I saw the ads for "The Last Days Of Man On Earth" well before I could watch "R" films, but I was always wanting to see it. It dropped into a bit of obscurity stateside, and it was years before I found a copy. Shortly after I saw it, Anchor Bay issued the uncut original in limited quantities, and I managed to grab one.

well, the book is better. But Jon Finch is the perfect Jerry Cornelius, and this may be his best work. Jenny Runacre is every bit as good as "Miss Brunner", though her character doesn't quite embody the written character to the degree of Finch. Ron Lacey also shines, in a brief turn as the sun glassed assassin, "Shades", walking straight out of the books pages.

The low budget is disguised well, but the film needed a bit more for effects, relying on a lot of color tinting, sound effects, and old style inflatable "sculptures", to fill the screen.

Moorcock hates it, but this embodies the spirit that fueled "New Worlds", the science fiction magazine that brought Moorcock to the worlds attention, rather well, invoking much classic British entertainment of the recent past. The original cut is preferable, but "The Last Days Of Man On Earth" is a completely different edit of the film, not just a retitling. The differences aren't major, but the US removes everything that even borders on superfluous, with much minor trimming being done to almost every scene. In an odd parallel with "A Boy And His Dog", it follows the overall story arc acceptably, but adds a joke in poor taste to the conclusion, and many have found that alone, was enough to sour their perceptions.

It comes close to bringing Moorcocks world to the cinema, but isn't quite there. Here's hoping that someone might make another attempt.

THE FINAL PROGRAMME is a drug-induced slice of sci-fi craziness, based on a novel by popular fantasy writer Michael Moorcock. Having a fondness for '70s-era science fiction such as LOGAN'S RUN, I was hoping to like this, but the sad truth is that it turns out to be a completely unconvincing dud of a film, far too light-hearted and campy to succeed.

The once-familiar actor Jon Finch, so good in FRENZY and MACBETH, gives a hideous performance as the arrogant protagonist, tasked with hunting down a secret microfilm in a world on the edge of the apocalypse. Various oddball supporting characters turn up to either help or hinder him, and the supporting cast is certainly the best thing about this; seeing the familiar faces of Harry Andrews, Julie Ege, Hugh Griffith, Graham Crowden, and Patrick Magee is certainly a pleasure, but they're not enough to distract from this film's overwhelming silliness. I don't mind a bit of camp but this film goes way over the top and as a result is simply stupid.

This is a rather bizarre film to try to describe, a future where the population is now at a minimum and they don't have long to survive. That future consists of mansions that turn into fun houses, one brother trying to outwit another (and vice versa),a sexy femme fatale and a plethora of doddering old character actors, both British and American.

This is purely a visual treat, slight in a believable plot and bizarrely convoluted yet a lot of fun if you can tolerate the ridiculous elements of it all. Jon Finch is the hero, although I'd hardly describe him as a desireable one, dealing with the seductive Jenny Runacre, not someone you can define well as far as characterization she plays.

Such character actors like Sterling Hayden, Harry Andrews and Hugh Griffith appear, their wacky parts like futuristic versions of the inventors from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". Sarah Douglas has a small part as Finch's old girlfriend who has a pill addiction. The traps of the mansion in the early scenes are fun, but after a while, you begin to wonder what pills the writer was taking. The ending is one I can envision the audience looking at each other and asking, "Huh?"