LAST SUMMER (1969)

Last summer was too beautiful to forget. And too painful to remember.

Set during a languid season on Fire Island, Last Summer is a stark and unsettling coming-of-age drama that captures the disaffection and moral drift of the late 1960s with unflinching honesty. Directed by Frank Perry (Diary of a Mad Housewife) and adapted by Eleanor Perry from Evan Hunter's provocative novel, the film follows four teenagers—played by Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas, Bruce Davison, and Catherine Burns (in an unforgettable Oscar®-nominated performance)—whose summer of idle freedom and social detachment gradually gives way to tragedy. Shot in a naturalistic style, Last Summer eschews easy judgments, instead presenting a chilling examination of youthful entitlement and emotional void. Perry's restrained direction and the cast's fearless performances lend the film a haunting authenticity that resonates long after the final frame. Last Summer is one of the most powerful, daunting, and uncompromising American films of its time. Long unavailable for viewing, Last Summer has been meticulously restored and reconstructed especially for this Warner Archive Blu-ray presentation.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• NEW 4K RESTORATION AND RECONSTRUCTION FROM THE CAMERA NEGATIVE AND PRESERVATION ELEMENTS
• NEW feature-length audio commentary by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Larry Karaszewski and film historian/author Justin Bozung
• NEW Post-screening Q&A at the American Cinematheque in Santa Monica with Larry Karaszewski, Barbara Hershey and Bruce Davison (3/29/2026)
• NEW Post-screening Q&A at the Paris Theater in New York with Larry Karaszewski and Richard Thomas (5/3/2026)
• Trailers from Hell with commentary by Larry Karaszewski
• Deleted Scene with Richard Thomas and Ralph Waite
• Allied Artists Promotional Reel
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature