# The Final Programme
**The Final Programme** is a 1973 British science fiction film written and directed by Robert Fuest, based on [Michael Moorcock](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-moorcock)'s 1968 novel of the same name, the first of his Jerry Cornelius books. It stars [Jon Finch](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-finch) as the physicist and playboy adventurer Jerry Cornelius, who hunts for a microfilm containing his late father's design for a perfect, self-replicating human being. Released in the United States under the title **The Last Days of Man on Earth**, the film received a lukewarm critical and commercial response on release but later attracted a cult following, and it remains the only cinematic adaptation of one of Moorcock's novels.[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/final_programme_the) • [2](https://moorcography.org/the-final-programme/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Robert Fuest, then known for The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971) and episodes of The Avengers[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/final_programme_the) |
| Source | The Final Programme, serialized in New Worlds (August and December 1965, March 1966) and published as a novel in 1968; first of the Jerry Cornelius tetralogy[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/final_programme_the) |
| Lead cast | Jon Finch as Jerry Cornelius, Jenny Runacre as Miss Brunner, Sterling Hayden as Major Wrongway Lindbergh[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/) |
| Running time | 89 minutes in the British version; the US release was cut[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/final_programme_the) • [4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/) |
| Key crew | Lighting cameraman Norman Warwick, editor Barrie Vince, music by Paul Beaver and Bernard Krause[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/) |
| Production | Goodtimes Enterprises/Gladiole Films, made at EMI-MGM Studios, England; produced by John Goldstone and Sandy Lieberson[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/) |
| Adaptation status | The only Moorcock novel to have reached the screen[2](https://moorcography.org/the-final-programme/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
In a decaying future world, Jerry Cornelius attends the funeral of his father, a Nobel Prize-winning bio-physicist who developed the "final programme": a code that could be encoded into the human bio-computer at a molecular level to create a self-healing, self-replicating, potentially immortal humanoid superbeing, which the father believed was the only way humanity could survive a post-apocalyptic global collapse.[4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/) The formula exists on a microfilm hidden in the vaults of the family mansion, guarded by Jerry's drug-addicted, psychopathic brother Frank (Derrick O'Connor).[5](https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/the-final-programme/umc.cmc.4py5joml95xxiheobmkbffx1x)
Cornelius falls in with the formidable Miss Brunner, who literally consumes her lovers during sex, and her associates, and the group heads for an abandoned underground Nazi fortress in the Arctic where [Cornelius](https://www.edgepedia.org/cornelius) and Miss Brunner are to become the first subjects of the Final Programme.[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/) In the finale, the two are merged into a single being: the film substitutes a shambling, grinning ape-man for the hermaphroditic messiah-figure of Moorcock's novel, a change the Science Fiction Encyclopedia describes as rendering the book's apotheosis farcical.[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/final_programme_the) • [6](https://fantastic-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013_Abstracts.pdf)
## The source novel
Moorcock's The Final Programme is the first volume of the Jerry Cornelius tetralogy, followed by A Cure for Cancer, The English Assassin, and The Condition of Muzak (1977). Across the four stories Cornelius is reincarnated into different scenarios that are not directly linked but resonate with one another; the character is gender-fluid, possibly hermaphrodite, and able to survive death by jumping between realities.[4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/) The Science Fiction Encyclopedia notes that the novel, though not as strong as the other three books, was sophisticated in its ironies.[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/final_programme_the)
Moorcock's central premise responded to ideas in John Lilly's 1968 work Programming and [Metaprogramming](https://www.edgepedia.org/metaprogramming) in the Human Biocomputer, which proposed a systematic approach to the correlation between physiology and consciousness; in the fiction, both physical and mental make-up could be altered by inserting an actual dataset into a living person.[4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/) The novel is also a loose re-telling of several earlier stories featuring Moorcock's sorcerer [Elric of Melniboné](https://www.edgepedia.org/elric-of-melnibone), and Cornelius can be read as an alternative expression of Moorcock's "eternal champion" concept.[4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/)
## Production
Fuest designed the film himself, working with art director Phillip Harrison and a young Roger Christian, who later worked on [Star Wars](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-wars) (1977). Production ran consecutive to Fuest's Dr Phibes films, and the [Art Deco](https://www.edgepedia.org/art-deco)-influenced sets carry a similar theatrical style.[4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/) The opening funeral sequence, set in Lapland where the frozen ground forces a pyre burial, was filmed in Almeria, Spain, a location familiar from [Sergio Leone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sergio-leone)'s westerns.[4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/)
**Casting and music.** Jon Finch replaced [Timothy Dalton](https://www.edgepedia.org/timothy-dalton) in the lead at the last minute.[7](https://horrornews.net/65925/film-review-the-final-programme-1973/) The supporting cast includes [Sterling Hayden](https://www.edgepedia.org/sterling-hayden), Harry Andrews, Hugh Griffith, Julie Ege, Patrick Magee, Graham Crowden, George Coulouris, Ronald Lacey, and Sarah Douglas and Derrick O'Connor in early screen roles.[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/) • [7](https://horrornews.net/65925/film-review-the-final-programme-1973/) The space rock band Hawkwind was meant to appear in the film, but their scenes were cut, reportedly after their playing deafened a crew unused to their volume; the band and Moorcock, who was to have had a small cameo, can barely be glimpsed in the background of the amusement arcade scene.[8](https://eofftvreview.wordpress.com/2026/01/22/the-final-programme-1973/) The score is by the electronic duo Beaver and Krause.[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/)
Moorcock was indirectly involved with the production but did not find the experience enjoyable. Producer Sandy Lieberson of Goodtimes Enterprises, fresh from [Performance](https://www.edgepedia.org/performance) (1970), was keen on the novel, but early financing efforts failed and a script was shelved; the project revived only when Fuest raised the finance.[7](https://horrornews.net/65925/film-review-the-final-programme-1973/) Fuest hoped to adapt the Jerry Cornelius books into a four-film franchise, but poor ticket sales and troubled distribution ended those plans; the international release was delayed, and for the United States the film was trimmed and retitled The Last Days of Man on Earth. Moorcock was unhappy with the final product.[4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/)
## Reception
The film opened in the UK in early October 1973 to divided reviews. Several critics admired its visual style while finding the story hard to follow. The [Financial Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/financial-times) praised its colorful sets, witty lines, and supporting cast,[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/) and The Telegraph called it "a very stylish parody indeed, and very inventive, too, of the science-fiction genre."[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/) [The Observer](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-observer)'s George Melly argued that Fuest used science fiction conventions as satire, presenting a world of gleaming technology amid squalor and using the conventions of the [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) series, and found the exercise a success.[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/) Others were harsher: The Times' David Robinson called it alternately tedious and irritating, and the Monthly Film Bulletin judged that Fuest's concern with decorative imagery let the plot founder.[3](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/)
Publicity around the film's X certificate gave it notoriety, and it drew a cult following as science fiction gained momentum through the 1970s; its UK Blu-ray debut carries a 15 certificate.[4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/) Later assessments have been warmer. A 2013 Guardian review of the DVD release wrote that while the film may not have much respect for its source material, it "gloriously capture[s] the satirical humour and pop-art stylings of the time."[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/05/the-final-programme-review) A DVD commentary tradition describes a "love it or hate it" reputation, noting that the small budget and period special effects forced key set pieces from the book to be re-imagined on a drastically smaller scale, which hurt the film with readers of the novel.[10](https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s4376lee.html) A 2023 retrospective review scored it 6.9 out of 10, praising Finch and Runacre's performances and calling the planned sequels based on further Moorcock novels a loss.[11](https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/film-reviews/the-final-programme/)
## Legacy
Although the character of Jerry Cornelius has been reborn many times through graphic novels and song lyrics, The Final Programme remains his only big-screen incarnation, and as of the mid-2020s it is still the only film adaptation of any Moorcock novel.[4](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/) • [2](https://moorcography.org/the-final-programme/) The film has been called "an interesting document of an important period in British science fiction literature," and scholars note that Fuest's screenplay largely preserves the narrative core of the novel while systematically repressing its more shocking elements and radically altering its conclusion.[6](https://fantastic-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013_Abstracts.pdf) The film is available on Blu-ray and digital from [StudioCanal](https://www.edgepedia.org/studiocanal) following a new restoration.[5](https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/the-final-programme/umc.cmc.4py5joml95xxiheobmkbffx1x) • [11](https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/film-reviews/the-final-programme/)
## References
1. [Final Programme, The, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (entry updated 18 January 2017)](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/final_programme_the)
2. ['The Final Programme', Moorcography.org](https://moorcography.org/the-final-programme/)
3. [The Final Programme (1973), EOFFTV, The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television](https://eofftv.com/the-final-programme-1973/)
4. [The Final Programme (1973), Frame Rated, review by Remy Dean (20 February 2023)](https://www.framerated.co.uk/final-programme-1973/)
5. [The Final Programme, Apple TV (UK)](https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/the-final-programme/umc.cmc.4py5joml95xxiheobmkbffx1x)
6. [Recalculating the Apocalypse: Michael Moorcock's The Final Programme and Adaptation, conference abstract, International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (2013)](https://fantastic-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013_Abstracts.pdf)
7. [Film Review: The Final Programme (1973), HorrorNews.net](https://horrornews.net/65925/film-review-the-final-programme-1973/)
8. [The Final Programme (1973), The EOFFTV Review (22 January 2026)](https://eofftvreview.wordpress.com/2026/01/22/the-final-programme-1973/)
9. [The Final Programme, out this week on DVD & Blu-ray, The Guardian (5 October 2013)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/05/the-final-programme-review)
10. [DVD Savant Region 2 PAL Review: The Final Programme (The Last Days of Man on Earth), DVD Talk](https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s4376lee.html)
11. [The Final Programme (1973) – Film Review, On: Magazine, review by Sarah Morgan](https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/film-reviews/the-final-programme/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1970s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license