Last Man Standing

Last Man Standing(1996) - Walter Hill

I was about 11 years old when Last Man Standing hit video stores, and it was everything I ever wanted in a movie. I grew up with pulp-inspired movies like Tim Burton’s Batman, The Rocketeer, and Dick Tracy. Last Man Standing felt like a progression of this trend but darker, and significantly more violent. Last Man Standing is a Western/Gangster pic remake of an Akira Kurosawa Samurai adaptation of a Dashiell Hammett crime novel, making it a remake of an adaptation. Given that director Walter Hill took the story back to its hardboiled crime roots you could make a case that it’s simply an adaptation of the Dashiell Hammett story, but there is a strong stylistic and thematic influence from Kurosawa and other Asian filmmakers. The Shootouts are stylized to be reminiscent of samurai showdowns, even using wirework to send gunshot victims soaring through the air like they are in a kung fu movie. Last Man Standing is almost monochromatic, utilizing a golden sepia tone that makes the film feel out of time. I’ve seriously considered converting this movie to black and white myself because I think it would look amazing. I think the fact that this movie is a remake of a much more respected film may have turned people off initially, but in a post-Kill Bill, post-mashup, post-Sin City world I think maybe more people will find something to enjoy here. I love this movie, and never really understood why it wasn’t more well-liked, but maybe it’s just nostalgia, who knows.