The Last Movie was Hopper’s second directing job, after the classic & hedonistic biker picture Easy Rider. The film features Hooper in the lead role of Kansas- a troubled, and decidedly down on his luck stunt man/ horse trainer trying to eke out a living in Peru, on Hollywood film sets. The logic & unfold of the plot of the film, which among many things takes in the locals making their own imaginary movie, gold prospecting & depraved US ex-pats- is very scatterbrain & unbalancing. For the first twenty/ thirty minutes we get a  near dialogue-less free fall of imagery that often rapidly shifts from: bloody fictional cowboy film action, behind the camera scenery, local church & religious icon footage, breathtaking nature close-ups & rolling epic Peruvian landscapes. As the film goes on we get longer knots of more linear storytelling/ sense, but often these become waylaid for sudden bursts of imagery or moody shots of countryside often sound-tracked by the stripped back acoustic guitar & vocals of the Kris Kristofferson part of the score.

The films one hour & forty-eight-minute runtime may sound like it could be a bit of a chore, but really there’s never a dull moment here as we swing between well- shot dramatic moments, amusing chatty & at times sleazy moments, to the more heady/ non-linear bombardments of imagery. Hooper does a great job, switching between macho posturing, slyly humorous asides, low key derangement, and haphazard charming- even though the structure of the film is often tricky to get hold of- he really manages to create a three-dimensional character with Kansas. The supporting cast is effective too- worth special mentions are Tomas Milian as the towns twitchy priest, Julie Adams as a sleazy & rich socialite, and Stella Garcia as Hooper’s Peruvian girlfriend.

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Hooper in pretty much anything I’ve seen him in, but never really seen any of his directed films, aside from his excellent late 1980’s LA gang film Colours. So it was great to see The Last Movie, and I must say I was very much taken by the film- really revelling in its switches between linear, and non-linear film making.  In his introduction to the film, Hopper says ‘every story should have a beginning, middle & end- but with The Last Movie I really mixed things up’ and this really describes the films crazed genius. It’s certainly not a film for those looking for an easy/ normal ride- yet it never becomes too arty & non-sensical for its own good- making a perfect balance between effective storytelling & quirky 70’s oddness.

Moving onto the picture of this new release- and Powerhouse have done a great job on the 4k transfer really highlighting the films scope, shifting wonders & different filming techniques. Sadly there is no commentary on the film, but really I think if there had been it may have spoiled some of its charm really- as it’s best to take what you personally get from a film like The Last Picture, and not have someone else’s interpretations giving to you. Extra on the disc, we get a good enough selection of stuff- First off we get an hour & a half audio interview with Hooper- this is from 1990 when he was in London showing The Last Movie & his later Catchfire film. Next, we get Postcards from Peru- a thirty-two-minute feature going back to Peru to interview members of the crew & cast from the country. There’s Missing Scene- a fifty-minute documentary from Alex Cox- which sees him interviewing various of the actors, crew & the co-writer of the film- this is excellent, really capturing the blend often stoned madness & genius behind the production.Next, there’s Some Kind of Genius- a thirty-minute doc from 1986, discussing Hooper's career up to that point. There’s a crazed seven-minute interview with Hooper from around the time of the release of the film on the Dick Cavett. A two-minute introduction to the film from 2007 by Hooper. Three-minute restoration footage- which really shows how much work they did on the print. 1971 production reel, trailers, and a stills gallery.

I’m afraid I can’t comment on the finished boxset- as we were only sent a screener disc- but it certainly sounds impressive- here’s the blub- exclusive 80-page book containing extensively researched new writing by filmmaker Alex Cox, rare archival photography, and full film credits. Limited edition exclusive double-sided poster

In Conclusion, The Last Movie is really a one-off experience, and it’s made me very keen to check out more of Hooper's directorial work. Hats off to Powerhouse for giving such an often challenging & non-conforming film such a classy & epic release, with the great scan, cool extras, 80-page booklet & poster. As with many of Powerhouse releases, this has an Ltd pressing- so if this sounds like your thing, I’d act sooner than later- as I can imagine this is the type of release that will be going for big money on eBay in the future.