Contrary to the apparent chaos of the later Cornelius novels, The Final Programme is quite structured, being an alternative retelling of major episodes of the saga of Elric of Melniboné, with the various characters each taking roles similar to those of the earlier stories: Jerry as Elric, Catherine as Cymoril, and Miss Brunner as Stormbringer.

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. 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. I haven’t come up with an answer yet, so I shall just plough on and hope for the best… “Formidable”Studio Canal’s release as part of the ‘Cult Classics’ line contains a gorgeous transfer that beautifully represents the whimsical and varied cinematography on display. Extras accompanying the feature include the aforementioned short documentary by Kim Newman, ‘A Feast of Fuest’ – where the film critic and horror author explains his affection for The Final Programme and Robert Fuest’s other works, from The Avengers to The Devil’s Rain), an interview with Jenny Runacre, an alternate version of the opening sequence taken from the film’s Italian release, and a selection of trailers from both the UK and US (where the film was re-edited and retitled as The Last Days of Man on Earth) cinema releases, with the US trailer largely spoiling the film’s ending. OK, I've seen it...nope, not making sense...watch it again...nope, not getting it...hang on, I'll read the book maybe that will help...nada...

Complete with sex, nudity, action, and a bit of globe-trotting, "The Final Programme" also benefits from the striking visual approach by production designer / screenwriter / director Robert Fuest, whose other 70s feature films include the "Dr. Phibes" movies, "And Soon the Darkness", and "The Devils' Rain". Bizarre and stylish, it can get goofy at times, but it's definitely not boring.Sounds bonkers? Well, that’s because it is. But it’s also hugely entertaining, fast-paced, dazzling and enthralling. It helps that Finch makes an intriguing hero; his performance is matched all the way by that of Jenny Runacre as Miss Brunner who may or may not have Cornelius’s best interests at heart. 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 ?,

The scientists put the Final Programme into operation; the process requires that Miss Brunner be combined with another person to form a hermaphroditic being. Brunner chooses Jerry over the scientists' intended subject, Dmitri, and she traps Dmitri in a lethal steambath. Dmitri escapes Brunner's trap and fights Jerry, who is severely wounded. Brunner intervenes at the last moment, shooting Dmitri but not killing him. The scientists, working against time, scramble to re-calibrate their experiment for Jerry, who is placed inside a large chamber with Brunner. As the process reaches its climax, the two subjects are bathed by solar radiation and blur into each other. The barely controlled process heats the equipment outside to destruction and the scientists are left either dead or insensible. A single being emerges from the chamber. Dmitri confronts the creature. Unseen at first, the being speaks with Jerry's voice. The creature does not know if it is a Messiah but is sure that its creation means the end of an age. When seen from the onlookers' perspective, the being is Jerry Cornelius, his body now altered to appear as a hunched, pre-modern hominid. The creature leaves Brunner's hidden base and observes that it is "a very tasty world".

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I have no idea what American audiences thought when confronted by the Robert Fuest directed and written The Final Programme, released here as The Last Days of Man on Earth. How does one write about a film that’s mindbogglingly bizarre and outlandish without making it sounds as if it’s best left well alone?