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The Last Detail

Play trailer Poster for The Last Detail R 1973 1h 45m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 39 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
When sailor Larry Meadows (Randy Quaid) is sentenced to eight years in a New Hampshire prison, Navy lifers Billy Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and Mule Mulhall (Otis Young) are assigned to escort him there from Virginia. Along the way, they warm up to their prisoner, indulging him in small ways such as making excursions to a brothel, and to his mother's house. As they get closer to their destination, their fondness for Larry makes it harder for them to execute their orders.
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The Last Detail

The Last Detail

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Critics Consensus

Very profane, very funny, very '70s: Director Hal Ashby lets Jack Nicholson and the cast run loose, creating a unique dramedy that's far out to sea.

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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 09/21/2023
This picture sounds realistically profane and has a dark, grainy surface, and by Hollywood standards, it's strong, adult material, but the mechanism is a vise for our emotions -- the mechanism is schlock. Go to Full Review
Judith Crist New York Magazine/Vulture 10/02/2019
Add immaculate casting, a noteworthy debut for cinematographer Michael Chapman, and a spare and subtle score by Johnny Mandel, and you're left with a gem of a film. Go to Full Review
Anton Bitel Little White Lies 02/27/2017
Meadows' 1st beer(s), 1st joint, 1st sexual experience, 1st attempt at assertiveness... represent not just a concentrated and expedited coming-of-age narrative, but also an elegy for a nation's broader loss of innocence in its military excursions. Go to Full Review
Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm Jun 26
3.5/4
... a laconic reappraisal of America in the dismal 1970s. Go to Full Review
Noah Gittell Washington City Paper 08/15/2024
It’s the essence of New Hollywood filmmaking, which broke down our myths and revealed in their place a world of everyday losers who looked so much like ourselves that we couldn’t turn away. Go to Full Review
Ian Kane Epoch Times 08/28/2023
4/5
“The Last Detail” is a sometimes funny, sometimes bittersweet drama that features believable characters and situations. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Blake- N @PBSAniDom 5d The Last Detail is a rare kind of film that feels both deeply personal and quietly powerful. Based on the novel by Darryl Ponicsan, it captures the complexity of human connection with honesty and restraint. The story unfolds in a way that lets the characters breathe, giving their journey a natural, almost documentary-like feel. What stands out most is the authenticity—nothing feels forced, and every moment carries emotional weight without being overly dramatic. The performances are exceptional, grounding the film in realism while still allowing its themes to resonate on a larger scale. It’s a film that lingers after it ends, balancing humor, melancholy, and insight in a way that few movies manage. For me, it’s a 9/10. See more Jim N @RT88410809 Oct 15 All of Jack Nicholson's best films had been made by 1980: 'Five Easy Pieces', 'Carnal Knowledge', 'Chinatown', 'The Passenger', 'The Shining', and of course his masterpiece 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. The decade of the 1970s was arguably the greatest decade for American cinema, focusing largely on the gritty depiction of real lives, before the commercial conveyor belt of special effects and sci-fi fantasy buckled the industry and made it wholly materialistic. This is a film with a simple story effectively told, and as ever in those days Nicholson is eminently watchable with a zesty devilish charm. See more thiago s @Thiagostone 05/04/2025 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, o elenco é bacaninha, e poucos ajudam a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom. See more Alain E @AlainE 01/22/2025 Instead of a road movie, here we have a railroad movie and I hope Amtrak thanked the filmmaker. Although Nicholson is the best known actor, all three main characters deliver very strong performances. This is a movie of low tones. Two seasoned sailors go on a trip to deliver a convicted clueless young seaman to serve a long sentence. Gradually, the leader played by Nicholson, pities the prisoner and uses the allotted time to allow him to experience many things he will be deprived of for the next eight years. There is pretty accurate depiction of American society during the Nixon years. See more 12/29/2024 Great Nicholson performance. But all so much more of the same. The early ‘70’s Nicholson performances are all very much alike. A snide, foul mouthed, good ole boy. And of course, true to the era and Cuckoos Nest, Jack gets a young man laid as an answer to something. Ashby’s direction is brilliant though. Too bad it all comes out just plain boring. See more Ovidius N @RT56858835 12/08/2024 Loved it. Nicholson superb. Some laugh out loud moments as well as an underlying poignancy. Will be watching it again. See more Read all reviews
The Last Detail

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Movie Info

Synopsis When sailor Larry Meadows (Randy Quaid) is sentenced to eight years in a New Hampshire prison, Navy lifers Billy Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and Mule Mulhall (Otis Young) are assigned to escort him there from Virginia. Along the way, they warm up to their prisoner, indulging him in small ways such as making excursions to a brothel, and to his mother's house. As they get closer to their destination, their fondness for Larry makes it harder for them to execute their orders.
Director
Hal Ashby
Producer
Gerald Ayres
Screenwriter
Robert Towne
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Acrobat Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation, Bright-Persky Associates
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 12, 1973, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Stereo
Aspect Ratio
35mm