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The Last of England | |
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Directed by | Derek Jarman |
Written by | Derek Jarman |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Narrated by | Nigel Terry |
Cinematography | Derek Jarman, Christopher Hughes, Richard Heslop, Cerith Wyn Evans |
Edited by | Derek Jarman, Peter Cartwright, Angus Cook |
Music by | |
Release dates |
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Running time | 87 min. |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | GBP£276,000 |
The Last of England is a 1987 British arthouse film directed by Derek Jarman and starring Tilda Swinton.
It is a poetic depiction of what Jarman felt was the loss of traditional English culture in the 1980s and his anger about Thatcher's England, [1] [2] including the formation of Section 28 Local Government Act. [3] It is named after The Last of England, a painting by Ford Madox Brown. [3]
One of the film's most famous scenes is of Tilda Swinton as a bride mourning her executed husband. [1] The scene was shot near the director's home on the beach of Dungeness, Kent. [3]
Jarman wrote a book, with the same title, to accompany the film. [4]
Derek Jarman received the 1988 Teddy Award in Berlin for the film. Also Tilda Swinton received the jury prize for her performance in the film. [5]
On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an average score of 68%, based on 3 reviews. [6]
'What proof do you need the world's curling up like an autumn leaf?' wrote Time Out magazine. [7]
David Bezanson wrote that the film is “graphic and disorienting, yet also totally trite". [2]
Two versions of the soundtrack album were released on the Mute Records label. The LP has one side ("Bombers") by Simon Turner, and the other ("Diplomat") by a variety of performers, including Mayo Thompson with Albert Oehlen and Tilda Swinton; Andy Gill with Dean Garcia, Barry Adamson and Martin McCarrick, Brian Gulland and Diamanda Galas. The CD version includes all of this material and a third section, "Dead to the World", primarily by Turner.[ citation needed]