The Last Detail (1973)

Directed by

Hal Ashby

Genre

drama film, comedy film, buddy film, road movie

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 43m

Rated

R

Rating

7.0 of 10 from 418 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two career sailors are ordered to escort a young, emotionally withdrawn fellow sailor from a Virginia naval base to a military prison in New Hampshire. Along the road trip, they try to give him a last taste of freedom before his long sentence begins.

bittersweetbleakdarkly comicgrittymelancholicrawslow-burnwry

What happens

The Last Detail is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, from a screenplay by Robert Towne, based on the 1970 novel by Darryl Ponicsan. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, and Carol Kane. It follows two career sailors assigned to escort a young emotionally withdrawn junior sailor from their Virginia base to Portsmouth Naval Prison in New Hampshire. The Last Detail was theatrically released in the United States by Columbia Pictures on December 12, 1973. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Nicholson, Young, and Quaid, as well as Towne's screenplay. It was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, three Academy Awards, and four British Academy Film Awards (winning two). The film is one of two 1973 film adaptations of Ponicsan's novels based on his experiences in the U.S. Navy; the other being Cinderella Liberty, starring James Caan and Marsha Mason. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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