The Final Cut 

Francis Urquhart is too experienced a politician not to know that everything must end, even his long career as British prime minister. In order to secure his retirement and establish ... See full summary »

Stars:

Ian Richardson, Diane Fletcher, Paul Freeman

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Ian Richardson	...	Francis Urquhart 4 episodes, 1995
Diane Fletcher	...	Elizabeth Urquhart 4 episodes, 1995
Paul Freeman	...	Tom Makepeace 4 episodes, 1995
Isla Blair	...	Claire Carlsen 4 episodes, 1995
Nickolas Grace	...	Geoffrey Booza Pitt 4 episodes, 1995
Glyn Grain	...	Rayner 4 episodes, 1995
Nick Brimble	...	Corder 4 episodes, 1995
Dorothy Vernon	...	Speaker 4 episodes, 1995
Andrew Seear	...	Wolfin 4 episodes, 1995
Peter Symonds	...	Polecutt 4 episodes, 1995
John Rowe	...	Sir Clive Watling 3 episodes, 1995
Yolanda Vazquez	...	Maria Passolides 3 episodes, 1995
Duggie Brown	...	Joe Badger 3 episodes, 1995
Kevork Malikyan	...	Nures 2 episodes, 1995
David Ryall	...	Sir Bruce Bullerby 2 episodes, 1995
Joseph Long	...	President Nicolaou 2 episodes, 1995
Cherith Mellor	...	Hilary Makepeace 2 episodes, 1995
Erika Hoffman	...	Princess 2 episodes, 1995
Leon Lissek	...	Evanghelos Passolides 2 episodes, 1995
Tom Beasley	...	Young King 2 episodes, 1995
Richard Bebb	...	Political Commentator 2 episodes, 1995
Sue Edelson	...	Newsreader 2 episodes, 1995
David Ashford	...	Newsreader / ... 2 episodes, 1995

Storyline

Francis Urquhart is too experienced a politician not to know that everything must end, even his long career as British prime minister. In order to secure his retirement and establish monument to himself, he takes part in negotiations aimed at ending the Cyprus conflict. However, that same island hides the secrets from Urquhart's youth - secrets that could destroy him.

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Plot Keywords:

prime minister | tv mini series | psychopath | politics | member of parliament | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Final Cut

Filming Locations:

Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

206 min (4 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Dobbs, the author of the original book, was angered at the opening scene depicting Margaret Thatcher's funeral. As a result he demanded his name be removed from the credits which just say "Based on the novel The Final Cut" without mentioning his name.

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Goofs

When the security man at No. 10 enters the Urquharts' bedroom with his pistol drawn and at the ready, the gun actually has no live round in the chamber and is thus not ready to fire (we can tell this by the fact that the Glock's trigger is to the rear, which would not be the case if the action had been cycled to chamber a round).

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Quotes

[Prime Minister Urquhart is watching Makepeace being interviewed on television]
Tom Makepeace: To quote the prime minister, "You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment."
Francis Urquhart: You bastard!

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Connections

Referenced in Drama Connections: House of Cards (2005)

User Reviews

Not a cut above, but cuts it just fine

'House of Cards' is superlative. 'To Play the King' is great. The third series of the trilogy 'The Final Cut' (1995) may be the weakest of the three but is still very good.

Everything that made 'House of Cards' and 'To Play the King' is here in 'The Final Cut' and work brilliantly. Unlike the previous two series however, a few parts veer on the improbable and the ending felt unsatisfying in its predictability and not having the punch or clarity of the ending of 'House of Cards' (the ending of 'To Play the King' was the weak link of that series but was more convincing than here). The previous two series are paced a little tighter too. Having said all this, the deviations from the source material again don't detract and the spirit and attention to character and mood detail are present.

On the other hand, 'The Final Cut' visually looks wonderful, full of elegance and atmosphere in the design and class and style in the way it's filmed. It's also beautifully scored by Jim Parker with a very memorable main theme, and the direction lets the atmosphere and drama breathe but still never undermines the momentum.

Andrew Davies once again also deserves a lot of the credit. The script has dry cynicism, sharp wit, dark bite and class, with some deservedly iconic lines that have since become part of popular culture. The nation's mood is brilliantly captured and the political elements are handled so truthfully and don't feel shoe-horned (it's actually essential here) or heavy-handed. The storytelling is mostly very absorbing, the depth and richness of the previous two series in the trilogy not lost.

Ian Richardson is once again absolutely incredible in his best and most justifiably best known role, dominating the whole proceedings with ease. Diane Fletcher has a bigger role in 'The Final Cut' and again shows completely believability in a role that one doesn't see from her usually.

Paul Freeman is especially good in support, which is mostly pretty solid apart from Nikolas Grace's sleaziness being more over-the-top than creepy.

Overall, while the weakest of the three 'The Final Cut' still has a huge amount to enjoy, primarily Richardson. 8/10 Bethany Cox