NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Cult Epics Blu-ray (October 2022): Cult Epics have transferred Just Jaeckin's The Last Romantic Lover to Blu-ray. It is cited as being a "New HD Transfer (from original 35mm negative) supervised by cinematographer Robert Fraisse". The 1080P looks pretty good. Visible texture, richness in many of the primary colors (reds) and occasional depth. The image is clean and looks quite film-like. No issues.

NOTE: We have added 44 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Cult Epics offer a linear PCM dual-mono track (16-bit) or a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround 24-bit) or a superfluous lossy Dolby surround track - all in the original French language. The Last Romantic Lover has few aggressive moments, and minimal separation, but a delightfully pastoral score by Pierre Bachelet (Gwendoline, Private Collections, The Story of O, Emmanuelle), sounding clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. Cult Epics offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Cult Epics Blu-ray offers a new commentary by by Jeremy Richey, author of "Sylvia Kristel: From Emmanuelle to Chabrol". He discusses how this film was a distinct departure attempting to separate the director from his "erotic-filmmaker" label. Jeremy tells us that The Last Romantic Lover was Just Jaeckin's favorite of all his film, he observes the 'traveling sideshow' theme prevalent in the filmmaker's work, details on the cast; Dayle Haddon, Fernando Rey etc. and much more. It's quite factual and informative. There is also an 18-minute interview with Just Jaeckin and we spend 24-minutes in an interview with Dayle Haddon (both in English.) She reflects on her modeling career and how the French discovered her, natural and comfortable nudity in film, her fading memories of the production and much more. She is still very attractive. Included is a 1/4 hour presentation at Cinematheque Francais with the film receiving an award. Lastly, is a promotional gallery of images and the usual Cult Epics trailer reel but none for The Last Romantic Lover.   

Just Jaeckin's The Last Romantic Lover does not approach the more softcore sex-centric of the director's more famous, earlier, erotic hits; Emmanuelle and Story of O. It has the smok'in hot Dayle Haddon (Jaeckin's Madame Claude) and some may recognize Catriona MacColl (City of the Living Dead, The House by the Cemetery, The Beyond) and other minor players in the cast. The film quaintly evolves from the superficialities of relationships to true, sensitive, love. It's underrated as a well-made, enjoyable observation on male-female bonding. I liked it. The Cult Epics Blu-ray provides a remarkable a/v presentation, excellent commentary and interviews. It's a very pleasant surprise from Just Jaeckin. I can see why it was his favorite. Certainly it warrants a recommendation.

Gary Tooze