Product Details

• Actors: Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Burton, Delroy Lindo
• Directors: Rod Lurie
• Writers: David Scarpa, Graham Yost
• Producers: Don Zepfel, Robert Lawrence
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Dreamworks Video
• VHS Release Date: August 13, 2002
• Run Time: 131 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JKNU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #279,039 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Last Castle rides high on a wave of American patriotism, respectful of military service and protocol, and primed to ignite anyone's passion for justice against corrupted ideals. This intense prison drama begins when a court-martialed three-star general (Robert Redford) is sentenced to military prison for defying a presidential command. The prison's warden (James Gandolfini) is a jealous martinet who's never seen combat, and when the jailed general seizes command of the prison to protest the warden's abuse of power, The Last Castle erupts toward a classic showdown between integrity and cowardice. Former critic and West Point graduate Rod Lurie (The Contender) directs this intimate battle with manipulative skill, appealing more to emotions than intelligence, but his stellar cast keeps the action on track, and a potent script returns flag-waving to its rightful place of honor. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

A demagogic melodrama with James Gandolfini as the warden of a military prison who wears glasses and habitually listens to Mozart (obviously a very bad guy). He tries to squelch an insurrection led by one of his prisoners (Robert Redford), a former three-star general with enough charisma to rouse a yardful of thugs without even lifting his voice. Too bad Redford conveys little authority in the role; military men aren't really within his range (he seems to be playing an international aid worker). The director, Rod Lurie, demonstrates a slick proficiency at manipulating easy emotions, and the American flag that he gloriously unfurls at the end should raise a lump in the national throat. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Totally absorbing with fast moving plot, June 11, 2002

By 

Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last Castle (DVD)

The film stars Robert Redford as a 3-star general who has been stripped of his rank and sent to a military prison run by James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos" fame. From the beginning there is conflict between the two men as Redford views Gandolfini as a tin soldier who has never been in real battles. As the film goes on, we see Gandolfini as nothing short of a sadist who punishes the men severely for every infraction of his silly rules. The story moves fast and the audience identifies with the plight of the men who have lost their pride in being soldiers. Redford orchestrates psychological strategies to rattle Gandolfini as well as armed conflict. The plot moves so fast and is so involving that I got totally absorbed in the film, rooting for the prisoners as they fought for dignity under Gandolfini's heavy hand.

Redford is a good actor and played his part well. He has lines in his face, which make him look real. James Gandolfini is magnificent and shows the range of his acting skills because the role called for a complex and nuanced performance. As I was watching the film, I was so caught up in the story that there was no time to think about the holes in the plot. By the next morning though I felt it was all rather contrived and silly.

I was impressed by the clarity of the DVD picture and the extras at the end of the film, such as the director's voice-over as we watched scenes that had been cut. All this added to my viewing enjoyment. As for the film itself, it will appeal to those who, like me, enjoy war movies. Don't expect to cry and don't expect to laugh. There's high drama in the film, but it doesn't go to the heart. But I do find it enjoyable to just sit back, relax, and let the film take me where it wants.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Prison Drama We Have Seen Before, But Still Engaging, December 2, 2002

By 

Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Last Castle (DVD)

Director Rod Lurie's follow-up of "The Contender" raises his patriotic tone higher than before, and gives an intriguging setting of the film, but as he did before, sacrifices its potentially complex nature of patriotism. Instead of making full use of the interesting situation, "The Last Castle" goes in a very familar territory where many previous prison dramas have treaded before. But ... here's an irony ... the film is very engaging and entertaining as the latter.

Robert Redford is General Irwin (and three-star general), who disobeyed a direct order from the President and was found guilty at court marshal. Irwin, now stripped of his honor, is sent to the prison where Col. Winter (James Gandolfini) maneges with strict rules. At first, Irwin was thinking of nothing but "doing time, and going home," dreaming of the day (ten years ahead) when he can play chess with his still unseen grandson. But the situation around him, which is so severe for some inmates of the prison, wakes up something in Irwin: his anger against injustice. With his leadership, the convicted men, once deprived of pride, now believe that he is the man to rely on, and start to follow him.

In 1980, Robert Redford was in a similar (but with a totally diffrent tone) film called "Brubaker." If you remember that, or have the fresh memory of "Shawshank" and many other dramas set in prison, it is not hard for you to guess the development of the story. I must say here that for all its predictable plot, "The Last Castle" never fails to grab your attention. After all, Redford is always good at playing this type of hero, and Gandolfini supplies us exactly the kind of man who should be despised and ridiculed. Delroy Lindo's cameo gives a fresh air at the right moment, and you also got an uncredited appearance of one famous actress R.W. (or R.W.P.) as Irwin's daughter.

However, some might find problems right with those things -- Redford did too many roles like this in the past back from the 1970s, and he can do it while sleeping. Gandolfini pumps up his acting, and probably that is suitable for this kind of person, but if you have seen "The Mexican" (and yes, "The Sopranos") you know he can do it better than that, and could have shown more complicated side of the character. Inexplicably, Col. Winter seems to have his say at some moment (when he talks about his predecessor), but he is not allowed to do that. That is manipulating, some might say, considering the difficult nature of his job at prison. I agree with them.

There are even swell action scenes; there is a character who you judge soon is going to get killed, and you judge it right. There are many elements we find in prison dramas, and if you complain them, you will dislike the film. Your complaint is justified; only, you just have to forget it, to enjoy the drama which is in itself very gripping. But talking about the "waving flag," I just don't think that the US military system needs drastic events of this magnitude.

See this one as a good textbook about the quality of leadership, and as an absorbing tale of men and their pride. As such "The Last Castle" should be seen.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Last Castle" is action-packed and emotional!!, January 29, 2002

By 

Nicholas Williams "movie, music, and book fan" (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Castle (DVD)

"The Last Castle" is among one of the best prison dramas that I have ever seen since...ever! It is so thrilling, so entertaining that you would have to see it again and again! And Robert Redford's performance just couldn't be better! "The Last Castle" focuses on General Eugene Irwin (Redford) a three-star general who is being sent to a military prison for defying a presidential order, but did so heroically. There, he meets Colonel Winter (an excellent James Gandolfini), who has the utmost amount of respect for the general. Winter is a man who has never seen combat, and when Irwin sneeks a peek at Winter's battlefield memorabilia, that's when we know that they won't be seeing eye to eye for a long time. The other inmates, among them are Mark Ruffalo as the prison booky, Yates, decide to go to the general about the treatment of the prison. And that's when the real war begins! General Irwin rallied up the other prisoners into taking over the prison as a result of protesting the sadistic colonel/warden's abuse of his power. In a way, it's World War III...but inside of a prison! "The Last Castle" has it all, action, drama, great storytelling, and a top-notch cast that's hard to beat! This is a DVD must-own to your collection! Truly one of the best Robert Redford movies ever!