The Last of England

1987
6.5| 1h27m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 23 August 1987 Released
Producted By: Tartan Films
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

The artist's personal commentary on the decline of his country in a language closer to poetry than prose. A dark meditation on London under Thatcher.

Genre

Drama

Watch Online

The Last of England (1987) is currently not available on any services.

Director

Derek Jarman

Production Companies

Tartan Films

The Last of England Videos and Images
View All
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

The Last of England Audience Reviews

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
Theo Robertson I once attended University film classes and one of the courses was in European cinema . Our tutor Rolland was a flamboyant , larger than life character , very erudite and knowledgeable in his field but his tastes weren't exactly mainstream and one night the class was doing experimental European cinema " Now we're going to be seeing some Derek Jarman " " Aw no " I cried " " Ah Theo you must hate me ? " " Well thatdepends on what we're watching . It's not the last of England is it ? "" yes it is "" Aw no " I shrieked by which time the atmosphere in the class became one of intrigue as the other students became curious as to why a film could bring out such emotions from someone " but it's totally gay " Rolland replied in camp mock anger " Of course it's gay . Jarman was gay , he died from AIDS didn't you know that " " That's no excuse to wave penises at the screen " Laughs from the other students " Ah Theo now I understand - you have a small penis problem " cue laughter from the other students that seemed to last a lifetime I'd certainly recommend a Rolland film class . They're always interesting and informative with interaction class discussion and much laughter . The downside is you have to watch a Jarman film now and again Derek Jarman in invariably described as " a challenging film maker " which is pseudo-speak for pretentious art house garbage . TLOE is Jarman at his most challenging indeed and anyone attracted to narrative cinema need not to watch this The story at its most basic features a post apocalypse landscape and images that almost defy description . A youth has sex with a painting , a woman played by Tilda Swinton tears off her wedding dress , a man forages for food in a dustbin , with the images cutting to para military soldiers patrolling the devastated streets . Add to this abstract voice overs , sequences filmed in black and white 8 mm . time lapse photography and homosexual frotting and you've got a film that will only appeal to the most pretentious art-house cinema junkie . The only reason for watching it is that you can claim you've seen one of the most ostentatious films ever made and remind yourself that rubbish like this used to appear on Channel 4 every Thursday in the late 1980s and that British cinema was taking quantum leaps in quality ten years later
jpcogg I lasted through about 12 minutes---I came back to IMDb---I read the reviews.Do you have to major in Critical Thinking, Women's Studies, or some other new lefty claptrap to write reviews for IMDb---or maybe just to watch such astoundingly useless incoherent trash as this.Margaret Thatcher was very popular with MANY people in Great Britain. She was elected over and over. She rescued Great Britain from a nightmare of lefty Labour socialist dreams---just as Degaulle rescued France a decade or so previous.The dreams of the left have lead, over and over and over to , at best, stagnation, hopelessness, and despair; and at worst to the murder of millions of people (read The Black Book of Communism, or Harvest of Sorrow).Calling something art does not make it art.
Shawn Watson This film seems to be a bizarre hybrid of David Lynch at his most weirdest and Jim Jarmush on an acid trip. There is no linear progression or any character development. Or any real characters when I think about it. Or story. Just a very strange mixture of disgusting visuals and gay imagery.For the first half of the movie we linger on a bunch of hobos in a demolished wasteland. We can't really tell if they are just living in an old factory or if the world has been destroyed by nuclear apocalypse. These scenes are tinted (or flooded) by either red, green or blue. The guys just walk around and stuff. Nothing special. I don't know why I didn't walk out of this movie. Obviously some part of it held my attention. I don't know what though. What's even stranger is that I WOULD recommend this film to others. If you like movies it's a good idea to see a few bizarre ones. If you don't like it that's fine. But I bet you can't fully explain WHY you don't like it. I can't explain why I even sat thru it.It's good to see. Even though it doesn't have the normal things associated with movies. IE script, producer and well…I dunno. Not much dialogue either.
martyne I saw this film several months ago and was the last Derek Jarman film I saw, having loved his others...This simply blew my mind. I loved everything about it.