Das letzte Kommando (1973)

Das letzte Kommando: Directed by Hal Ashby. With Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James. Two Navy men are ordered to bring a young offender to prison, but decide to show him one last good time along the way.

“Often regarded as a comedy-drama, u0026#39;The Last Detailu0026#39; always stood out to me as a pure drama. It tells the story involving a group of Navy officers: a young and meek officer (Randy Quaid) steals some money but gets caught; the two others (Jack Nicholson and Otis Young) are to take him to prison. They (especially Nicholson) get somewhat attached to the boy when they see how young (ie.: donu0026#39;t know much of the world) and weak he is and decide to show him how to be a man before putting him away.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA look at the cast/crew shows how promising the film is. Hal Ashby is a fine director, whose films I always like/love (except maybe for u0026#39;Coming Homeu0026#39;, which often gets too preachy and melodramatic); the screenplay is done by Robert Towne, the same guy who would later do u0026#39;Chinatownu0026#39;; and the leading actor is Jack Nicholson, one of cinemau0026#39;s greatest actors.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSpeaking of Jack Nicholson, he is just brilliant here. His character, u0026#39;Bad-Assu0026#39; Buddusky, is the type of character he is at best with: sarcastic and irreverent even when serious, yet very smart and caring in his own way. He acts as a father figure for the young Meadows (Quaid), trying to lift his mood and have him something to remember and be happy before having to face the harsh conditions of prison. Quaid and Young, alongside the supporting characters, end up overshadowed by Nicholsonu0026#39;s performance, but they too make a great work with their characters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs typical of a 70u0026#39;s and/or Hal Ashby film, u0026#39;The Last Detailu0026#39; has great photography and is strangely comfortable to look at. The movie is very realistic too, with both situations and characters being very believable and sympathetic. The characters are very fleshed out and developed, making it difficult not to like or remain indifferent towards them. Iu0026#39;ve also heard that the way Navy/Marine officers are portrayed are also very close to the real thing, without forcing their portrayal as a way of criticism of the armed forces, which many directors would jump at the chance to do (specially considering the time this movie was made). In truth, I didnu0026#39;t feel that the film was a critique of the military like many say. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy only complaint on the movie is that itu0026#39;s supposed to be a comedy too. Yes, there are awkward situations and Jack Nicholsonu0026#39;s typical rebellious way of dealing with everything; but the movie tends to make them more interesting than actually funny. Not that Iu0026#39;m saying this is bad; u0026#39;The Last Detailu0026#39; is a remarkable movie in every aspect and one of the best pure dramas Iu0026#39;ve seen.”