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10
= Highest Rating |
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Film
Review by Lucas
Micromatis •
DVD
Review by
B.
Lindsey
Replaces
EC's review of the 1998 Image edition |
FLASH!
AH-AAAAAAAAHHH!
Alex Raymond's influential
science fiction comic-strip hero, previously visualized on film
through a definitive trilogy of Universal serials, a mediocre
1950s TV series, and a late 1970s animated series from Filmation,
burst back onto the screen in the wake of Star
Wars, thanks to producer Dino De Laurentiis. (George
Lucas had apparently been interested in adapting Flash for the
silver screen, but the rights fell through. Hence, Star
Wars was born.) Spurned by most Flash purists, this 1980
adaptation nonetheless has built a cult following, thanks to
outlandish costumes and sets, intentionally campy scripting
—
courtesy of Lorenzo Semple Jr., known for his work on the Adam
West Batman series —
and that unforgettable rock score by Queen.
With the Earth under
attack by forces from the planet Mongo, daffy doc Hans Zarkov
(Topol) hijacks New York Jets quarterback "Flash" Gordon (Sam
J. Jones) and Dale Arden (Melody Anderson) aboard a self-built
space capsule to counterattack (wishful thinking, with only
Zarkov's handgun on board) the invaders. Once on Mongo, Flash
tries to unite the warring Prince Barin of Arborea (a dashing,
Robin Hood-esque Timothy Dalton) and Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen
(boisterous, scene-stealing Brain Blessed) to fight against
the evil Emperor, Ming the Merciless (Max Von Sydow). After
a series of serial-style adventures, spanning Mongo to Arborea
to the floating palace of the Hawkmen, Flash and company race
against time to prevent both the destruction of Earth and Dale's
enforced marriage to the diabolical despot.
Surprisingly, perhaps
as a counterbalance to the film's garish pageantry, our heroes
are flat. Jones certainly looks the part of Flash, but is far
too limited to inspire two warring races to form an alliance.
Anderson makes for a cute Dale
but leaves little impression, and Topol (For
Your Eyes Only) just doesn't convince as Zarkov. The real
meat can be found in the supporting cast, however. Von Sydow
is wonderful as a sadistic, sexed-up Ming, oozing evil from
every pore; Blessed's thunderous Vultan threatens to decimate
every scene he's in, along with his fellow performers; Ornella
Muti is WOW in tight, revealing costumes as Ming's seductive
daughter Aura (even in today's skin-tastic climate, she still
gets my pulse racing); and Peter (Burn,
Witch, Burn) Wyngarde, his deep British voice suggesting
a decadent evil, impresses as Ming's right-hand man, the golden-masked
Klytus. Some of the sets and costumes are marvelous; others
are in danger of collapsing under their heavily imposed camp
value. A fine line between decent and lousy effects is walked
—
the Hawkmen's flying scenes are well-conceived and nicely evoke
the original comic panels (which are used to good, nostalgic
effect in the opening credit sequence), while some of the model
work is just plain laughable.
And then there's Queen.
While at times inappropriate, Queen's score nevertheless punctuates
the material surprisingly well. Yes, I sing along with the theme,
so sue me. I also happen to like Tangerine Dream's Legend
score. While undeniably a mixed bag, Flash
Gordon is nonetheless a highly entertaining campfest
for the undiscerning sci-fi/fantasy fan.
-
L.M.
|
|
|
After
a lengthy delay, during which the long out-of-print Image disc
fetched absolutely ridiculous sums on eBay and the like, Flash
Gordon returns to DVD via Universal's new Saviour of
the Universe edition. Nevertheless, it seems some North American
fans of the film aren't very pleased. In 2005 a 25th anniversary
edition was released for Region 2 which contained two audio commentaries
— one with actor Brian Blessed, the other with director Mike Hodges
— and an interview featurette with Hodges. Those bonus features
have not been ported over for Universal's new R1 release.
What the Saviour of the Universe edition
does offer is an eye-popping 2.35 anamorphic transfer of the film
— leagues better than that of the 1998 Image DVD and reportedly
superior to that of the much-heralded R2 disc — and an upgunned
5.1 Surround audio mix that'll have the Queen soundtrack thump-thump-thumping
your speakers. In a nutshell, the flick looks and sounds better
than it ever has before. (The riotous colors are particularly
dazzling.)
Supplements consist of the theatrical trailer,
the first chapter of the 1936 Flash Gordon serial starring
Buster Crabbe (which is even sillier than this deliberately campy
film), and two short featurettes unique to this release. In Alex
Ross on Flash Gordon, the renowned illustrator and comic book
artist gushes enthusiastically about his unconditional love for
the movie, claiming to have seen it as many as 100 times; his
take on it is pure fanboy adoration but not without merit for
its perspective — no doubt shared by many of the people who are
going to purchase this DVD. (Ross, by the way, is responsible
for the Saviour edition's dynamic cover art. A pencil drawing
of his, printed on postcard stock, is also included with the package.)
In Writing a Classic, Lorenzo Semple Jr. talks about how
he was tapped by De Laurentiis to do the script and the near-total
disregard production designer Danilo Donati (Caligula)
showed for it. ("I never read the script!" Semple claims
Donati told him.)
While I can certainly recommend this new disc
— regardless of how one feels about the dearth of extras, the
transfer is terrific — I do so with a caveat. (And, consequently,
a DVD rating of only '6'.) At $24, I think it's overpriced. The
cost is doubtless 'justified' by the unusual packaging. Housed
in a clumsy and not particularly well-constructed cardboard box
that flips open from the bottom-front, it's simply overkill for
a single-disc release. Universal should've put it in a standard
keepcase and charged at least five bucks less. -
B.L.
8/15/07 |
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