70s Sc-Fi Classic The Final Programme Coming To Cult Classics

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Jon Finch (Frenzy) heads an impressive cast as the flamboyant anti-hero of this dystopian, darkly humorous and very adult sci-fi thriller from writer/director Robert Fuest – best-known for the Dr Phibes horror films starring Vincent Price and the original The Avengers TV series, and the acclaimed STUDIOCANAL release And Soon The Darkness. Based on cult novelist Michael Moorcock’s acclaimed 1968 novel, and produced by David Puttnam (Stardust, Chariots of Fire) THE FINAL PROGRAMME is presented here in a new restoration making it’s Blu-ray premiere, which brilliantly showcases Fuest’s flamboyant and stylish visuals and production design.

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…

Jon Finch is outstanding as the black-clad Cornelius, who is like a rock ‘n’ roll James Bond with a PhD, dropped into a psychedelic, action packed sci-fi – and going a little ape in the process (in a sequence that predates the cosmic mayhem of Ken Russell’s Altered States). The amazing cast makes the film a must-watch in itself – legendary American actor Sterling Hayden (in what seems like a carry on of his wild role in Dr. Strangelove), Jenny Runacre (Antonioni’s The Passenger), Graham Crowden (Britannia Hospital), Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange, The Avengers), Ronald Lacey (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Harry Andrews (Hawk the Slayer), and genre favourites Julie Ege (The Mutations) and Sarah Douglas (Superman).

The Final Programme will be released on February 20th.