1988: Derek Jarman, Last of England

Filmmaker Derek Jarman's experimental feature paints an apocalyptic picture of England's decline under the rule of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Jarman's surreal, evocative collage relies on home movies of his World War II childhood, gay erotica, street noise and vivid imagery to show England as a once-powerful and proud nation that has lost its way. Tilda Swinton heads the cast of this mind-bending meditation. [more...]

The film is named after a painting by by Ford Madox Brown depicting two emigrants leaving England to start a new life abroad.