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The Last Days of Man on Earth (1974 England)

 
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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 12:00 pm    Post subject: The Last Days of Man on Earth (1974 England) Reply with quote

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[Also released as: "The Final Programme"]

Writer-director Robert Fuest ("The Abominable Dr. Phibes") attempted this screen version of Michael Moorcock's literary hero, Jerry Cornelius, a genetically superior human being.

Set in a post-holocaust future, Cornelius (Jon Finch) is looking for a lost microfilm with information needed to reverse the effects of mankind's sterility. Jenny Runacre has other ideas; she isn't sterile, and she wants to mate with Finch to produce a superman messiah. They try it, but the results are decidedly disappointing.

The plot is fast-paced, but it isn't glued together very well, resulting in a frustratingly episodic narrative. However, there are no complaints with the supporting cast: Sterling Hayden, Patrick Magee, Harry Andres, George Coulouris, and Julie Ege ("The Creatures that Time Forgot", "The Mutations").

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Sep 09, 2022 12:27 pm; edited 9 times in total
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Rick
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Joined: 25 Feb 2016
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I saw this a couple of times on some old movie channel (Escapade, maybe?) then taped it and watched it a couple more times. And I still don't know what the damn thing is about. Nice to look at though. Director Robert Fuest always made interesting-looking movies.

I guess I really need to see THE FINAL PROGRAMME which is, I gather, a cleaner, uncut version of the story. Still gonna be weird, I imagine, but maybe comprehensible.

This did lead me to at least read one of Michael Moorcock's books, BEHOLD THE MAN, which is just terrific.

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Nor lie in death forever,
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Custer
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Joined: 22 Aug 2015
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote



Quote:
Jon Finch heads an impressive cast as the flamboyant anti-hero of this dystopian, darkly humorous sci-fi thriller from cult director Robert Fuest - best-known for the stylishly cult Dr Phibes horror films starring Vincent Price. Based on Michael Moorcock's acclaimed 1968 novel, The Final Programme is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.

In a far-off future, mankind is in a state of decay. But a group of scientists believe they have found the means to move humanity on to its next level in the creation of an ideal, self-replicating - and thus immortal - human being. Jerry Cornelius, Nobel Prize-winning physicist and playboy adventurer, is vital to the project's success: his recently deceased father devised the formula of this 'final programme'. However, the formula is captured on a microfilm hidden in the vaults of the family's mansion, and jealously guarded by Jerry's drug-addicted, psychopathic brother, Frank...


Hmm, not a bad price on the UK Amazon site... Smile
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I was surprised when I saw that the initial thread-starting post I made (exactly one year ago today), lacked a poster. I guess I just forgot to add it.

But the poster I added at the top of the thread today is an altered version of the original, because I was appalled by the gaudy blue background the artwork was given. It ruined an otherwise fine work of art. I'm sure the original artist hated it. Sad


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I replaced the background with the lighter of the two neutral grays which All Sci-Fi's uses for it's own background, like this.


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That, of course, gave me room to enlarge the text at the top and bottom, for greater impact. And I sharpened the faded colors, along with repairing some damage caused by fold lines in the original paper.

I didn't remove all the fragments of the original blue around the letters at the bottom because (A) they created an appealing abstract background for the text, and (B) it would have taken me hours to get all the little sons-of-bi . . . little devils. So, I left them. Rolling Eyes

Here's the version I posted at the top of this thread.
Very Happy


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:07 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Custer
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Joined: 22 Aug 2015
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting. Rather a different approach, publicity-wise, between the US and UK efforts, with Britain settling for some fairly prosaic pale blue and purple photography, while America went for a "Planet of the Apes as Rock Star" vibe. I don't know what the US artist thought of the blue area - he seems to have had a problem with necks, or the placing of heads on top of them... unless someone else decided to "improve" his original work, of course! Very Happy
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 12:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Custer wrote:
I don't know what the US artist thought of the blue area - he seems to have had a problem with necks, or the placing of heads on top of them... unless someone else decided to "improve" his original work, of course! Very Happy

I promise that all I did was get rid of the god-awful blue and pump up the text size and color level. Very Happy

But if I'd wanted to fiddle with the figures and their proportions, I wouldn't have hesitated for an instant. That's the beauty of having your own message board, a hundred-dollar Logitech mouse that I plan to be buried with, and a valid "artistic license" in my wallet!

That, plus a sixty-year-old "What the hell? attitude, and no jpeg remains unaltered around this old boy for very long if fiddling with it provides a little fun. Cool

PS: Now that you mention it, all the necks in the poster do look a trifle long, don't they? Hmmm . . .

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____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Custer
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Joined: 22 Aug 2015
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hadn't thought that the heads and necks might have been changed by you, I was assuming that the poster production people might have done that, along with adding the blue areas. But feel free to work some graphics magic! Wink
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