From rec.arts.sf.reviews Sun Feb 17 17:49:07 2002 Path: news.island.liu.se!news.ida.liu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!news.kth.se!uio.no!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!sn-xit-03!sn-post-02!sn-post-01!supernews.com!news.supernews.com!not-for-mail From: Dennis Schwartz Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Retrospective: Flash Gordon (1980) Approved: ramr@rottentomatoes.com Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.past-films Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 20:40:09 -0000 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Message-ID: X-RAMR-ID: 30975 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 285935 X-RT-TitleID: 1007517 X-RT-SourceID: 873 X-RT-AuthorID: 1315 X-RT-RatingText: C- Summary: r.a.m.r. #30975 X-Questions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Submissions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Complaints-To: newsabuse@supernews.com Lines: 89 Xref: news.island.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:2902 rec.arts.sf.reviews:213 FLASH GORDON (director: Michael Hodges; screenwriters: Lorenzo Semple Jr./Michael Allin/based on the comic strip by Alex Raymond; cinematographer: Gilbert Taylor; editor: Malcom Cooke; music: Queen; cast: Sam J Jones (Flash Gordon), Melody Anderson (Dale Arden), Chaim Topol (Doctor Hans Zarkov), Max von Sydow (The Emperor Ming), Ornella Muti (Princess Aura), Timothy Dalton (Prince Barin), Brian Blessed (Prince Vultan), Peter Wyngarde (Klytus), Mariangela Melato (Kala ), John Osborne (Arborian Priest), William Hootkins (Munson); Runtime: 115; Universal; 1980-UK) Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz An irrelevant campy sci-fier from the producer Dino De Laurentiis, but at least it's lively. It is also unfortunate that its stars, Melody Anderson as Dale Arden and Sam J Jones as Flash Gordon, are liabilities. They just can't act. But there's some fun to be had in this bad flick through its bouncy musical score by Queen, its glossy sets arranged by Danilio Donati, by its horrid acting and trite dialogue, by its exotic costumes, and by Muti's sexy evil portrait of Princess Aura. Flash Gordon is set in the gaudy Art Deco world of the planet Mongo, where the color red decorates the palace walls as if it was a replica of a sleazy bordello in New Orleans and the evil guards flash their crystal swords as if they were as valuable as diamonds from Tiffanys, while the evil Emperor Ming (Max von Sydow) has at his disposal gadgets that kill and allow him to read minds and attack the Earth with all kinds of weather disturbances. The film opens as Flash and Dale meet on a plane in Dark Harbor, where the Blond Bomber is going back to quarterback the NY Jets after his vacation and she's a NYC travel agent afraid of flying who is going back to work after getting her head together from a relationship breakup. The plane experiences an unprecedented solar eclipse disturbance, actually caused by Ming playing with the Earth. The turbulence causes the novice pilot Flash to crash-land the plane in the lab area of Doctor Zarkov (Topol). He's a mad scientist dismissed by NASA, who believes the Earth will be attacked by outer space. When his assistant Munson informs him of the unusual turbulence on Earth, Zarkov says this proves he was right and they must both get into his home-made rocket and save the Earth from the space attackers (it is interesting to note that their plan of action is never presented). Zarkov says the rocket needs another person along to put their foot to the pedal. Munson refuses to go, and flies the coop. Luckily the scientist has Flash and Dale nearby, who have by now become lovebirds, whom he tricks into stepping into his rickety rocket to make a phone call and then pulls a gun on them. He starts the rocket and they're soon in Mongo. They are immediately captured by Ming's guards and taken to his palace. They realize that Ming is a psychopath who has conquered outer space by getting his subjects to war against each other and he now wants to destroy the Earth. They have 12 hours to save Earth. Flash gets into a football game with his more than eleven captors, using a large metal egg as a football. He is soon tackled, but not before he gets Ming's daughter all hot for him. Even though she's dating Prince Barin (Dalton), a subject of Ming's from another planet and the enemy of Prince Vulcan (Blessed); but, she's horny enough to want the lunkhead Flash in her boudoir and feels confident she can afterwards soothe Prince Barin's hurt feelings. But Ming orders Flash executed. This causes Aura to get one of her dad's doctor scientists to resurrect him with an injection after the execution, and then she escapes the planet with Flash in her rocketship. Meanwhile Dale is held captive in Ming's bedroom as he decides to force her to marry him, while Zarkov is brainwashed and his mind is emptied. Flash becomes the hero of the hour, as he travels through the outer kingdoms of Mongo to unite the people of the Tree Kingdom and their enemies the Hawkmen to stop Ming. Prince Vulcan and Barin unite, and the trio stops the forced marriage and Ming's diabolical plans against the Earth just in the nick of time. Ming, supposedly, dies as a spaceship stabs him right through his heart. If you are now an adult and have nostalgia for those Saturday matinee Flash Gordon serial chapters starring Buster Crabbe you watched as a kid, which were just as dumb as this film, then you might feel up to seeing this version. The film is adapted from a comic strip by Alex Raymond and was scripted by Lorenzo Semple Jr.. REVIEWED ON 2/4/2002 GRADE: C - Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews" http://www.sover.net/~ozus ozus@sover.net © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ ========== X-RAMR-ID: 30975 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 285935 X-RT-TitleID: 1007517 X-RT-SourceID: 873 X-RT-AuthorID: 1315 X-RT-RatingText: C- From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Nov 14 14:12:35 2002 From: Dragan Antulov Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Retrospective: Flash Gordon (1980) Approved: ramr@rottentomatoes.com Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.past-films Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2002 21:11:47 -0000 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Message-ID: X-RAMR-ID: 33286 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 808212 X-RT-TitleID: 1007517 X-RT-AuthorID: 1307 X-RT-RatingText: 7/10 Summary: r.a.m.r. #33286 X-Questions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Submissions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Complaints-To: abuse@supernews.com Lines: 107 Path: news.island.liu.se!news.Update.UU.SE!puffinus.its.uu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!news.net.uni-c.dk!uninett.no!news.algonet.se!algonet!news.tele.dk!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!newsfeed.news2me.com!newsfeed-west.nntpserver.com!hub1.meganetnews.com!nntpserver.com!telocity-west!TELOCITY!sn-xit-03!sn-xit-06!sn-post-02!sn-post-01!supernews.com!news.supernews.com!not-for-mail Xref: news.island.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:5117 rec.arts.sf.reviews:396 FLASH GORDON (1980) A Film Review Copyright Dragan Antulov 2002 Appreciation of some films can go full circle. The author of this review experienced such phenomenon with FLASH GORDON, 1980 science fiction epic directed by Mike Hodges. The very first time I saw this film I had expected something in the same league with STAR WARS. Despite being slightly disappointed, I still considered FLASH GORDON to be great. Only a few years later I watched this film for the second time. The movie suddenly started looking so bad that I had to put my disappointment on paper, which resulted in one of my first movie reviews. Then, many years passed and I watched FLASH GORDON again. This time the experience was quite different - I actually started liking this film again and appreciating it as a remarkable piece of filmmaking, although for quite another reason. FLASH GORDON is based on the comic books by Alex Raymond, first adapted to big screen in 1930s as a movie serials starring Buster Crabbe in lead role. Those movie serials are now best known as the most important source of inspiration for STAR WARS. In return, success of George Lucas' film inspired famous Italian producer Dino de Laurentiis to make his own science fiction epic, this time much closer to the original. Task was given to screenwriters Lorenzo Semple Jr. and Michael Allin who adapted the original characters and situation for the more modern setting. Plot begins when Ming the Merciless (played by Max Sydow), evil and seemingly omnipotent emperor of Mongo, start using his super-technology to create series of earthquakes, tornadoes and similar disasters on planet Earth. Dr. Hans Zharkov (played by Topol) is discredited NASA scientist who built a spaceship in order to investigate extraterrestrial source of those disasters. He finds an unwilling crew for such endeavour in the form of New York Jets quarterback Flash Gordon (played by Sam J. Jones) and travel agent Dale Arden (played by Melody Anderson) whose plane has just crash-landed in scientist's back yard. Their spaceship blasts off, gets sucked by Imperial Vortex and lands on planet Mongo. Earthlings are quickly brought to Imperial Court where Flash leaves bad impression on Ming, resulting in immediate death sentence. Luckily, Ming's daughter Princess Aura (played by Ornella Muti) likes Flash and arranges his escape. Flash lands on planet Arboria and starts convincing feuding Ming's vassals to forget their differences and unite against the evil tyrant. FLASH GORDON originally failed at the box-office and fared even worse among critics. Younger viewers who approach this film for the first time are probably going to find many reasons for that. For the most time, dialogue in the film is plain terrible. This is especially the case when the dialogue is spoken by two leads - Sam J. Jones and Melody Anderson. Those two performances are pure disaster and it is quite understandable why those two actors failed to make any significant impression in their subsequent careers. Jones, obviously cast more by his looks than by his acting ability, given new definition to the phrase "wooden and uninspiring". Melody Anderson fares only slightly better, but only in scenes where she doesn't appear with Jones and thus show complete lack of chemistry. Terrible miscasting is followed by something which should be unforgivable crime to all those who grew up after JURASSIC PARK - more money being spent on costumes than on special effects. Yet, despite those shortcomings, FLASH GORDON not only works, but actually turns out to be very entertaining experience. The reason for that should be found in something very simple - filmmakers didn't take material seriously and instead of science fiction epic this film should be approached as comedy. Intentional or unintentional, the film is pure fun, with plenty of hilarious moments and memorable scenes. First, there are plenty of truly eye-pleasing scenes - Gilbert Taylor's photography provides a lot of flashy colours when depicting psychedelic Mongo skies, exotic costumes and even more exotic Imperial Guard uniforms. Then, there is musical score by "Queen", which reached almost legendary status despite not being considered the best achievement of that group. Using rock music instead of classical scores in science fiction film provides somewhat surreal impact that would help viewers in getting into mood necessary for enjoying this film. But the most memorable thing about FLASH GORDON is the actors, each of them making a terrific job. Almost unrecognisable Max von Sydow simply chews scenery and obviously has a lot of fun as the incarnation of pure evil. Ornella Muti as Princess Aura is another great addition to this film - with sensual voice and revealing costumes she simply oozes sex appeal, but that performance also underlines a great flaw in the film - Melody Anderson in the role of her romantic rival. Topol is also very good, but not as good as Brian Blessed and Timothy Dalton, respected British thespians who obviously enjoyed opportunity to play something completely different and much sillier from stuffy characters in period dramas. Director Mike Hodges does a very good job in handling plot and keeping frenetic pace in the film, and shows how he could handle material so different from his better known films like GET CARTER. Of course, hard core science fiction fans might still wince at this film and those who like original comic books are probably going to prefer STAR WARS. But for most viewers FLASH GORDON is the reason why phrases like "guilty pleasure" entered vocabularies. RATING: 7/10 (+++) Review written on November 5th 2002 Dragan Antulov a.k.a. Drax http://film.purger.com - Filmske recenzije na hrvatskom/Movie Reviews in Croatian http://www.purger.com/users/drax/reviews.htm - Movie Reviews in English http://www.ofcs.org - Online Film Critics Society ========== X-RAMR-ID: 33286 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 808212 X-RT-TitleID: 1007517 X-RT-AuthorID: 1307 X-RT-RatingText: 7/10