Red-Barracuda I first became aware of this movie at a young age when a couple of stills from it were replicated in a sci-fi book I owned. One of those pictures showed an elaborate colourful nightclub set with giant inflatables and girls in large translucent spheres. Needless to say, I had to check this movie out! I was aware of the character Jerry Cornelius without actually having read any of the Michael Moorcock books which featured him; in fact I first became aware of the character when Games Workshop brought out a metal figurine of him for use in role playing games. Anyhow, I am digressing somewhat, so back to the movie. Its story isn't really its strong point to be perfectly honest. It essentially boils down to Cornelius hooking up with a computer expert called Miss Brunner in order to retrieve a micro-film containing details of the Final Programme, which is a revolutionary scientific process conceived of by Cornelius' late father, which will lead to the creation a self-replicating hermaphrodite messiah. But first the micro-film must be taken by force from Cornelius' deranged brother Frank.The director for this one was Robert Fuest, who was responsible for the 'Dr. Phibes' movies. Like those inventive horror films, this one is visually very interesting, with great set designs and lots of colour. It's a mid-70's future, so it is wild and over-the-top in the manner that many of the best sci-fi films from the period were. The night club for instance is a pop art masterpiece with gaudy décor aplenty and a fantastic colour overload all round. It also has nuns playing fruit machines, and seemingly the members of the space rock band Hawkwind lurking in the background. You could almost say that this scene encapsulates the film as a whole, as it has a primary focus on visuals and a healthy dose of humour, with narrative logic a distant third. This basic formula is maintained throughout with cool detached characters played with distant ironic performances populating a highly stylized world in a story with a screenplay which could charitably be described as 'uneven'. So in order to get anything out of this one I would suggest that you really have to be interested in its visual ideas and overall weird ambiance, as opposed to the narrative itself. Like many of its 70's peers it is a slice of pessimistic sci-fi, set in a possible post-apocalyptic Earth where there is a suggestion that there is an impending disaster yet to come. The ideas don't truthfully seem to be treated entirely seriously, with the jokey tone suggesting that you shouldn't pay too much attention to the story-line. The odd, half-baked ending merely cements this notion further.But I definitely got a kick out of this one. The performances are commendably game, with Jon Finch really very good as Cornelius, the chocolate biscuit addicted dandy of the future. Even better was Jenny Runacre in a thoroughly commandingly sexy performance as Miss Brunner, a bi-sexual predator who literally absorbs her lovers (somehow). There are also some solid cameo appearances from the always weird Patrick Magee as an associate of the demented Frank and Sterling Hayden giving a somewhat bizarre turn as an unhinged military expert. This very strange British sci-fi movie can fairly be described as a cult item. Its anarchic devil-may-care presentation, with some interesting characters and pop art future stylings make it one for fans of weird 70's sci-fi in particular and of strange 70's movies in general. Definitely something of an acquired taste though that is for sure but if you have a taste for baroque, left-of-centre movies and don't mind flippant disregard for trivialities such as plot, then you could have a good time with this one!

gpeltz The Last Days of Man on Earth, (1973) otherwise called, The Final Programme. It was directed by Robert Fuest, and co written with Michael Moorcock, Spoiler alert I will be talking about the movie. But first, first impressions. Its an English movie, I do not remember it theatrically released, It slipped by me. I found it rather like The Prisoner, on acid. or like the movies that Mike Myers spoofed with his Auston Powers series. It was made two years after,"Zabriskie Point" British films were going through this "thing" about being offbeat. It was never taking itself serious, Oddball music, snappy dialogue, and deliberate "artistic" set ups played out, with little plot to go on. The movie stared Jon Finch, as the ruffle shirted, Jerry Cornelius, It is suppose to take place in the future, Never depicted, but referred to in the film, was the Third World War. It didn't seem to phase any of the goings on in this movie. Jerry is the surviving son of a great inventor, who before he died, developed a computer program called the " Final Programme", It would bestow upon one person, immortality, with the knowledge of all mankind. The created being could reproduce itself, and do all kinds of other nutty things, like rule the world.Mrs Brunner, played by Jenny Runacre, leads a group of scientists who want the programme, for their super advanced computer, that looks rather like a copying machine. Sterling Hayden is also on board. How do we know the film is tongue in cheek ?, "Heard they bombed Amsterdam, about time they did something right" The problem being, if the film does not take itself seriously, why should we care, as clever as it all is the plot is obscured. For a while though its a fun ride, with an anything can happen, openness, About three quarters of the way in, you may be glancing at your watch. Truly an oddball film, ranks high on the "strange movie", List. Production values were OK, it says it was shot in Technicolor, Maybe, but not the print I caught. I thought it looked more like a BBC television production. Some nice exterior shots, and totally senseless band music. I give this film Seven out of Ten Psychedelic Stars. . .

Judexdot1 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.

jher Moorcock hates this movie and says its a travesty. I'd heard that Mick Jagger was supposed to play the role but turned it down. Personally, I find this movie to be great! I've been a long-time fan of "The Cornelius Chronicles", the first story of which this movie based on. Granted, I think the director/writer's modification of the book's original ending SUCKS but up until that point it is a great movie. I especially enjoyed the needle gun design. Very clever indeed. I think that this movie captures the essence of the original story and tries very hard to get as close as possible to the book, however it does lack in several areas. If you are a Moorcock fan (Elric, Corum, Carnelian, etc.) check out this movie.