ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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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)

[Rick]

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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Man need not kneel before the angels,
Nor lie in death forever,
But for the weakness of his feeble will.

[Custer]

[Bud Brewster]

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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.


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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.

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


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

[Custer]

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!

[Bud Brewster]

[Custer]

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!