VideoEmbolism Before Johnathan Demme was directing pseudo intellectual crap like "Silence of the Lambs" and socially relevant crap like "Philadelphia" he made this great movie about a burnt out CIA agent who may be going crazy, or may be the target of a psycho killer, or may be the last loose end on the bad side of a career with an organization that has too many secrets to lose. Roy Scheider plays this character who, in a state of recovery, after suffering a nervous break-down from seeing his wife gunned down becomes convinced that his own spy agency is trying to kill him because he is a liability revolving around a politically motivated serial killer who may have targeted him as the next victim for reasons he can only guess at. Then there's the Jewish conspiracy involving the physical abuse of whores. Because Jews hate whores right? Or something like that. Great movie! Lots of suspense, twists and turns, killings, paranoia, great filmmaking, exposing horrifying history that reveal people losing their humanity, identity and individuality by either being a victim of or thriving off of the human race defined by cultures, organizations and finance/power ambition based collectives that evolve through time into nothing more than the despicable scum-sucking power hungry monsters they try to convince themselves, and others, they aren't, and ultimately failing at, through lies and deceit masquerading as the innocence they lost long ago. Watch it and be entertained!

tomsview Many directors have tried their hand at a "Hitchcock" - that unique blend of romance, glamour and suspense combined with great stars, and shaped by a distinctive directorial style. Of all the efforts, I have always liked Jonathan Demme's "Last Embrace" best. Did he get the mix right? Well not exactly, and critics at the time were quick to point out where he had missed the mark. However, instead of just being a flawed Hitchcock homage, I think "Last Embrace" stands up well as an enjoyable movie in its own right.Harry Hannan, a secret service agent, has fallen foul of both the government agency he works for, and a mysterious killer who leaves notes for intended victims written in ancient Aramaic. He receives help from a woman, Ellie Fabian, who he initially finds annoying and intrusive, but later, his feelings for her change. The plot is complex and contains many layers. It features an ending at Niagara Falls that has strong echoes of Hitchcock's classic "North By Northwest".It seems Demme had doubts about the finished film. He felt he had tried so hard to get the Hitchcock style that he had neglected content. But surely he is too hard on himself as he made up for any shortcomings by delivering a film of considerable style and mood. Based on a novel, "The 13th Man" by Murray Teigh Bloom, Demme and his team created a new story around the basic plot with the result that the film, in my opinion, emerged as the superior work.Demme called on the services of Miklos Rozsa for the music. Rozsa scored only one movie for Hitchcock - "Spellbound" - but his style was distinctive and the score for "Last Embrace" brings to mind that famous romantic thriller. Where "Last Embrace" lost out in comparison to the great Hitchcock films such as "Spellbound", "Notorious", "North by Northwest" and "Vertigo" was not only in the absence of a little more humour but also in the weight of its stars. Hitchcock's best films featured stars that were already Hollywood icons - James Stewart, Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly. Although Roy Scheider, was a fine actor he was never an icon. On the other hand, Janet Margolin is so little known that comparisons with Bergman, Kelly or even Kim Novak are superfluous, she also projected a more neurotic edge than Hitchcock's cool blondes. But she was beautiful and talented. I still remember in 1993 being shocked to see her name on Premiere's list of actors who had died that year - she was only 50. I think she brought a lot to this movie especially when it is seen simply as an intriguing and well-made thriller.Demme has not repeated the Hitchcock homage, but has gone on to hone his own distinctive directorial style - "Silence of the Lambs" gained him an Academy Award - one prize Hitchcock never received. "Last Embrace" is not easy to find these days but let's hope that right now, somewhere in a studio warehouse, the masters are being dusted off ready for a belated, but well-deserved DVD release.

moonspinner55 Jonathan Demme is such a character-oriented director that, to see him pulling a Brian De Palma (which is to say, aping Hitchcock), it's predictably distressing when he fails to work up much suspense within this mystery. Working from David Shaber's mediocre adaptation of Murray Teigh Bloom's novel "The 13th Man", Demme attempts to strike a chord somewhere between Alan J. Pakula's paranoia dramas and Hitchcock's dangling-participle thrillers. Roy Scheider stars as a retired secret agent mourning the murder of his wife, now busy dodging the bad guys who are out to kill him. Takes off right away, but the script is full of flimsy threads and any early excitement quickly dies out. There's a visually impressive climax at Niagra Falls, but Demme gets next-to-nothing out of his cast, and even less out of this tepid story. ** from ****

jotix100 Having watched an interesting documentary recently, "Dial H for Hitchcock", it's clear to see how Jonathan Demme was influenced by the master himself. His admiration for the master is evident, yet, in spite of everything, Mr. Demme's "Last Embrace" was a surprise nonetheless. "Last Embrace" was one of his first films and it sort of showed the trajectory of Jonathan Demme as a film director would follow. If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading here.When Harry Hannan's wife is tragically killed, his life begins to unravel. Harry spends some time in a sanatorium trying to get himself together. Unfortunately, whoever wanted him put away is still much in evidence as his presence is felt right at the station where Harry is trying to board the train back home to Manhattan.Harry is taken aback to find Ellie living in his apartment, something he had no idea was happening. It's only fitting with films of this genre that Harry will fall for the beautiful young woman who apparently seems to be trying to help him solve the puzzle about a cryptic death threat he has received at home.Harry with the help of Sam Urdell, starts investigating about the meaning of the strange message he got. Urdell's connection within the Jewish community also unravels another conspiracy that Harry knew nothing about. The final episode involves going through the tunnels where visitors must enter in order to see real close the Falls at Niagara. Even before that there's also a great scene involving Harry's former brother-in-law in a tower at Princeton, which kept reminding us of "Vertigo".Roy Scheider makes an intense Harry. In fact, Mr. Scheider at the time this film was made, was at the height of his career and he clearly shows why he was an excellent actor. The beautiful Janet Margolin plays Ellie, a woman who is too good to be true when we first meet her, but we have no clue as to what she is capable of doing. The great Sam Levene is seen as Sam Urdell, who befriends Harry and is instrumental in getting to the bottom of this mystery. In supporting roles some familiar faces who went to do much better work later. Christopher Walken, Mandy Patinkin, Jacqueline Brookes, Marcia Rodd, Charles Napier, among others are seen in the film.Jonathan Demme proved he was a talent that would go to bigger and better things even then.