Capital Celluloid 2022 — Day 134: Mon May 16

The Terminal Man (Hodges, 1974):  BFI Southbank, NFT2, 8.40pm

This 35mm presentation (also being screened on May 2nd) is part of the Mike Hodges season at BFI Southbank. Full details here. 

Time Out review: A thoughtful and unusually pessimistic sci-fi pic based on Michael Crichton's novel about a psychotic (George Segal) who has a tiny computer planted in his brain to control his violent impulses. Unfortunately, the plan backfires: Segal enjoys the sensation of being calmed down so much that he goes on a murder spree in order to enjoy further mental restraint. Opening with a brilliant sequence in which Segal is reborn on the operating table, and building towards a finale in which the scientists realise that they can do nothing to control this hi-tech monster of their own making, the film's bleak futuristic vision also benefits greatly from some extraordinary sets, and from writer/producer/director Mike Hodges' confident direction. Nigel Floyd

Here (and above) is the trailer.