Last Embrace (1979)

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers:

Murray Teigh Bloom (novel)
David Shaber (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 May 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

It begins with an ancient warning. It ends at the edge of Niagara Falls. In between there are 5 murders. Solve the mystery. Or die trying.

Plot:

Harry breaks down and loses his job after his wife is assassinated - could it be his turn next ?

Plot Keywords:

Betrayal | Bathtub | Drowning | Spy | Agent

Cast

Roy Scheider	...	Harry Hannan
Janet Margolin	...	Ellie Fabian
John Glover	...	Richard Peabody
Sam Levene	...	Sam Urdell
Charles Napier	...	Dave Quittle
Christopher Walken	...	Eckart
Jacqueline Brookes	...	Dr. Coopersmith
David Margulies	...	Rabbi Josh Drexel
Andrew Duncan	...	Bernie Meckler
Marcia Rodd	...	Adrian
Gary Goetzman	...	Tour Guide (as Gary Getzman)
Lou Gilbert	...	Rabbi Jacobs
Mandy Patinkin	...	First Commuter
Max Wright	...	Second Commuter
Sandy McLeod	...	Dorothy Hannan

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Canada:AA

Filming Locations:

Niagara Falls, New York, USA

Company:

Taylor-Wigutow Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene in the synagogue, Harry appears to be going through a register book when he finds his grandfather's name. Actually, he's reading a tractate of the Talmud, which is entirely in Aramaica and Hebrew - and he's holding it upside down.

Movie Connections:

References Vertigo (1958)

Soundtrack:

THE FORTIES

A homage to Hitchcock

Many films are called "Hitchcockian", usually because they merely have a twisty, psychologically-motivated plot. But Jonathon Demme's 'Last Embrace' is far more than that, as much a piece of homage as Peter Jackson's recent 'King Kong' remake was to its predecessor. The natures of the characters, and the style of acting, dialogue and music all resemble Hitchcock's own work. A number of elements even pay more direct tribute: there's a shower scene (a la 'Psycho', albeit less bloody), while the scene in the tower, and the ambiguous heroine who isn't what she seems, bring 'Vertigo' to mind. The ending, in fact, resembles aspects of both the start and end of that latter film, while the use of an American landmark (the Niagra Falls) also recalls the use of Mount Rushmore to similar effect in the conclusion of 'North by Northwest'. But for those of us who don't in fact adore Hitchcock, and who find his movies stiff, badly acted and contrived, is a carbon copy such a welcome thought? In fact, Demme, a director I often think of as clunky, proves himself well up to the art of sympathetic pastiche, and I actually found this movie a little more engrossing than many of Hitchcock's own, although the plot is still holey and the overall feeling is that of an early 1960s movie, unusually well done, rather than a real late 1970s film. You'll probably enjoy it if you're more partial to Hitchcock than I am.