Last Of Sheila (DVD)

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I love these kinds of things, especially when they're done as well as this one. Of course, we can't believe a word of it, it's all so preposterous, yet it seems believable enough as it's unfolding. And it's interesting that despite its cast of well-known stars, no one actually "stars" in the movie. It's a wonderful ensemble cast where everybody is equally important, equally amoral, and equally suspicious. I admit that I didn't know what was going on a lot of the time, but I knew I'd find out soon enough, and I did. "The Last of Sheila" is a crackerjack brainteaser, even if you forget it two minutes after you see it..

Video:
The movie's video is presented in a 1.74:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen, capturing most of its original 1.85:1 ratio theatrical size. At one point in the film, a message filled with writing across the screen is cut off slightly at the right and the left, leading me to believe that a small degree of TV overscan and an additional bit of fudging by the studios went on. In any case, the picture quality is pretty good, the colors bright and the definition reasonably sharp. Grain is not an object here, either, but some very minor age marks are noticeable from time to time.

Audio:
Unfortunately, the film's monaural sound does not serve it well. Even reproduced via Dolby Digital 1.0 processing, it sounds below par. In a film almost entirely dialogue driven, where every word counts, it's a shame so much of the audio is so poor. At the beginning of the film, the sound is muffled, hollow, and even a bit noisy, giving it a faraway feel. Sometimes it can be hollow as well, sometimes raspy, and sometimes flat and dry. At no time does the sound fully open up to anything like the transparency or range of many of its movie contemporaries from the same era and before.

Extras:
As one of WB's standard catalogue items, "The Last of Sheila" gets very few extras. The only thing of note is an audio commentary with three of the film's stars, Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, and Raquel Welch. They are a chatty trio and provide some interesting if lightweight reminiscences on the subject. Beyond that, there are twenty-seven scene selections and a theatrical trailer. English is the only spoken language offered, but there are English, French, and Spanish subtitles.

Parting Thoughts:
I liked "The Last of Sheila" quite a lot. Despite my having been familiar with its title, I had never actually seen it until it showed up on DVD, and then I was delightfully surprised. I figured the story would have dated by now, but it hadn't. Because most of the action is aboard ship and because most of the plot is dependent on the actors talking and explaining things to one another, watching the movie is much like watching a play. In fact, I'm surprised the script hasn't been adapted for the stage. For all I know, maybe it has. In any case, "The Last of Sheila" is a splendid puzzle picture that kept me engrossed and guessing from beginning to end.

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