The Last Detail

Nicholson was set to play Buddusky; additional casting focused mainly on the roles of Mule and Meadows.[10] Bud Cort met with Ashby and begged to play Meadows, but the director felt that he was not right for the role.[9] Robert Englund also auditioned for the role of Meadows.[11] Casting director Lynn Stalmaster gave Ashby a final selection of actors, and the two that stood out were Randy Quaid and John Travolta. As originally written, the character of Meadows was a "helpless little guy", but Ashby wanted to cast Quaid, who was 6'4".[12] He had offbeat and vulnerable qualities that Ashby wanted.[9] Towne remembers thinking, "There's a real poignancy to this huge guy's helplessness that's great. I thought it was a fantastic choice, and I'd never thought of it."[12] Rupert Crosse was cast as Mule. Gilda Radner was cast in her first screen role, speaking one line as a member of Nichiren Shoshu.[13]

The project stalled for 18 months while Nicholson made The King of Marvin Gardens.[6] Guber told Ayres that he could get Burt Reynolds, Jim Brown, and David Cassidy and a new writer, and he would approve production immediately. Ayres rejected this proposal, and the studio agreed to wait because they were afraid that the producer would take the film to another studio.[6] Ashby and Ayres read navy publications and interviewed current and ex-servicemen who helped them correct minor errors in the script.[3] The director wanted to shoot on location at the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, and the brig at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but was unable to get permission from the United States Navy. However, the Canadian Navy was willing to cooperate and in mid-August 1972, Ashby and his casting director Stalmaster traveled to Toronto, Ontario to look at a naval base and meet with actors.[3] The base suited their needs and Ashby met Carol Kane, whom he would cast in a small role.[10] Opening scenes of the film were not shot at a Canadian Naval Base, but rather at CFB Borden, a major training base for the Canadian Air Force & Army.

Ashby was busted for possession of marijuana while scouting locations in Canada. This almost changed the studio's mind about backing the project, but the director's drug bust was not widely reported and Nicholson remained fiercely loyal to him, which was a deciding factor.[14] Just as the film was about to go into production, Crosse was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Ashby postponed principal photography for a week to allow Crosse to deal with the news and decide if he still wanted to do the film.[15] The actor decided not to do the film, and Ashby and Stalmaster scrambled to find a replacement. They cast Otis Young.[9]

Ashby decided to shoot the film chronologically in order to help the inexperienced Quaid and recently cast Young ease into their characters.[16] With the exception of Toronto doubling as Norfolk, the production shot on location, making the same journey as the three main characters.[17] Early on, Quaid was very nervous and wanted to make a good impression. Ashby kept a close eye on the actor but allowed him to develop into the role.[17] Haskell Wexler was supposed to shoot The Last Detail, but he could not get a union card for an East Coast production.[15] Ashby asked Nestor Almendros and Gordon Willis but they were both unavailable.[17]

Ashby promoted Michael Chapman, his camera operator on The Landlord, to director of photography. They worked together to create a specific look for the film that involved using natural light to create a realistic, documentary style.[17] Ashby let Nicholson look through the camera's viewfinder as a shot was being set up so he knew the parameters of a given scene and how much freedom he had within the frame.[18] The actor said, "Hal is the first director to let me go, to let me find my own level".[19]

The day after principal photography was completed, Ashby had his editor send what he had cut together so far.[20] The director was shocked at the results and fired the editor. He was afraid that he would have to edit the film himself. Ayres recommended bringing in Robert C. Jones, one of the fastest editors in the business, who had been nominated for an Academy Award for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.[20] Jones put the film back into rushes and six weeks later had a first cut ready that ran four hours. Ashby was very impressed with his abilities and trusted him completely.[21] Jones cut the film with Ashby at the filmmaker's home. The process took an unusually long time, as the director agonized over all the footage he had shot.[22] Ashby would ignore phone calls from Columbia, and eventually executives higher and higher up the corporate ladder tried to contact him.[22] Ashby was in London, England, meeting with Peter Sellers about doing Being There when he received a phone call from Jones, who told him that Columbia was fed up with the time it was taking for the film to be assembled.[23] The head of the studio's editing department called Jones to say that a representative was coming to take the film. Jones refused to give up the film, and Ashby called the studio and managed to calm down the officials.[23] Towne occasionally visited Ashby's house to check in and did not like the pacing of the film. According to Towne, Ashby "left his dramatizing to the editing room, and the effect was a thinning out of the script".[22] During the editing process, Columbia hated the jump cuts Ashby employed.[24] The studio was also concerned about the number of expletives. It needed a commercial hit as they were in major financial trouble.[23] By August 1973, the final cut of The Last Detail was completed and submitted to the MPAA, which gave it an R rating.

Columbia was still not happy with the film and asked for 26 lines to be cut that had the word "fuck" in them.[25] The theatrical release of The Last Detail was delayed for six months while Columbia fought over the profanity issue.[24] The film contained 65 uses of "fuck" overall and at the time of its release, broke the record for most uses of the word in a motion picture. Ashby persuaded Columbia to let him preview the film to see how the public would react. It was shown in San Francisco, and the screening was a huge success.[26]

It was originally released on VHS and then on DVD. Sony Pictures released The Last Detail on DVD in the United States on December 14, 1999.[28] It was first made available on Blu-ray disc as a limited edition by boutique label Twilight Time in the United States on January 19, 2016 with two special features, an isolated score track and a theatrical trailer.[29] The film was released in the U.K. by Powerhouse Films initially as a limited duel format edition set on February 27, 2017. Supplemental features include two cuts of the movie, original trailer; promotional materials; new interview with director of photography Michael Chapman; and a booklet.[30]

The film opened at the Bruin Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles for a special 11-day Academy Award qualifying engagement where it grossed $46,369.[31] The film earned $5 million in rentals at the North American box office.[32]

The film received very positive reviews. In his review for The New York Times, Vincent Canby wrote, "It's by far the best thing he's ever done", referring to Nicholson's performance.[33] Variety magazine also praised Nicholson, writing that he was "outstanding at the head of a superb cast".[34] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film four stars out of four, writing that Nicholson "continues his impressive string of performances" and that the screenplay "is both funny and wise. It captures all the silliness, stupidity, and veiled warmth of men in groups."[35] He ranked it second (behind Day for Night) on his list of the best films of the year.[36] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times called it "a superior piece of film-making whose superlative acting, corrosive joking and dead-accurate feeling for time and milieu may well transcend its messages of hopelessness and innocence lost. But it is a downer, ferociously so."[37] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote in a generally negative review that "it's conceivable that this trim, foreshortened adaptation would have worked, if only the direction had been sharper. Unfortunately, Ashby has directed as if he were a novice, unsure of camera placement and lighting and undecided about what pace the story needs and what feelings it should evoke."[38] Andrew Sarris, however, praised Ashby's "sensitive, precise direction".[39] Time magazine's Richard Schickel wrote, "there is an unpretentious realism in Towne's script, and director Ashby handles his camera with a simplicity reminiscent of the way American directors treated lower-depths material in the '30s".[40]

It was shown as part of the Cannes Classics section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[41] Paul Tatara largely credits Towne's "profane, heartbreaking script" for the film's "small details, colorful language, and utterly believable character development, which cumulatively pack a real emotional wallop."[42]

The Last Detail was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival and Nicholson was awarded Best Actor.[43] It was also nominated for three Academy Awards – Jack Nicholson for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Randy Quaid for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Robert Towne for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium with none of them winning.[44] In addition, The Last Detail was nominated for two Golden Globes Awards – Nicholson for Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama and Quaid for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.[45] Nicholson did win a BAFTA award for his role in the film.[45] Nicholson won the Best Actor awards from the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle. However, he was disappointed that he failed to win an Oscar for his performance. "I like the idea of winning at Cannes with The Last Detail, but not getting our own Academy Award hurt real bad. I did it in that movie, that was my best role".[46]