The Last Sunset is a 1961 Western film directed by legendary director Robert Aldrich and starring screen legends Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, and Dorothy Malone. The film boasts a superb supporting cast with Joseph Cotten, Regis Toomey, Carol Lynley, Neville Brand and Jack Elam, although the latter two didn’t get much in the way of screen time.
In this picture, Brendan O’Malley (Kirk Douglas, The Fury, Out of the Past) has arrived in Mexico to the home of his his old girlfriend Belle Breckenridge (Dorothy Malone, Written on the Wind) to find out that she is married to a drunken old man (Joseph Cotton, Citizen Kane, The Third Man) and are getting ready for a cattle drive to Texas. O’Malley has fled to Mexico because he’s wanted for a murder and lawman Dana Stribling (Rock Hudson, Written on the Wind, also with Dorothy Malone) is hot on his trail. Both men wind up joining Breckenridge and his wife for his cattle drive. As they near Texas the tension increases, as Stribling is starting to fell for Belle, and O’Malley is attracted to Belle’s daughter Missy (Carole Lynley, The Poseidon Adventure). Plus, Stribling sees that O’Malley isn’t such a bad guy as he perceived.
The Last Sunset is an enjoyable film, especially when we find out who Missy’s father is. Director Aldrich went down a taboo path for this film, which is based on Howard Rigsby’s 1957 novel Sundown at Crazy Horse, so while it wasn’t Aldrich’s idea, he did direct the film and kept a particular scene intact. One aspect I also really liked was thirties and forties star Regis Toomey was in it. Yes, his role was small, but I have been a fan of his for years. Toomey was one of those actors who had a starring role in lower budget pictures and supporting roles in the big- budgeted ones.
Given a brand new 2K Master from Kino Lorber, The Last Sunset receives a superb Blu-ray release. The Eastmancolor boasts rich and robust colors throughout, with the excellent cinematography by Ernest Laszlo looking as stunning as ever, with magnificent details to the scenery. There are so many breathtaking scenes of the landscape during the day under clear blue skies. Textures are deep, shadow details are also sharp, with deep black levels. Skin tones are accurate. There are hardly any print damages outside of just a few speckles here and there. Film grain is present during the presentation, giving the movie a film-like appearance.
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack is also fluid. Dialogue and the usual western sound effects such as horse riding and gunfire, are crisp and clear with some depth. The music by Ernest Gold comes in the strongest and most aggressive. English subtitles are available for this release.
The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Nick Pinkerton who essays the film and the cast. Trailers to other Kino Lorber Westerns rounds out the extras.
The Last Sunset is another classic from Robert Aldrich, maybe not the top-of-the-line type of film, but it is a solid picture with some of the best actors in the business. The Blu-ray offers excellent audio and video quality and a commentary track, making this an easy pick-up!
The Last Sunset
Director- Robert Aldrich
Cast- Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, Dorothy Malone
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date –11/27/2021