Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

darrenmurray84 Last Embrace is unlike most Jonathan Demme films. Although made as somewhat of an homage to Hitchcock, you would be forgiven in thinking Last Embrace is a Brian De Palma movie. The look and feel of the film put me in mind of De Palma's movie Obsession, which itself was a homage to Hitchcock's Vertigo.Roy Scheider is excellent as the shell shocked spy who uncovers what he thinks is a Jewish conspiracy but runs much deeper. Janet Margolin is equally good as a character that is more than she appears to be. Charles Napier, Christoper Walken and John Glover also put in good turns in smaller roles. Also look out for an early appearance from Mandy Patinkin.There are some excellent scenes of tension, where at first you are not sure if Scheider is just going mad, or if someone is really trying to kill him. The finale of the film is especially good, taking place at Niagara Falls.The plot can be overly complicated at first, but is actually quite simple when the whole film is played out. Some reviews have complained that the film is anti-semitic. The only reason for this is that they mention that in the past some Jewish people were evil. I don't see how this is being anti-semitic. The film shows that any one is capable of evil acts.The UK Blu-Ray release has this as an 18 certificate, which in my opinion is over the top. Other than some brief nudity there is nothing in the film that would suggest that it should be an 18. I don't even remember any swearing in the film.If you are a fan of the films of Hitchcock, Demme or even De Palma you should give Last Embrace a go. You won't be disappointed.

ma-cortes Enjoyable mystery movie involves a guilt-ridden agent , and her new friend who attempt to locate a strange murderer who leaves Jewish signals ; as it begins with an ancient warning and it ends at the edge of Niagara Falls . A feverish thriller in the Hitch style containing several iconographic elements and dealing with an ex-secret serviceman called Harry Hannan (a tremendous Roy Scheider) and his wife being attacked by hoodlums (Joe Spinell) when they find on holiday . The government agent barely recovered from nervous breakdown after seeing his spouse shot by bullets and he then becomes involved into a criminal intrigue . As someone attempts to push him under a train , other people pursues to him . Later on , he receives a mysterious death threat in Aramean language . There happens five murders , Harry must solve the or die trying . Meanwhile , an anthropologist (a non box-office actress named Janet Margolin , here excellent , though sadly died a bit later on) unintentionally shares Scheider's flat . Scheider has his old colleagues (Christopher Walken) and his brother-in-law (Demme frequently casts Charles Napier) out to get him .Entertaining mystery movie packs thrills , action , suspense , pounding soundtrack and breathtaking outdoors from Niagara . This agreeable picture has a number of elements and iconography from Alfred Hitchcock : vertiginous heights , innocent men wrongfully accused , gorgeous bombshells , voyeurism , long non-dialogue sequences , among others . Demme's tribute to Hitch includes various street scenes from ¨Marnie¨ , the bell-tower from ¨Vertigo¨ and the final climax straight from ¨Saboteur¨ transferred from the Statue of Liberty to Niagara Falls . Furthermore , ¨Niagara¨ by Henry Hathaway , in which there is also a Femme Fatale played by Marilyn Monroe who spells a deranged man performed by Joseph Cotten and of course the breathtaking Niagara Falls with people fighting next to viewpoint similarly to ¨The last embrace¨. However , the film achieved limited success and in some countries was shunned by its distributors . Good acting by Roy Scheider as a secret agent becomes involved in a deep nightmare and Janet Margolin as a strange woman who has taken possession of his flat . Ample support cast formed by notorious secondaries such as John Glover , Sam Levene , David Margulies , Jacqueline Brookes , and Charles Napier . And brief acting from Christopher Walken , Max Wright and Mandy Patinkin . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Tak Fujimoto ; director Demme frequently uses Tak Fujimoto as his director of photography . Thrilling and intriguing musical score by the classic Miklos Rozsa in Bernard Herrmann style . The motion picture was well directed by Jonathan Demme who was voted the 45th Greatest Director of all time . Here includes his ordinary touches such as characters looking directly into the camera and heavy use of steadicam interspersed with shots of hand-held shots .

Ben Larson The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, The Manchurian Candidate, Rachel Getting Married; all films by Jonathan Demme. While this film is not in the category of those listed, it shows the promise of a great director.Roy Scheider, who won Oscars for All That Jazz and The French Connection, and who is probably best know for his role as the sheriff in Jaws, plays a man who has become a target after his wife's murder. He certainly gives action lovers a film that will please.So, why is a Jewish fanatic running after Harry (Scheider)? And, why is a graduate student (Janet Margolin) living in his apartment when he returns home? Finally, is this a true homage to Hitchcock?

fedor8 I wish it were "Last Dumb Thriller". But thrillers are like that. They are like children: numerous, illogical, and often annoying. They want so desperately to be taken seriously but what is there to take seriously about a child's behaviour or a thriller's plot? Having seen this particular child - I mean... thriller - I understand why reviewers refer to it as "a hitchcockian thriller"; they might as well have called it "idiotic" for that's what "hitchcockian" means in the movie dictionary (look it up, if you don't believe me). Even the soundtrack is old-school Hollywood which is a mistake: it doesn't fit a late 70s film and makes it look phony. Besides, how dare they steal De Palma's idea of stealing from Hitchcock?! The story is absurd. Scheider's wife is killed, and her killers are never an issue. Instead, first his former employers follow him around, and later decide to kill him. Why do they decide to kill him? No explanation. Perhaps because the FBI is a dark, dark organization ("X-Files") which is very trigger-happy about knocking off its former employees for pension-funds reasons. Or perhaps because it's fashionable to want to kill Scheider in this movie; everyone seems to be after him. And while the poor unsuspecting viewer is trying to figure out the mystery by logically assuming that there is a major conspiracy, in reality the killer is... Janet Margolin! Yes, the woman occupying Scheider's living quarters; the one that briefly hinted she was "depraved". Why does she go after Scheider at precisely a time when his wife was murdered and he is feeling paranoid - and followed by his own ex-employers - and not a few years earlier or few years after the wife's murder? A pure hitchcockian (look it up again in the dictionary, in case you forgot what it means) coincidence. And how about that brilliant motive of hers...! Her grandmother was forced into prostitution when she was a fresh-off-the-boat 15 year-old virgin in NY, and then syphilisized by a bunch of horny Jewish men, one of whom - tah-dah! - is Scheider's grandfather. As a result, Margolin has been playing a hooker in her spare time (among other things) in order to kill off all the descendants of the men who so cruelly syphilisized her once-virginal grandmother. How hitchcockian (look it up) is that? The finale then shamelessly rips off the Mount Rushmore scene from "North By Northwest", except that the love-interest is a killer and she doesn't get saved.The movie also offers some dubious/off-kilter dialog and some not-so great acting. Check out the silly and obvious way in which Napier follows Scheider at the cemetery. Let's also not forget the moronic plot-device of Napier reaching for his jacket and holding his hand very suspiciously - but it wasn't a gun! How brilliant! Napier in the tower: now, there's another string of illogical behavioural patterns. J. Demme was, is, and always will be a director without style, without flair, and the man who directed "Philadelphia". Let's give him another Oscar!