Eat all you take. Down to 'The Last Detail'.
Don't let the fact that the DVD cover makes this movie look like gay porn keep you from seeing it.
Director Hal Ashby made a string of unfussy but very, very good films throughout the 1970s, and "The Last Detail" is one them. The story doesn't sound like much: two Navy officers are assigned to escort a third to the prison where he will be serving time. Along the way, the requisite male bonding ensues, and the older, jaded officer (Jack Nicholson) has a chance to reflect upon his own fortune and misfortune and be a sort of father figure, for better or worse, to his young and troubled charge (played extremely well by Randy Quaid).
Like all of Ashby's films, "The Last Detail" challenges things like duty and institutional authority, which made Ashby one of the most vocal of the anti-establishment directors from a volatile period of American history. But also like all of his films, it poses challenges in a low-key, non-confrontational way, without sacrificing its bite.
Well done.
Grade: A
Director Hal Ashby made a string of unfussy but very, very good films throughout the 1970s, and "The Last Detail" is one them. The story doesn't sound like much: two Navy officers are assigned to escort a third to the prison where he will be serving time. Along the way, the requisite male bonding ensues, and the older, jaded officer (Jack Nicholson) has a chance to reflect upon his own fortune and misfortune and be a sort of father figure, for better or worse, to his young and troubled charge (played extremely well by Randy Quaid).
Like all of Ashby's films, "The Last Detail" challenges things like duty and institutional authority, which made Ashby one of the most vocal of the anti-establishment directors from a volatile period of American history. But also like all of his films, it poses challenges in a low-key, non-confrontational way, without sacrificing its bite.
Well done.
Grade: A
- evanston_dad
- Jun 6, 2007
- Permalink
Often regarded as a comedy-drama, 'The Last Detail' always stood out to me as a pure drama. It tells the story involving a group of Navy officers: a young and meek officer (Randy Quaid) steals some money but gets caught; the two others (Jack Nicholson and Otis Young) are to take him to prison. They (especially Nicholson) get somewhat attached to the boy when they see how young (ie.: don't know much of the world) and weak he is and decide to show him how to be a man before putting him away.
A look at the cast/crew shows how promising the film is. Hal Ashby is a fine director, whose films I always like/love (except maybe for 'Coming Home', which often gets too preachy and melodramatic); the screenplay is done by Robert Towne, the same guy who would later do 'Chinatown'; and the leading actor is Jack Nicholson, one of cinema's greatest actors.
Speaking of Jack Nicholson, he is just brilliant here. His character, 'Bad-Ass' Buddusky, is the type of character he is at best with: sarcastic and irreverent even when serious, yet very smart and caring in his own way. He acts as a father figure for the young Meadows (Quaid), trying to lift his mood and have him something to remember and be happy before having to face the harsh conditions of prison. Quaid and Young, alongside the supporting characters, end up overshadowed by Nicholson's performance, but they too make a great work with their characters.
As typical of a 70's and/or Hal Ashby film, 'The Last Detail' has great photography and is strangely comfortable to look at. The movie is very realistic too, with both situations and characters being very believable and sympathetic. The characters are very fleshed out and developed, making it difficult not to like or remain indifferent towards them. I've also heard that the way Navy/Marine officers are portrayed are also very close to the real thing, without forcing their portrayal as a way of criticism of the armed forces, which many directors would jump at the chance to do (specially considering the time this movie was made). In truth, I didn't feel that the film was a critique of the military like many say.
My only complaint on the movie is that it's supposed to be a comedy too. Yes, there are awkward situations and Jack Nicholson's typical rebellious way of dealing with everything; but the movie tends to make them more interesting than actually funny. Not that I'm saying this is bad; 'The Last Detail' is a remarkable movie in every aspect and one of the best pure dramas I've seen.
A look at the cast/crew shows how promising the film is. Hal Ashby is a fine director, whose films I always like/love (except maybe for 'Coming Home', which often gets too preachy and melodramatic); the screenplay is done by Robert Towne, the same guy who would later do 'Chinatown'; and the leading actor is Jack Nicholson, one of cinema's greatest actors.
Speaking of Jack Nicholson, he is just brilliant here. His character, 'Bad-Ass' Buddusky, is the type of character he is at best with: sarcastic and irreverent even when serious, yet very smart and caring in his own way. He acts as a father figure for the young Meadows (Quaid), trying to lift his mood and have him something to remember and be happy before having to face the harsh conditions of prison. Quaid and Young, alongside the supporting characters, end up overshadowed by Nicholson's performance, but they too make a great work with their characters.
As typical of a 70's and/or Hal Ashby film, 'The Last Detail' has great photography and is strangely comfortable to look at. The movie is very realistic too, with both situations and characters being very believable and sympathetic. The characters are very fleshed out and developed, making it difficult not to like or remain indifferent towards them. I've also heard that the way Navy/Marine officers are portrayed are also very close to the real thing, without forcing their portrayal as a way of criticism of the armed forces, which many directors would jump at the chance to do (specially considering the time this movie was made). In truth, I didn't feel that the film was a critique of the military like many say.
My only complaint on the movie is that it's supposed to be a comedy too. Yes, there are awkward situations and Jack Nicholson's typical rebellious way of dealing with everything; but the movie tends to make them more interesting than actually funny. Not that I'm saying this is bad; 'The Last Detail' is a remarkable movie in every aspect and one of the best pure dramas I've seen.
Jack Nicholson is a performer with the rare ability to completely immerse himself in a chosen role and convince the audience of the stark reality of his performance. Playing Navy Signalman First Class Billy "Badass" Buddusky in Hal Ashby's 1973 film rendition of Darryl Ponicsan's novel, "The Last Detail" is a sterling example of that uncommon talent. Rough-edged but understanding, crude but compassionate, Buddusky and fellow "lifer" Gunner's Mate First Class "Mule" Mulhall (skillfully portrayed by Otis Young) are "detailed" as armed Shore Patrol guards to escort a young sailor, Larry Meadows (Randy Quaid) from Norfolk, Va. to a naval prison in Portsmouth, NH in order to serve an eight-year sentence after being convicted at a court-martial of petty theft.
The five-day journey northward is an adventure for all three. Sympathizing with Meadows's plight, apprised of his utter naivete and realizing his sentence far exceeds the severity of the offense, Buddusky and Mulhall conduct their version of a cram course in traditional male rights of passage--ranging from a drunken spree in Washington, D.C. to duking it out with Marines in New York City and getting their charge sexually initiated with a Boston prostitute--if for no other reason than to give him some taste of what he will not be experiencing for a long time and to teach him in some small way to assert himself as an individual.
Darryl Ponicsan's novel (which hit the racks at practically the same time the film had been released--the book's ending is quite different and, to me, is much less believable than the film's) was initially hailed as a polemic against what many believed was the cold indifference of the military establishment. However, since that time, it has been judged more a compelling "slice of life" drama about the complexities of everyday human behavior and how it is shaped by our own decisions and by entities beyond our immediate purview. And, more importantly, it forces us to think about how our ever-more-complicated society is increasingly unable to find ways to help its young people constructively mark transition into adulthood.
"The Last Detail" is a sadly overlooked but superb blend of pathos, ribald bittersweet humor, hard-edged '70s realism and insightful and subtle human drama, one that brashly and subtly brought back many personal memories of my Navy hitch and a work that says something to all of us by merely focusing upon a small "detail" of a sadly overlooked and unappreciated decade that was alternately (and simultaneously) bleak yet hopeful.
The five-day journey northward is an adventure for all three. Sympathizing with Meadows's plight, apprised of his utter naivete and realizing his sentence far exceeds the severity of the offense, Buddusky and Mulhall conduct their version of a cram course in traditional male rights of passage--ranging from a drunken spree in Washington, D.C. to duking it out with Marines in New York City and getting their charge sexually initiated with a Boston prostitute--if for no other reason than to give him some taste of what he will not be experiencing for a long time and to teach him in some small way to assert himself as an individual.
Darryl Ponicsan's novel (which hit the racks at practically the same time the film had been released--the book's ending is quite different and, to me, is much less believable than the film's) was initially hailed as a polemic against what many believed was the cold indifference of the military establishment. However, since that time, it has been judged more a compelling "slice of life" drama about the complexities of everyday human behavior and how it is shaped by our own decisions and by entities beyond our immediate purview. And, more importantly, it forces us to think about how our ever-more-complicated society is increasingly unable to find ways to help its young people constructively mark transition into adulthood.
"The Last Detail" is a sadly overlooked but superb blend of pathos, ribald bittersweet humor, hard-edged '70s realism and insightful and subtle human drama, one that brashly and subtly brought back many personal memories of my Navy hitch and a work that says something to all of us by merely focusing upon a small "detail" of a sadly overlooked and unappreciated decade that was alternately (and simultaneously) bleak yet hopeful.
Ever since 9/11, you hear a lot of fluff in the press about our "heroes" in the armed services. Typically they are portrayed as wide-eyed, short hair enthusiasm and commitment machines. It's a nice image, but the real version is much more human, much more interesting and much more likable.
I was a naval officer for seven years. The best part of my service was the wonderful opportunity to get to know the many men and women who make up the enlisted ranks of our armed services. They tend to be from the rural towns of the south and Midwest or the inner city ghettos. Most of them were average students with limited financial prospects. The ones who succeed in the ranks enough to stay for 20 years do so because the Navy is the first place where they belong. And because they enjoy the job. They get good at it and they believe that what they are doing is much more rewarding and challenging than their friends back home.
They also love to party. To drink and to chase skirts and raise hell. They feel entitled to and they are almost always out for a good time without hurting anyone. They also love to mentor the younger sailors to show them how to survive and how to enjoy the time in.
The details of this movie are wonderful. The dreary time in transit, ironing uniforms and staring at the walls. Wanting to be at sea, something that few people can imagine until they've done it. The thrill of a few days per diem to blow in bars. The resignation of being a lifer and above all the nature of Navy friendships.
Jack Nicholson's character and Otis Young's are not natural friends. They probably wouldn't have time for one another in any other line of work, but having the shared experience of being First Class Petty Officers at the same base is enough for them to be comfortable with one another and to enjoy each other's company. They also both take to the young kid and they both know how to treat him because they've been doing it for so long.
I can't tell you how real these characters were to me. I can's say "Oh Jack reminds me of GSM1 So-and-so and Otis reminds me of QM1 Whatshisname". IT's too real for that. They both remind me of many, many people I had the good fortune to work with.
And they are flawed. They lack the guts to spare Randy Quad from this injustice. They don't even stick together on the way back to Norfolk, probably because they know they did something less than wonderful to the young man. They are indoctrinated but not inhuman.
I also enjoyed seeing shades of Jack's work in "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest". Bad-ass is kind of a rough draft of his McMuphy. This is Jack at his finest.
Randy Quaid's performance made me feel a little bit sad. Not just for the character, but for the actor. He had so much talent back then and somehow he got pigeon holed playing big dopes. He certainly has as much talent as his younger brother but not the leading man looks. I don't think I'll ever see him in the Vaction movies without cringing. He should have become so much more. (Of course his other work is entertaining but it's never touching or through provoking as it is here.) And Otis Young was terrific too. I'm not sure why he never got more good roles, but this is something to be proud of.
In short, this is the most realistic navy movie I've ever seen. If you're thinking about enlisting, or if a loved one is, this is not a bad way to see what the navy does to a man-good and bad. And it's funny that they do this without ever setting foot on a vessel.
I want to find the poster and hang it on my walls next to my commission.
I was a naval officer for seven years. The best part of my service was the wonderful opportunity to get to know the many men and women who make up the enlisted ranks of our armed services. They tend to be from the rural towns of the south and Midwest or the inner city ghettos. Most of them were average students with limited financial prospects. The ones who succeed in the ranks enough to stay for 20 years do so because the Navy is the first place where they belong. And because they enjoy the job. They get good at it and they believe that what they are doing is much more rewarding and challenging than their friends back home.
They also love to party. To drink and to chase skirts and raise hell. They feel entitled to and they are almost always out for a good time without hurting anyone. They also love to mentor the younger sailors to show them how to survive and how to enjoy the time in.
The details of this movie are wonderful. The dreary time in transit, ironing uniforms and staring at the walls. Wanting to be at sea, something that few people can imagine until they've done it. The thrill of a few days per diem to blow in bars. The resignation of being a lifer and above all the nature of Navy friendships.
Jack Nicholson's character and Otis Young's are not natural friends. They probably wouldn't have time for one another in any other line of work, but having the shared experience of being First Class Petty Officers at the same base is enough for them to be comfortable with one another and to enjoy each other's company. They also both take to the young kid and they both know how to treat him because they've been doing it for so long.
I can't tell you how real these characters were to me. I can's say "Oh Jack reminds me of GSM1 So-and-so and Otis reminds me of QM1 Whatshisname". IT's too real for that. They both remind me of many, many people I had the good fortune to work with.
And they are flawed. They lack the guts to spare Randy Quad from this injustice. They don't even stick together on the way back to Norfolk, probably because they know they did something less than wonderful to the young man. They are indoctrinated but not inhuman.
I also enjoyed seeing shades of Jack's work in "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest". Bad-ass is kind of a rough draft of his McMuphy. This is Jack at his finest.
Randy Quaid's performance made me feel a little bit sad. Not just for the character, but for the actor. He had so much talent back then and somehow he got pigeon holed playing big dopes. He certainly has as much talent as his younger brother but not the leading man looks. I don't think I'll ever see him in the Vaction movies without cringing. He should have become so much more. (Of course his other work is entertaining but it's never touching or through provoking as it is here.) And Otis Young was terrific too. I'm not sure why he never got more good roles, but this is something to be proud of.
In short, this is the most realistic navy movie I've ever seen. If you're thinking about enlisting, or if a loved one is, this is not a bad way to see what the navy does to a man-good and bad. And it's funny that they do this without ever setting foot on a vessel.
I want to find the poster and hang it on my walls next to my commission.
My absolutely favorite Jack Nicholson film has always and forever will be The Last Detail. I don't think he was ever better on the screen as William Baddusky of the United States Navy. I enjoyed his performance and the film itself on so many levels. Probably not surprising since the script was done by Robert Towne who would soon be teaming with Nicholson again for the critical and popular success Chinatown.
It's a simple story, not really any plot to the film. Two sailors, Jack Nicholson and Otis Young, both of them lifers in the Navy are stationed in Norfolk and get themselves an assignment to escort a prisoner to the Naval Stockade at Portsmouth. Of course with the per diem allowance for the two men and the prisoner and five days to travel in, Nicholson and Young are thinking of a mini-spree at government expense.
It comes to that and a lot more. the prisoner is newcomer Randy Quaid whose big crime is that he attempted to steal $40.00 from a charity collection box. For that he's getting eight years in military prison and a dishonorable discharge. A dishonorable discharge even today is not a good thing for one's resume.
As Nicholson and Young both remark, someone really stuck it to him. Let's face it what Quaid did in civilian life would probably be considered petty larceny and his jail time might be measured in days. Turned out it was the base commander's wife's favorite charity so it got stuck to him good. Sad because the indications we get is that Quaid was a troubled kid in civilian life and probably military service offered him a chance to straighten up and fly right.
It's done that for many others including Nicholson and Young who make it very clear even on this disagreeable detail they do like the Navy and like serving in it.
They've got five days to deliver Quaid to Portsmouth so the journey becomes quite the odyssey for the three of them up the Atlantic coast. The three men have a great chemistry between them, you get involved with their lives and really feel for young Quaid and his plight. Quaid gets shown a good time and maybe that's not such a good thing considering what he is facing.
The Last Detail is a nice realistic look at the military both its flaws and good points. A lot of similarity here in the issues raised to From Here to Eternity and if I mention The Last Detail in the same sentence favorably as From Here to Eternity, you know how good it must be.
It's a simple story, not really any plot to the film. Two sailors, Jack Nicholson and Otis Young, both of them lifers in the Navy are stationed in Norfolk and get themselves an assignment to escort a prisoner to the Naval Stockade at Portsmouth. Of course with the per diem allowance for the two men and the prisoner and five days to travel in, Nicholson and Young are thinking of a mini-spree at government expense.
It comes to that and a lot more. the prisoner is newcomer Randy Quaid whose big crime is that he attempted to steal $40.00 from a charity collection box. For that he's getting eight years in military prison and a dishonorable discharge. A dishonorable discharge even today is not a good thing for one's resume.
As Nicholson and Young both remark, someone really stuck it to him. Let's face it what Quaid did in civilian life would probably be considered petty larceny and his jail time might be measured in days. Turned out it was the base commander's wife's favorite charity so it got stuck to him good. Sad because the indications we get is that Quaid was a troubled kid in civilian life and probably military service offered him a chance to straighten up and fly right.
It's done that for many others including Nicholson and Young who make it very clear even on this disagreeable detail they do like the Navy and like serving in it.
They've got five days to deliver Quaid to Portsmouth so the journey becomes quite the odyssey for the three of them up the Atlantic coast. The three men have a great chemistry between them, you get involved with their lives and really feel for young Quaid and his plight. Quaid gets shown a good time and maybe that's not such a good thing considering what he is facing.
The Last Detail is a nice realistic look at the military both its flaws and good points. A lot of similarity here in the issues raised to From Here to Eternity and if I mention The Last Detail in the same sentence favorably as From Here to Eternity, you know how good it must be.
- bkoganbing
- Dec 7, 2006
- Permalink
Jack Nicholson in his early heyday. Four years after Easy Rider, and two years before One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He carries the film, as intended. Otis Young was good here, as well as a young Randy Quaid. Interesting casting as Quaid towers over Nicholson and film composition usually frowned on that. Nice turn put in by Carol Kane in a small part. Pretty good photography of the wintry Northeast, and unobtrusive direction. Apparently this movie was packaged as a comedy at one time, but I found nothing funny about it. Seems like every aspect of the tale was basically tragic. Pretty decent film, overall. A lot of profanity, which was sort of the style in the early Seventies.
I would like everyone to know that my Dad played the Bartender in this movie and has quite a story to tell. Before he became a classically trained actor on Broadway and a member of the Group Theatre, he actually was in the Navy when he was 18. He did time in the "Brig" (he can explain that one, the story is too good for me to tell) and was also friends with Jack Nicholson. He was also in "Easy Rider" and many other great films. Their scene in this movie together was also included in Maxim magazine's "Top 100 Movie Scenes". My dad is a bad ass and I think everyone should see this movie. ~This was posted by his loving daughter, Morgain (Who is finally a member of the Screen Actors Guild)
- RJBurke1942
- May 24, 2008
- Permalink
While the question is a bit rhetorical, I do mean it- you don't see that many movies made anymore like this, The Last Detail by Hal Ashby (Being There) and Robert Towne (later to write another Nicholson gem, Chinatown), where the story is just a baseline to the characters studied in subtle and not so subtle ways. It even grows on the viewer if seen multiple times, where what seems to be dragging on is loaded with nuance. There's a level of existentialism to it: how free are Buddusky and Mulhall, or their choices? Probably not much at all, at least not any more or less than the doomed Meadows. But this is not the only method of Ashby on the material, there are also superlative performances from Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, and a newcomer at the time, Randy Quaid.
Nicholson and Young play Buddusky (Bad-ass), and Mulhouse (Mule), who are assigned "chicken-s*** detail", to transport petty thief Quaid, sent up for eight years in a naval brig. On the way up the Eastern seaboard, the three stop in Washington, New York, and Boston, and the two try to show the youngster a good time before imprisonment. Probably one of the most under-looked pictures of the 1970's, though one of the more note-worthy, especially for it's attitude delivered ten-fold by Nicholson's Cannes winning Buddusky, and Towne script. A scene in a bar in Washington and a scene at a Nichiren Shosu meeting steal the lot, though there's plenty to look for. It's one of my favorite tragic-comic sleepers, and one of Ashby's best.
Nicholson and Young play Buddusky (Bad-ass), and Mulhouse (Mule), who are assigned "chicken-s*** detail", to transport petty thief Quaid, sent up for eight years in a naval brig. On the way up the Eastern seaboard, the three stop in Washington, New York, and Boston, and the two try to show the youngster a good time before imprisonment. Probably one of the most under-looked pictures of the 1970's, though one of the more note-worthy, especially for it's attitude delivered ten-fold by Nicholson's Cannes winning Buddusky, and Towne script. A scene in a bar in Washington and a scene at a Nichiren Shosu meeting steal the lot, though there's plenty to look for. It's one of my favorite tragic-comic sleepers, and one of Ashby's best.
- Quinoa1984
- Feb 21, 2003
- Permalink
Excellent film with strong performances all around and a real criticism of modern America , hitting out at all too easy targets . Based on a Darryl Ponicsan novel about two Navy men (Jack Nicholson, Otis Young) are ordered to bring a young offender (Randy Quaid) to prison facing an eight-year sentence for petty theft and from a brig to another . Then they decide to show him one last 'good time' along the way . What's "The Last Detail"? 300 beers and a barrel of laughs!
Superior , nice dramedy (drama and comedy) about two career sailors ordered to transport a kleptomaniac prisoner to the brig. Robert Towne's often sharp storyline shows bleak cynicism, sentimentality and sometimes mysoginist events about what it means to be men together . Enjoyable and brilliant off-color dialogue contributes much to big hit movie. This is a quintaessential Jack Nicholson acting , along with other films at the time, such as : Chinatown , One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , The Fortune , Missouri , The Shining , The Postman Always Rings Twice or Prizzi's Honor. As Nicholson shines in both the complexity and completeness of his role . He's well accompanied by the veteran soldier detailed to escort him being finely performed by Otis Young and special mention for Randy Quaid as the naive sailor enjoying a sordidly 'good time' en route . Including a large number of familar faces in the support cast , such as : Clifton James , Carol Kane , Michael Moriarty , Luana Anders , Kathleen Miller , Nancy Allen and look quickly to director Hal Ashby himself , cameraman Michael Chapman and Gilda Radner.
The motion picture was competently made by Hal Ashby , though at times he directs in a muffled and vague manner . He was a notorious and successful editor/producer and filmmaker . A highlight of his film editing career was winning an Academy Award for the landmark In the Heat of the Night (1967). Itching to become a director, Jewison gave him a script he was too busy to work on called The landlord (1970). It became Ashby's first film as a filmmaker. From there he delivered a series of well-acted, intelligent human scaled dramas that included The last detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), Bound for Glory (1976), The comeback (1978) and Welcome Mr. Chance (1979). Great reviews and Oscar nominations became common on Ashby films. This The Last Detail (1973) will appeal to Jack Nicholson fans.
Superior , nice dramedy (drama and comedy) about two career sailors ordered to transport a kleptomaniac prisoner to the brig. Robert Towne's often sharp storyline shows bleak cynicism, sentimentality and sometimes mysoginist events about what it means to be men together . Enjoyable and brilliant off-color dialogue contributes much to big hit movie. This is a quintaessential Jack Nicholson acting , along with other films at the time, such as : Chinatown , One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , The Fortune , Missouri , The Shining , The Postman Always Rings Twice or Prizzi's Honor. As Nicholson shines in both the complexity and completeness of his role . He's well accompanied by the veteran soldier detailed to escort him being finely performed by Otis Young and special mention for Randy Quaid as the naive sailor enjoying a sordidly 'good time' en route . Including a large number of familar faces in the support cast , such as : Clifton James , Carol Kane , Michael Moriarty , Luana Anders , Kathleen Miller , Nancy Allen and look quickly to director Hal Ashby himself , cameraman Michael Chapman and Gilda Radner.
The motion picture was competently made by Hal Ashby , though at times he directs in a muffled and vague manner . He was a notorious and successful editor/producer and filmmaker . A highlight of his film editing career was winning an Academy Award for the landmark In the Heat of the Night (1967). Itching to become a director, Jewison gave him a script he was too busy to work on called The landlord (1970). It became Ashby's first film as a filmmaker. From there he delivered a series of well-acted, intelligent human scaled dramas that included The last detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), Bound for Glory (1976), The comeback (1978) and Welcome Mr. Chance (1979). Great reviews and Oscar nominations became common on Ashby films. This The Last Detail (1973) will appeal to Jack Nicholson fans.
I saw this movie when it was released and just watched it again, in its entirety, for the first time since. This means that I'm completely discounting the horribly butchered version I saw on Bravo (for shame!) a year or so ago. They didn't just bleep out the expletives as you would expect, whole scenes were cut, leaving the work so diluted I almost forgot why I had loved it. It was like Jaws without teeth!
Revisiting books, films or any work of art first experienced in youth can be very interesting, and I found that watching The Last Detail through my now (# unspecified!) year-old eyes was one of the many times something turned out to be even better the second time around. I guess that makes it a classic.
For those that don't know, this is the story of two career enlisted Navy men who are assigned the dreary detail of delivering a young seaman to prison in Portsmouth, NH, where he will serve an eight year sentence for attempting to swipe $40 from their commanding officer's wife's favorite charity box. It's obvious that poor Meadows, played by Randy Quaid, has been thrown to the dogs for his offense, receiving a dishonorable discharge from the service in addition to the excessive prison term, but this is the Navy and our boys must do as ordered. It's a sh*t detail, but it will take them out of their insulated and listless existence on base "in transition" - that is, waiting for assignment to sea duty - and they quickly formulate a plan to relieve themselves of their charge as fast as possible and spend the bulk of the allotted time and money remaining to party the way good sailors do, namely drinking and whoring.
Enter young Meadows, and the master plan takes on a life of its own as the seemingly hardened "Bad Ass" Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and "Mule" Mulhall (Otis Young) find themselves caught up in Naval-infused fraternity with the childlike Meadows. Resigned to his fate, the hapless swabbie's frustrating passivity is fuel to Baddusky's pugnacious nature, and Mulhall and Meadows are swept along with Chief Signalman Bad Ass on a journey of discovery. From teaching him how to get his hamburger served the way he likes it (with the cheese MELTED, thank you very much), to facilitating the loss of his virginity (Carol Kane is perfect as the young prostitute), this is really a "buddy" movie at its finest.
In the final frames, we watch the two lifers stroll out of the shot in lock-step, "Anchors Aweigh" piping, as they're off to reestablish themselves as individuals for a brief moment before returning to the shelter of their sacred family that is the US Navy.
There's nothing sappy about this film, don't get me wrong. There's a definite hard edge to it and life as a Naval enlisted man is not romanticized in any way. Visually, it's quite somber from our side of the screen, and the military music in the score is to music, as the military justice in the story is to justice. There are some fabulously funny moments, and of course, Nicholson kills in this part that no one could have played better. Otis Young is really good as the "cooler head" who doesn't want to get himself jammed up in any way but who is none the less down with showing Meadows a good time. It's Randy Quaid though, who impressed me most on this viewing. He played the ingenuous, candy bar-filching boy just right, and I'm afraid in retrospect that he got typecast as the big, goofy dumb guy as a result of his work in this picture.
I loved everything about this movie, wouldn't change a thing.
Oh, and just for the heck of it... here's a little movie/Navy trivia tidbit I found online when I looked up Portsmouth Naval Prison. I have no idea whether there's any truth to it or not, but when I came across it three different times, I decided to add it here. This is from "Humphrey Bogart: To Have and Have Not", by Daniel Bubbeo.
"...Bogart's long time friend, author Nathaniel Benchley, claims it is true that Bogart was injured while on assignment to take a naval prisoner to Portsmouth Naval Prison in New Hampshire. Supposedly, while changing trains in Boston, the handcuffed prisoner asked Bogart for a cigarette and while Bogart looked for a match, the prisoner raised his hands, smashed Bogart across the mouth with his cuffs, cutting Bogart's lip, and fled. Bogart used his .45 to drop the prisoner, who was eventually taken to Portsmouth. By the time Bogie was treated by a doctor, the scar that caused him to lisp had already formed."
Wow, huh? SO much better than say, getting hit in the mouth with a tennis racket or something.
Revisiting books, films or any work of art first experienced in youth can be very interesting, and I found that watching The Last Detail through my now (# unspecified!) year-old eyes was one of the many times something turned out to be even better the second time around. I guess that makes it a classic.
For those that don't know, this is the story of two career enlisted Navy men who are assigned the dreary detail of delivering a young seaman to prison in Portsmouth, NH, where he will serve an eight year sentence for attempting to swipe $40 from their commanding officer's wife's favorite charity box. It's obvious that poor Meadows, played by Randy Quaid, has been thrown to the dogs for his offense, receiving a dishonorable discharge from the service in addition to the excessive prison term, but this is the Navy and our boys must do as ordered. It's a sh*t detail, but it will take them out of their insulated and listless existence on base "in transition" - that is, waiting for assignment to sea duty - and they quickly formulate a plan to relieve themselves of their charge as fast as possible and spend the bulk of the allotted time and money remaining to party the way good sailors do, namely drinking and whoring.
Enter young Meadows, and the master plan takes on a life of its own as the seemingly hardened "Bad Ass" Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and "Mule" Mulhall (Otis Young) find themselves caught up in Naval-infused fraternity with the childlike Meadows. Resigned to his fate, the hapless swabbie's frustrating passivity is fuel to Baddusky's pugnacious nature, and Mulhall and Meadows are swept along with Chief Signalman Bad Ass on a journey of discovery. From teaching him how to get his hamburger served the way he likes it (with the cheese MELTED, thank you very much), to facilitating the loss of his virginity (Carol Kane is perfect as the young prostitute), this is really a "buddy" movie at its finest.
In the final frames, we watch the two lifers stroll out of the shot in lock-step, "Anchors Aweigh" piping, as they're off to reestablish themselves as individuals for a brief moment before returning to the shelter of their sacred family that is the US Navy.
There's nothing sappy about this film, don't get me wrong. There's a definite hard edge to it and life as a Naval enlisted man is not romanticized in any way. Visually, it's quite somber from our side of the screen, and the military music in the score is to music, as the military justice in the story is to justice. There are some fabulously funny moments, and of course, Nicholson kills in this part that no one could have played better. Otis Young is really good as the "cooler head" who doesn't want to get himself jammed up in any way but who is none the less down with showing Meadows a good time. It's Randy Quaid though, who impressed me most on this viewing. He played the ingenuous, candy bar-filching boy just right, and I'm afraid in retrospect that he got typecast as the big, goofy dumb guy as a result of his work in this picture.
I loved everything about this movie, wouldn't change a thing.
Oh, and just for the heck of it... here's a little movie/Navy trivia tidbit I found online when I looked up Portsmouth Naval Prison. I have no idea whether there's any truth to it or not, but when I came across it three different times, I decided to add it here. This is from "Humphrey Bogart: To Have and Have Not", by Daniel Bubbeo.
"...Bogart's long time friend, author Nathaniel Benchley, claims it is true that Bogart was injured while on assignment to take a naval prisoner to Portsmouth Naval Prison in New Hampshire. Supposedly, while changing trains in Boston, the handcuffed prisoner asked Bogart for a cigarette and while Bogart looked for a match, the prisoner raised his hands, smashed Bogart across the mouth with his cuffs, cutting Bogart's lip, and fled. Bogart used his .45 to drop the prisoner, who was eventually taken to Portsmouth. By the time Bogie was treated by a doctor, the scar that caused him to lisp had already formed."
Wow, huh? SO much better than say, getting hit in the mouth with a tennis racket or something.
- rmax304823
- Feb 27, 2012
- Permalink
I noticed that "The Last Detail" has a very respectable overall IMDb score of 7.5. However, despite this, the film left me very, very cold.
The film is about two knuckle-headed shore patrolmen (Jack Nicholson and Otis Young) who are ordered to escort a prisoner (Randy Quaid) cross country to prison. As for the prisoner, he's a real enigma and never is particularly easy to understand. However, instead of taking him directly to prison in Portsmouth, they take him on a little holiday--taking him on a sightseeing tour of D.C., getting him drunk as well as to a prostitute. It seems that these two guys kind of like the prisoner and feel sorry for him--though none of this would really explain their actions throughout the movie.
If you like films with very little in the way of a traditional plot, then you might like this film a bit more than I did. It's really a modified buddy film--but with some nontraditional elements. Of course, a buddy film with lots of profanity (even by the looser early 1970s standards) and boobs. As for all this cursing, I can understand it--navy guys talk that way I am sure. However, this also makes it a film NOT to watch with your mother, children or minister! Overall, a rather direction-less film with somewhat unlikeable characters. For me, it's among Jack Nicholson's weaker films--though as I said above, apparently I am in the minority on this one.
By the way, catch the irony when the Buddhist lady exhorts Randy Quaid to run from the law in Canada. Talk about art imitating life!
The film is about two knuckle-headed shore patrolmen (Jack Nicholson and Otis Young) who are ordered to escort a prisoner (Randy Quaid) cross country to prison. As for the prisoner, he's a real enigma and never is particularly easy to understand. However, instead of taking him directly to prison in Portsmouth, they take him on a little holiday--taking him on a sightseeing tour of D.C., getting him drunk as well as to a prostitute. It seems that these two guys kind of like the prisoner and feel sorry for him--though none of this would really explain their actions throughout the movie.
If you like films with very little in the way of a traditional plot, then you might like this film a bit more than I did. It's really a modified buddy film--but with some nontraditional elements. Of course, a buddy film with lots of profanity (even by the looser early 1970s standards) and boobs. As for all this cursing, I can understand it--navy guys talk that way I am sure. However, this also makes it a film NOT to watch with your mother, children or minister! Overall, a rather direction-less film with somewhat unlikeable characters. For me, it's among Jack Nicholson's weaker films--though as I said above, apparently I am in the minority on this one.
By the way, catch the irony when the Buddhist lady exhorts Randy Quaid to run from the law in Canada. Talk about art imitating life!
- planktonrules
- Mar 18, 2013
- Permalink
I read somebody's comment that this film isn't "deep." I think that viewer missed a whole layer of the story. you have to keep in mind that this was written and produced during the vietnam war and released during the early months of Watergate.
The story is about these two working class sailors, who are completely disenfranchised, just "doing their job." They're good guys but in the end, don't lift a finger to stop a massive injustice. They don't even take the time to think about it, because they feel there's nothing they can do about it. They pay lip services to how wrong things are about the situation, but in the end they do what "the man" says and they're just as much to blame for the problem as the commanding officers above them.
Through the course of the film, the sailors meet a lot of "chatting class" folks who are mad at Nixon and discussing politics, and they meet Hari Krishnas who are chanting to change things, but nobody is really taking any ACTION. Everyone is pissed off at the injustice of the world but nobody does anything about it. It's about inaction. And that inaction slowly boils up in the main characters and turns into anger that brings the film to a sad end. (It's one of those great stories that gets you pissed off at the injustice in the world...)
Having said all that, on a more tangible level, the performances and scripting are full of emotion and Nicholson's and Quaid's performance are amazing and hilarious to watch. But this isn't really a comedy in the end...more tragic really (with some good laughs along the way).
Check it out!
The story is about these two working class sailors, who are completely disenfranchised, just "doing their job." They're good guys but in the end, don't lift a finger to stop a massive injustice. They don't even take the time to think about it, because they feel there's nothing they can do about it. They pay lip services to how wrong things are about the situation, but in the end they do what "the man" says and they're just as much to blame for the problem as the commanding officers above them.
Through the course of the film, the sailors meet a lot of "chatting class" folks who are mad at Nixon and discussing politics, and they meet Hari Krishnas who are chanting to change things, but nobody is really taking any ACTION. Everyone is pissed off at the injustice of the world but nobody does anything about it. It's about inaction. And that inaction slowly boils up in the main characters and turns into anger that brings the film to a sad end. (It's one of those great stories that gets you pissed off at the injustice in the world...)
Having said all that, on a more tangible level, the performances and scripting are full of emotion and Nicholson's and Quaid's performance are amazing and hilarious to watch. But this isn't really a comedy in the end...more tragic really (with some good laughs along the way).
Check it out!
Nicholson's "Bad Ass" is a beautifully crafted piece of character. He cusses. He fights. He drinks. He's loud. No one else speaks Robert Towne's words better than Nicholson. In this film he overwhelms at every turn. In the bar scene, he shows brute anger and a desire for dominance. The scenes with a young Nancy Allen are delightfully witty because of Nicholson's schoolboy antics of getting a woman into bed.
It is the scenes with Randy Quaid (also wonderful) where Nicholson shines brightest. "Bad Ass" represents a paternal figure lacking in Meadows' life. He makes him a man by demanding he send back a hamburger if it's not cooked the way he likes it. He demands Meadows to stop crying and be a man. He demands Meadows to stand up for himself and fight when someone pushes his buttons. He demands Meadows to want to have sex, like other men his age. Nicholson's father figure image here is played off perfectly as Meadows sort of imitates things "Bad Ass" does. If Bad Ass has a beer, Meadows has a beer. If Bad Ass wants a woman, Meadows wants a woman. There's a secret trust between the two. It's unspoken, but it's there. That trust is broken in the end when Meadows tries to escape. It wasn't all a lie, Meadows just felt that it was time to stop learning and start moving.
It is the scenes with Randy Quaid (also wonderful) where Nicholson shines brightest. "Bad Ass" represents a paternal figure lacking in Meadows' life. He makes him a man by demanding he send back a hamburger if it's not cooked the way he likes it. He demands Meadows to stop crying and be a man. He demands Meadows to stand up for himself and fight when someone pushes his buttons. He demands Meadows to want to have sex, like other men his age. Nicholson's father figure image here is played off perfectly as Meadows sort of imitates things "Bad Ass" does. If Bad Ass has a beer, Meadows has a beer. If Bad Ass wants a woman, Meadows wants a woman. There's a secret trust between the two. It's unspoken, but it's there. That trust is broken in the end when Meadows tries to escape. It wasn't all a lie, Meadows just felt that it was time to stop learning and start moving.
- gottogorunning
- Aug 16, 2005
- Permalink
Two older, grizzled sailors, transport a baby faced, vulnerable young sailor to 8 years in prison for stealing $40.
The acting is very good, especially Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid, and the film has lots of wonderful moments and details.
That said, I've never loved it quite as much as many others do. It feels a bit sappy at times, 'cute' at others, and the story feels a bit too predicable.
We know the two old salts will soften and come to care for their charge, and they will all bond before the journey ends.
Without the high level of talents involved, that predictability could have sunk the film, but the brio of Nicholson, the sure hand of director Hal Ashby, and Robert Towne's salty, idiosyncratic script keep it afloat and always worth watching, if not quite rising to 'great film' level for me
The acting is very good, especially Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid, and the film has lots of wonderful moments and details.
That said, I've never loved it quite as much as many others do. It feels a bit sappy at times, 'cute' at others, and the story feels a bit too predicable.
We know the two old salts will soften and come to care for their charge, and they will all bond before the journey ends.
Without the high level of talents involved, that predictability could have sunk the film, but the brio of Nicholson, the sure hand of director Hal Ashby, and Robert Towne's salty, idiosyncratic script keep it afloat and always worth watching, if not quite rising to 'great film' level for me
- runamokprods
- May 16, 2011
- Permalink
There is a popular concept that even though our world changes over time, people really don't, so we are still more or less the same as we were a couple decades ago. Well, when watching some films from that time, it certainly feels as if they were made for a different audience. I guess that's what moral ageing is about: if the film characters still feel like real natural people decades after, the film did something right. Casablanca is the kind of movie that haven't lost a thing over 70 years. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about The Last Order.
It's easy to be called a backwards moron by criticizing a movie nominated for three Oscars and starring Jack Nicholson, but I'll take my chances. The film's biggest problem is not even the plot, even though it feels way too straightforward, with side stories shallow as a puddle. It's the characters. Not a single person in this film felt natural, as if they were stiffly trying to impersonate someone but realized their failure and tried to compensate for it with over-acting. Monologues and dialogues, spontaneous yelling every now and then, all that stuff felt way too forced and uncalled for. Who knows, maybe 40 years ago the sailors were indeed overly aggressive and mentally unstable brutes mixed with whiny demented crybabies, but even civilians in this film act like people on drugs. Different characters on different drugs though, so I can admit some diversity on that account.
But, at the end of the day, you're left wondering what the purpose of this film was. To show the controversial deepness of people's souls which reveals itself in the most unlikely cases? Well, in that case The Last Detail didn't go deep enough and never dared to dig beyond the stereotypes and movie psychology. Was it to share a touching story that we should empathize with? That was it's also a miss, because the character of Meadows never felt like the person you'd feel for, instead, he looks like a halfwit who is always calling trouble upon himself, willingly or not. Being a sympathetic retard is a hard mission, and Forrest Gump is probably one of a few cases of that mission's success, but Randy Quaid is no Tom Hanks by any means.
Was this film awful, so that you'd regret spending 109 minutes of your time on it? Probably not. Is it safe to skip and spend your time on something else? Definitely so.
It's easy to be called a backwards moron by criticizing a movie nominated for three Oscars and starring Jack Nicholson, but I'll take my chances. The film's biggest problem is not even the plot, even though it feels way too straightforward, with side stories shallow as a puddle. It's the characters. Not a single person in this film felt natural, as if they were stiffly trying to impersonate someone but realized their failure and tried to compensate for it with over-acting. Monologues and dialogues, spontaneous yelling every now and then, all that stuff felt way too forced and uncalled for. Who knows, maybe 40 years ago the sailors were indeed overly aggressive and mentally unstable brutes mixed with whiny demented crybabies, but even civilians in this film act like people on drugs. Different characters on different drugs though, so I can admit some diversity on that account.
But, at the end of the day, you're left wondering what the purpose of this film was. To show the controversial deepness of people's souls which reveals itself in the most unlikely cases? Well, in that case The Last Detail didn't go deep enough and never dared to dig beyond the stereotypes and movie psychology. Was it to share a touching story that we should empathize with? That was it's also a miss, because the character of Meadows never felt like the person you'd feel for, instead, he looks like a halfwit who is always calling trouble upon himself, willingly or not. Being a sympathetic retard is a hard mission, and Forrest Gump is probably one of a few cases of that mission's success, but Randy Quaid is no Tom Hanks by any means.
Was this film awful, so that you'd regret spending 109 minutes of your time on it? Probably not. Is it safe to skip and spend your time on something else? Definitely so.
I think '70's comedies are being somewhat underrated. The '70's in general were a great era for film-making, mainly due to its atmosphere but also somewhat more realistic approach of film-making. This movie is a realistic comedy with real persons, going through some ordinary ordeals. I mean sure, it's a comedy so it goes for a laugh or two but yet the movie manages to not go over-the-top or to force anything and instead everything that happens in this movie feels like it really could happen on a common average day when a bunch of marines are being set loose on a special detail.
It's basically a very simple movie with a simple concept, in which a prisoner needs to be taken from point A to point B. The young marine that is being held prisoner is played by Randy Quaid and his escorts are played by Jack Nicholson and Otis Young. Of course the three start to bond and decide to have some fun before they have to put Quaid into jail. It easily could had turned into a comedy like "The Hangover" for instance in which the main characters come across some crazy characters and weird situations. The movie is never tempted to do so though and instead it's a more cynical and restrained movie, that works out so really well mostly due to its cast members.
What I really like about the movie is that the characters give you a real sense of what it must be like to be a marine in the United States navy. The way they talk and behave feels really realistic and you simply just buy it that these two main characters have been marines for years now and are sort of stuck in their situation and wouldn't know anything else to do with their lives anyways.
It's a movie that deliberately is slow at times to build up the characters, as well as the progressing story. There are some great scenes in which we simply observe the character's behavior to some very common everyday things, in order to get to know them and understand what makes them tick.
The movie foremost has a great performance from Jack Nicholson in it, who really seems to be doing his own thing and is confident with his acting style, like he had been a big star for years already. Thing is, Nicholson at the time of this production wasn't even that well known yet. Sure he had done "Easy Rider" already but his role in that movie really wasn't anything big. Yet he had already managed to receive two Oscar nomination prior to this movie, including one for his role in "Easy Rider". It tells you something about the great actor that Jack Nicholson is. He just always does his own thing and puts his personal stamp on a movie and always gets full appreciation for it, even when the movie itself isn't that good. For this movie he actually received his third Oscar nomination, which to me seems like he real great accomplishment. I mean it's not that common ever for an actor to receive an Oscar nomination in that category for a role in a comedy. Randy Quaid also got nominated, as well as the script but the movie ended up empty handed eventually on the big evening.
Of course not that that matters much though, fore "The Last Detail" still remains a really great movie to watch, that got made very well and has some outstanding performances by the actors in it.
8/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
It's basically a very simple movie with a simple concept, in which a prisoner needs to be taken from point A to point B. The young marine that is being held prisoner is played by Randy Quaid and his escorts are played by Jack Nicholson and Otis Young. Of course the three start to bond and decide to have some fun before they have to put Quaid into jail. It easily could had turned into a comedy like "The Hangover" for instance in which the main characters come across some crazy characters and weird situations. The movie is never tempted to do so though and instead it's a more cynical and restrained movie, that works out so really well mostly due to its cast members.
What I really like about the movie is that the characters give you a real sense of what it must be like to be a marine in the United States navy. The way they talk and behave feels really realistic and you simply just buy it that these two main characters have been marines for years now and are sort of stuck in their situation and wouldn't know anything else to do with their lives anyways.
It's a movie that deliberately is slow at times to build up the characters, as well as the progressing story. There are some great scenes in which we simply observe the character's behavior to some very common everyday things, in order to get to know them and understand what makes them tick.
The movie foremost has a great performance from Jack Nicholson in it, who really seems to be doing his own thing and is confident with his acting style, like he had been a big star for years already. Thing is, Nicholson at the time of this production wasn't even that well known yet. Sure he had done "Easy Rider" already but his role in that movie really wasn't anything big. Yet he had already managed to receive two Oscar nomination prior to this movie, including one for his role in "Easy Rider". It tells you something about the great actor that Jack Nicholson is. He just always does his own thing and puts his personal stamp on a movie and always gets full appreciation for it, even when the movie itself isn't that good. For this movie he actually received his third Oscar nomination, which to me seems like he real great accomplishment. I mean it's not that common ever for an actor to receive an Oscar nomination in that category for a role in a comedy. Randy Quaid also got nominated, as well as the script but the movie ended up empty handed eventually on the big evening.
Of course not that that matters much though, fore "The Last Detail" still remains a really great movie to watch, that got made very well and has some outstanding performances by the actors in it.
8/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
- Boba_Fett1138
- Dec 3, 2009
- Permalink
I wanted to see this film when it first hit the theaters. However I never did as I was sent to Thailand by the Air Force and missed it in the theaters.
About a year later, in 1974, I was at Myrtle Beach AFB and my roomate and I were at the NCO club on a saturday watching Wide World of Sports. These two Marines came in the club, ordered some drinks at the bar and relaxed in the club. It was unusual to see Marines in an Air Force NCO club, and my roomate went over to invite them to sit with us at our table to join us.
Turned out they were from Camp Lejune, about 75 miles or so north of Myrtle Beach in North Carolina, escorting a prisoner to the Charleston Naval Base down the coast. They had stopped at Myrtle Beach to keep their prisoner overnight in confinement at the base. They were our age, nice guys and never had been to Myrtle Beach before.
One thing led to another and I had to go on duty however my roomate stayed at the club talkiing to these guys. I got off duty at midnight and Mike wasn't in the room so I went off to sleep, About 7am I get a knock on the door. I have a phone call.... Its Mike and he tells me that he went off with the Marines we met at the club and he needs me to come downtown to this motel. One of them can't find his uniform and they need to be on base at 9 to escort the prisoner they had down to Charleston.
So it's a Sunday morning at 7am, and I find the motel downtown where they were at. One thing had led to the other, they went bar hopping and the Marine had changed into civlian clothes in some trailer park, but don't remember where. Since I'm the only one that has a car, can I help him find the trailer so they can find their uniforms and change. Ok where's the trailer? No one knew where, but they knew about where it was.
Back then (1974), Myrtle Beach had quite a few trailer parks. Enough remembering between the three of them had me drive to one of them they think it was, then of the about 30 trailers in the trailer park they think they see the one where he left his uniform when he changed into civillian clothers.
Through dumb luck it was the right one and about 5 minutes later he came out of the trailer in his uniform. I drove them back onto Myrtle Beach AFB and we went over to the Security Police building and dropped them off and they continued their escort duty of the prisoner down to Charleston.
Years later, I saw this film and all the memories of that time with the marines flooded back.....
Yes, I enjoyed the film also.
About a year later, in 1974, I was at Myrtle Beach AFB and my roomate and I were at the NCO club on a saturday watching Wide World of Sports. These two Marines came in the club, ordered some drinks at the bar and relaxed in the club. It was unusual to see Marines in an Air Force NCO club, and my roomate went over to invite them to sit with us at our table to join us.
Turned out they were from Camp Lejune, about 75 miles or so north of Myrtle Beach in North Carolina, escorting a prisoner to the Charleston Naval Base down the coast. They had stopped at Myrtle Beach to keep their prisoner overnight in confinement at the base. They were our age, nice guys and never had been to Myrtle Beach before.
One thing led to another and I had to go on duty however my roomate stayed at the club talkiing to these guys. I got off duty at midnight and Mike wasn't in the room so I went off to sleep, About 7am I get a knock on the door. I have a phone call.... Its Mike and he tells me that he went off with the Marines we met at the club and he needs me to come downtown to this motel. One of them can't find his uniform and they need to be on base at 9 to escort the prisoner they had down to Charleston.
So it's a Sunday morning at 7am, and I find the motel downtown where they were at. One thing had led to the other, they went bar hopping and the Marine had changed into civlian clothes in some trailer park, but don't remember where. Since I'm the only one that has a car, can I help him find the trailer so they can find their uniforms and change. Ok where's the trailer? No one knew where, but they knew about where it was.
Back then (1974), Myrtle Beach had quite a few trailer parks. Enough remembering between the three of them had me drive to one of them they think it was, then of the about 30 trailers in the trailer park they think they see the one where he left his uniform when he changed into civillian clothers.
Through dumb luck it was the right one and about 5 minutes later he came out of the trailer in his uniform. I drove them back onto Myrtle Beach AFB and we went over to the Security Police building and dropped them off and they continued their escort duty of the prisoner down to Charleston.
Years later, I saw this film and all the memories of that time with the marines flooded back.....
Yes, I enjoyed the film also.
This is another of Jack Nicholson's quiet character studies from the 70's. It must have been about six months since I saw this (I haven't seen it again, worse luck) but on reflection it must have affected me deeper than either "Five Easy Pieces" or "The King of Marvin Gardens". With the passage of time it has become easier to relate to the frustration of settling for a life where comradeship, beer and women are good things, but they begin to seem like the only avenues available to go down. What else is there to do but indulge fleeting pleasures when you don't feel like you have the fight left in you to reach for something bigger? Take my musing and apply it to the plot of the film. You join the Navy to see and experience the world. What's the result of that? You end up with the threat of being thrown in the clink hanging over you.
Ashby skilfully knits the episodes together so a trip that at most lasts a couple of days feels like it comprises enough bonding to fill the average lifetime of an ordinary person. Randy Quaid delivers a serious performance that meshes comfortably with that of Jack's, so if you're one of those people who thinks he can only 'do' Cousin Eddie, then let this - along with "Brokeback Mountain" - be the start of your reappraisal.
When all is said and done, what does it weigh up to? I'm not sure I can tell you; that, I have come to absorb, is I guess the whole point of watching these men drift aimlessly through their hours of freedom. All of life is spread out before them for a time, yet all they can think of to do is give it the eye instead of seizing their chance to dive in headfirst. They're dragging their young charge down with their apathy. Maybe he was wise enough to use this detail as an example of what NOT to do - although the future for the gang of three looks bleak enough to make you doubt it...
Ashby skilfully knits the episodes together so a trip that at most lasts a couple of days feels like it comprises enough bonding to fill the average lifetime of an ordinary person. Randy Quaid delivers a serious performance that meshes comfortably with that of Jack's, so if you're one of those people who thinks he can only 'do' Cousin Eddie, then let this - along with "Brokeback Mountain" - be the start of your reappraisal.
When all is said and done, what does it weigh up to? I'm not sure I can tell you; that, I have come to absorb, is I guess the whole point of watching these men drift aimlessly through their hours of freedom. All of life is spread out before them for a time, yet all they can think of to do is give it the eye instead of seizing their chance to dive in headfirst. They're dragging their young charge down with their apathy. Maybe he was wise enough to use this detail as an example of what NOT to do - although the future for the gang of three looks bleak enough to make you doubt it...
- Howlin Wolf
- May 11, 2007
- Permalink
- Hey_Sweden
- Sep 6, 2018
- Permalink
In one word: this is MASCULINE. Manly, virile. This is a man's film, in everything that's wrong with that, and everything that's fine with that. A couple of more seasoned marines have to escort this young delinquent, who's really a nice young 'fellar' but with issues, to some prison. Along the way, they develop a liking for each other and form a group of pals. Jack Nicholson is a slightly unbalanced person himself as depicted multiple times, and the adventures pile up with these three tearing it up in the open spaces, from fun with alcohol and other pleasures of life, to fights or coming across some of the more particular places in town. It's a fun ride, the acting is very good and captivating, the story lets itself be told and all in all this is quite entertaining. Although this is the sort of film that will never add a second layer to itself, and is really event-based and nothing beyond that, it's exactly what it wants to be and does it well. All the way up til the end does this film stay true to itself.
I have had "The Last Detail" laying around for many, many years. I purchased it on DVD solely because it had Jack Nicholson in the leading role. However, I never got around to watching it before now late in 2022.
Writer Robert Towne didn't exactly put together a storyline that fell much into my liking here. Sure "The Last Detail" was watchable, but it just lacked a spark and a forward momentum with something to catch my interest. So it was somewhat of a prolonged experience to sit through the storyline as nothing overly interesting happened throughout the 104 minutes that the movie ran for. So director Hal Ashby didn't deliver an impressive movie here.
The acting performances in the movie were good, of course they were, with the likes of Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid and Otis Young in the leading roles. The movie even have the likes of Michael Moriarty, Luana Anders and Nancy Allen on the cast list as well.
A shame that the narrative in "The Last Detail" lacked adrenaline, because that really took away from the overall feel of the movie.
My rating of "The Last Detail" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Writer Robert Towne didn't exactly put together a storyline that fell much into my liking here. Sure "The Last Detail" was watchable, but it just lacked a spark and a forward momentum with something to catch my interest. So it was somewhat of a prolonged experience to sit through the storyline as nothing overly interesting happened throughout the 104 minutes that the movie ran for. So director Hal Ashby didn't deliver an impressive movie here.
The acting performances in the movie were good, of course they were, with the likes of Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid and Otis Young in the leading roles. The movie even have the likes of Michael Moriarty, Luana Anders and Nancy Allen on the cast list as well.
A shame that the narrative in "The Last Detail" lacked adrenaline, because that really took away from the overall feel of the movie.
My rating of "The Last Detail" lands on a four out of ten stars.
- paul_m_haakonsen
- Oct 31, 2022
- Permalink