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August 8, 2020 11:53 AM   Subscribe

Last and First Men: a new film. The "70-minute cine-novella or essay film" (Peter Bradshaw) is based on Olaf Stapledon's 1930 novel (Gutenberg Australia etext).

It's posthumous work by Jóhann Jóhannsson, who wrote the music, collaborating with Yair Elazar Glotman. The film "began as a multimedia project in 2017" (Andrew Liptak).
It is narrated by Tilda Swinton.

Available on BFI player.

Some or all of the soundtrack is available on YouTube from the Jóhann Jóhannsson channel, like Childhood / Land Of The Young.

One review. Another. Another. One more.

Previously on the blue: Olaf Stapledon, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Tilda Swinton.
posted by doctornemo (9 comments total) 24 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'd love to watch this. I can't seem to find it anywhere other than BFI. Any suggestions?
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 12:54 PM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]


Jóhannsson was brilliant, one of my favorite composers; I've been looking forward to this for a long time. Haven't seen it yet, but it's a total dream project and I'm really glad it got to see completion in some form after all.

Thanks for making this post.
posted by Lonnrot at 1:23 PM on August 8, 2020 [1 favorite]


Apparently it's only available on BFI now. There is also access from Amazon Prime Video UK, where it notes that you can get a gratis 7-day pass to BFI.
posted by theoriginalkdawson at 2:34 PM on August 8, 2020


Eh.... Tilda Swinton you say? Well yes, I DO want to see that!

Hadn't heard of Stapleton or Jóhannsson, but both are now on my read/listen lists, thank you!
posted by esoteric things at 3:22 PM on August 8, 2020


From 2017? Wow how could I have missed this one... being a fan of both Olaf Stapleton and Jóhann Jóhannsson. I'll definitely check this out.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:49 PM on August 8, 2020


Apparently it's only available on BFI now

Filmhouse is offering a promocode to extend the BFI Player 7-day free trial (sadly only available to holders of UK credit cards) by a month (as well as extending the MUBI free-trial to 3 months).
posted by progosk at 6:28 AM on August 9, 2020


I have been wanting to read the novel for about 10 years ever since I heard of it. Tilda Swinton and Jóhann Jóhannsson are icing on the cake. Thanks for posting this!
posted by benzenedream at 9:56 AM on August 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


If you are intrigued by Stapledon I recommend Star Maker which is almost a catalogue of all science fiction that followed it
posted by communicator at 11:42 PM on August 9, 2020 [4 favorites]


"Last and First Men" contains a pastiche in its early chapters that prefigures our politics, maybe: where the American President forms a conjugal union with the Daughter of Man, and emerges enlightened.
posted by ergomatic at 9:36 PM on August 11, 2020


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