Last Exit To Brooklyn

(aka "Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn (West Germany)" )

directed by Uli Edel
USA / UK / West Germany 1989

My discovery of Hubert Selby Jr.'s harrowing 1964 novel, Last Exit To Brooklyn, was in a bargain bin at a Manila bookstore in 1982. Being born and raised in Brooklyn, NY myself, I was immediately attracted to the title. I bought the book because the cover blurb mentioned that Selby attended Public School 102 located in my childhood neighborhood and it made me feel a bit homesick.

Once I began reading I knew that this book was something special. The story was dark and violent yet so masterfully written that the humanity of its characters came screaming through the turmoil. I could not put it down. It was with mixed feelings that I watched Uli Edel's screen adaptation. To me, the material in this book belongs to the imagination. However, I was pleasantly suprised that Edel stayed true to the story and does not try to overinterpret the more abstract elements. He succeeds in much the same way that Peter Jackson succeeded with The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

While I would not recommend the film version of Last Exit To Brooklyn over the book the movie stands up well by itself.

Gregg Ferencz

Posters

Theatrical Release: West Germany 12 October 1989 ,USA 2 May 1990 (New York City)

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DVD Comparison:

Metrodome Distribution Ltd (2 Disc Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Dawoori Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC

(Metrodome Distribution Ltd (2 Disc Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Dawoori Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers		Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best...
Distribution	Metrodome Distribution Ltd Region 2 - PAL	Dawoori Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	99 mins (4% PAL speedup)	97 min
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.10 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.68 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Metrodome Distribution Ltd (2 Disc Special Edition)
Bitrate: Dawoori Entertainment
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1	English Dolby Digital 4.0
Subtitles	None	English, Korean
Features	Release Information: Studio: Metrodome Distribution Ltd Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by Director Uli Edel and Screenwriter Desmond Nakano • The Making of Last Exit To Brooklyn (42 Mins.) • Deleted Scenes (6 Mins.) • Promo Reel (10 Mins.) • Photo Gallery • Features Hubert Selby Jr.: It`ll Be Better Tomorrow - A harrowing and engaging exploration of the life and art of Hubert Selby Jr: with contributions from Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Henry Rollins, Anthony Kiedis and others. (Narrated by Robert Downey Jr.) (79 Mins.) • Over 3 hours of audio interviews with Hubert Selby Jr., Uli Edel & Michael Silverblatt, the host of Bookworm, a nationally syndicated radio program based in LA DVD Release Date: October 2, 2006 Amaray Keepcase In a Cardboard Slipcase Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: Dawoori Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Cast and Crew Filmographies • Theatrical Trailer • About the Film (in Korean) • Other Trailers DVD Release Date: April 2002 ? (out of print) Amaray Keepcase Chapters 8

Comments

The Dawoori edition was, for a time, the best DVD version of this film available. As shoddy as this interlaced transfer to DVD-5 is, it's anamorphic and has a Dolby 4.0 sountrack. Though the running time is listed as 103 minutes on the DVD case it is actually under 98 minutes suggesting that the NTSC transfer is from a PAL source. The colors are oversaturated. The overall look is too dark for a film shot mostly in low light. Lots of nicks and scratches are evident in the print.

The new Metrodome release is a decent progressive transfer. The print is unblemished and balanced though a bit on the soft side.

The bonus features on this two disc set make it a must have for fans of the film and Hubert Selby Jr.. For starters there are never before available deleted scenes and a 'making of' featurette. The real treats,however, are on the second disc. First, there is a full length documentary on the life and work of Hubert Selby Jr. called Hubert Selby Jr.: It`ll Be Better Tomorrow. It was directed by Michael W. Dean and Kenneth Shiffrin and narrated by Robert Downey Jr.. Also on the second disc are four audio interviews with Selby and others that total three hours and cover a lot of ground about Selby, his work and the film adaptations of his books..

An interesting thing I discovered is that the two minute discrepancy between both versions indicates that there is something missing from the Dawoori edition. This was made more apparent when I was trying to match screen captures for this comparison. Early in the film there was a ten second difference in running time between similar images. By the end of the film that gap was over one minute. I would have to pore over both versions to find out where this occurs, something I'm not planning to do anytime soon.

- Gregg Ferencz

DVD Menus

(Metrodome Distribution Ltd (2 Disc Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Dawoori Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Metrodome Distribution Ltd (2 Disc Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. Dawoori Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - BOTTOM)
Subtitle Sample on R0 Korean version

NO subtitle options on the Metronome

(Metrodome Distribution Ltd (2 Disc Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. Dawoori Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - BOTTOM)

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Image:	Metrodome Distribution Ltd
Sound:	Metrodome Distribution Ltd
Extras:	Metrodome Distribution Ltd
Menu:	Metrodome Distribution Ltd