With a deadline looming over the troubled sailors, Hal Ashby’s The Last Detail makes the film’s numbered days last as long as possible with its simple plot and generous humanity. Starring Jack Nicholson as the rough and rugged Billy “Badass” Buddusky, Otis Young as the sensible and strict Richard “Mule” Mulhall, and Randy Quaid as the naïve and shy Larry Meadows, this 70’s road-film explores the touching yet contentious friendship that the three sailors form while traveling through the country on their assigned detail with an unfortunate end.

After 18-year-old Meadows gets caught trying to steal a measly $40 from a collection box, Buddusky and Mule are assigned to escort the young sailor to a naval prison where he is to serve eight years and will also be dishonorably discharged. But shortly after the two veteran sailors get to know more about the boy, both (but especially Buddusky) take pity on such a harsh sentence and Meadows’s obvious innocence. Since they have five whole days to escort Meadows to the prison, Buddusky, with his infectious thrill for indulging in the vices of life, is determined to fill Meadows’s last few days of freedom with all of the things he will miss out on while locked up.

Since The Last Detail has one of the simplest plots you will ever see, the film tries to make the most of the breathing room left for the characters, making it feel like more of a hang-out movie as well as a road-movie. Some of the film’s most memorable moments are when Ashby just lets the camera run while the actors do their thing. And whether it’s getting drunk in parking garages, walking in on religious chanting, hustling people playing darts, and even making a stop in a whorehouse, Buddusky and Mule make sure that Meadows can experience it all. And with all of this time to spend, there stems a sweet and genuine bond between all three sailors that the audience can clearly feel. The only down side, I would say, is that because of the lack of urgency in the deadline, you do feel it drag a bit at times, despite it being less than two hours.

And while the film is mainly a comedy, the moments when the characters and the audience are reminded of Meadow’s fate hit the audience with an inescapable sorrow, especially when Buddusky takes it to heart. Nicholson’s performance as the broken and passionate Buddusky is one of the best parts of the whole film as he expertly navigates from the drunken, comedic moments to the frustration and regret that is constantly bubbling just underneath the surface and explosively comes out in tense moments. It is one of Nicholson’s best performances to be caught on film.

Overall, The Last Detail is a very touching and, at times, heart breaking film that captures the short-lived but endearing friendship with a delicate hand. It captures the spirit of the 1970’s as the three sailors move through various states of the country, and I would say it is a nice, relaxing, enjoyable film.

The Last Detail is now available on 4K courtesy of Shout Factory.

Collector's Edition / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - October 25, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

Directed by Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) and written by Robert Towne (Chinatown), this "gem of a film" (Judith Crist, New York Magazine) stars Jack Nicholson in an Academy Award®-nominated performance as Buddusky, a street-tough sailor. When he is tasked with escorting a charge (Randy Quaid) to naval prison, Buddusky decides they're never going to make it unless he and his partner (Otis Young) show the young screw-up one last good time.

Video

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the new Ultra High-Definition HDR restoration taken from the original camera negative is pretty decent but is certainly not without its problems. From the opening scene, there seems to be a slight stabilization issue as there is a noticeable flicker, though this does seem to dimmish a bit as the film goes on. Also, the color grading is quite inconsistent from indoor to outdoor scenes. There is a greenish/yellow tint that is persistent throughout the film which some might like as it gives the film kind of a grittier feel I guess, but it honestly makes the print look awfully dirty and gross, especially in indoor scenes. The grain is also quite apparent, which isn’t always necessarily a bad thing in some cases, but for this particular film it is kind of an issue, especially since the loud grain sacrifices a lot of the clarity and detail of the picture. Overall, it isn’t a terrible restoration, but I am poised to ask why this is considered a 4K release with all of the issues that are quite apparent.

Audio

With a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track, there aren’t really many issues I noticed. Most everything comes in quite clear, besides a couple of scenes of overlapping dialogue (but I believe that is more so due to the editor’s desire to not do ADR for the film). There were a couple of instances where the dialogue did sound a bit buzzy when one of the character’s shouted, but that is a minor gripe. Overall, this mono track is quite good.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

• An Introduction by Filmmaker Alexander Payne
• “About A Trip” – An Appreciation by Alexander Payne
• “A Search For Truth” – A Conversation With Editor Robert C. Jones
• Original Theatrical Trailer

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 104 mins
Director: Hal Ashby
Writer: Robert Towne
Cast: Jack Nicholson; Randy Quaid; Otis Young
Genre: Comedy | Drama
Tagline: What's the Last Detail? 200 beers and a lot of laughs.
Memorable Movie Quote: "If you're Catholic, do you think it's, uh, sacrilegious to chant?"
Theatrical Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: February 15, 1974
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 25, 2022.
Synopsis: Directed by Hal Ashby (Harold And Maude) and written by Robert Towne (Chinatown), this "gem of a film" (Judith Crist, New York Magazine) stars Jack Nicholson in an Academy Award®-nominated* performance as Buddusky, a street-tough sailor. When he is tasked with escorting a charge (Randy Quaid) to naval prison, Buddusky decides they're never going to make it unless he and his partner (Otis Young) show the young screw-up one last good time.