Flash Gordon

[Susan]

Observations:

English is the universal language, although a few, including Mings daughter are sporting German, English or Spanish accents.

When being excecuted in a gas chamber by an evil race of aliens, you will be required to wear tight black leather short shorts and nothing else.

If there really was a "galaxy of pleasure", why the hell wouldn't EVERYBODY want to live in it?

Using a mental telepathy machine to talk to your gal while a sexpot princess is sitting on your lap licking your neck is a very bad idea.

If the safety of your kingdom relies on those red robed masked guards who posess very little common sense, that can easily be killed by an woman doing cartwheels..you got problems. Not to mention the agents - you take the glasses off of one and they ALL die!

If you got a ring that can control people's minds (and make women highly aroused), why not just leave it on all the time?

No dirty swamp nor filthy quicksand can take the lusterous clean shine out of Flash Gordon's hair!

Death scenes: Klytus gets impaled by spikes and his eyeballs and his tongue burst out of his head! Ming gets impaled on the ship. The guy at the beginning impales himself on his sword. In fact, there's a whole lotta impaling goin on.

Why is there a countdown till earth's destruction? If ming wanted to destroy earth, why not just do it right away? Why make time to have it saved.

Fact: You can open any automatic door by simply shooting it with a ray gun.

Hypocrite! One scene dale tells the princess how she keeps her word and that she promised to be a good wife and not kill him, that keeping their word was what made earlthings better than them. But at the wedding, she said "I will not!". Going back on her word eh?

Yeah well..I still like this movie. ;-) My only concern is with all the superhero movies hitting theaters now and in the next couple of years - do they dare remake Flash? Probably, and starring someone like Freddy Prinz Jr. ;-p

[Steven Millan]

            Yeah,Susan,I probably wouldn't be surprised that,after they remake EVERY available movie title imaginable,and every other superhero that they can get their hands upon(including Buck Rogers),they'll then get to work on a new "Flash Gordon" remake/update. And,I'm sure that Freedie Prince Jr. will be casted as Flash.
            Otherwise,very interesting observation on the 1980 "Flash" movie you've got there,Susan ; I grew up watching the "Flash" serials on 70s Creature Featrues shows,and at the local(Now closed up)Straw Hat pizza(anybody here remember that place?!) eaterie(they also showed Three Stooges and cartoons there),and even enjoyed "Flesh Gordon" and its lowly overlooked,Troma-esque sequel.

[John]

Flash Gordon, the movie Timothy Dalton would love to forget! :)

Has anyone noticed that whenever it's shown on a non-premium channel, there's a big chunk missing out of the middle of the movie? I forget the details since I haven't seen it in years, but I seem to recall that at one point it just cuts to a scene of Baron and Flash walking out onto the floating disk in the Hawkmen's city with no explanation of why they're doing it. I mean it becomes aparent when you see them fight, but it's like they joined the scene 'in progress'.

[Susan]

Remakes are sad. Because they're never that good, either they're remaking a movie nobody cares to see anyhow or one that is so good they could never attain it's genius. Hollywood is just really low on the originality scale. We're stealing from stuff we've already done, and sometimes stuff we've done numerous times. Then we load it up with CGI (which is overused imo).  And oh god if I am subjected a buck rogers movie..so help me. I admit watching the tv show tho..heh.

Do you remember anything in the serials about germans? I noticed alot..i mean alot of references and parallells to hitler and desire for global domination.

And yeah, they do cut chunks out of the movie. I can't even tell now what's cut since I haven't seen the full version w/o commercials in years (i used to own it on video). Sci-Fi used to air it without the sequence where they put their arms in the tree trunk as the test of manhood. That annoyed me since I liked it. But if you had to cut parts of the movie it would be hard to decide what to do..except I could probably live without that long sequence of Zarkov getting his memories milked out..yawn.

Hard to believe Ming the Merciless has gone from Flash to Minority Report!

[Flangepart]

(Singing) For its Ming,Ming,Ming, Theres no finer twisted genius in the ring.  When you want yer death and slaughter, while he steals the hero's daughter, theres no finer eviloverlord then Ming.

[John]

>Sci-Fi used to air it without the sequence where they put their arms in the tree
>trunk as the test of manhood.

 Yeah, I think that was the part I was thinking of. The princess drops Flash off on Aboria and the next thing you know, they're in the Hawkmen's city. BTW, have you ever read the novelization?

[Cullen]

"Hypocrite! One scene dale tells the princess how she keeps her word and that she promised to be a good wife and not kill him, that keeping their word was what made earlthings better than them. But at the wedding, she said "I will not!". Going back on her word eh?"

Actually, I figure Dale was expecting something more along the lines of a "normal" wedding, rather than a Ming Delux.

[Susan]

>>Actually, I figure Dale was expecting something more along the lines of a "normal" wedding, rather than a Ming Delux.<<

lol Then she really is an idiot. Let's face it, the words to the vows are blunt but are they not honest? The way marriages are becoming disposable these days...I'm sure many wouldn't mind adding the "blast into space" part.

I never read the novelization. I'm sure it's enirely different as most are.

I see the guy who played flash is still busy in really BAD movies. Richard o'brien goes from "Dark City" to "spice world" so looks like he's into scary movies. heh Anybody know what actor played Klytus? (we're talking the 1980 version) For some reason it's not listed on IMBD

[Jay O'Connor]

>> Flash Gordon, the movie Timothy Dalton would love to forget! :)


Compared to his two Bond outings, his Prince Barin wasn't that bad

[John]

>I never read the novelization. I'm sure it's enirely different as most are.

 It followed the movie pretty much, except that I seem to recall it having a minor subplot indicating that Ming & Aura were a little closer than most fathers and daughters. Kinky too. I don't know if the author added that himself or if it was something that was cut from the movie though. Certainly explains Klytus's comment about thinking Aura enjoyed her interrogation.

[Susan]

>>except that I seem to recall it having a minor subplot indicating that Ming & Aura were a little closer than most fathers and daughters. Kinky too.<<

That was hinted in the movie as well...aura and ming were a little closer than most fathers and daughters..lots of sexual stroking and coaxing. I only think he sicked the bore worms on her because he was jealous. ;-)

[Neville]

First saw this one as a kid and for some years all I remember was how beautiful and sexy Ornella Mutti was. From more recent viewings I remember the incredible Queen soundtrack (still have those "Flash, ahhhh ahhhh" stuck on my head) and how lame the production design looked. Looks to me like Dino De Laurentiis had this thing with expensive and pop settings, because "Dune" also has this 80s new rich look. BTW, "Dune"'s soundtrack also had Queenish touches now and then. Another  De Laurentiis obsession?

[John]

>That was hinted in the movie as well...aura and ming were a little closer than
>most fathers and daughters..lots of sexual stroking and coaxing. I only think he

Well, it was spelled out a little more explicitly in the book. Take this passage from Flash's execution;

Ming place his hand on her shoulder. Three of his fiingers rested on bare skin, and as usual the touch of his ever-cold rings sent involuntary shivers through her, shivers she controlled with minimal success. "I've brought you up well . Aura. You're so much like me."

She did not trust the fondness in his voice; it was the result of natural love or the natural desire of an emporer to dissaude his children from hastening the future. "Father, we haven't been close enough the last few years. Perhaps we should remedy the situation."

"Oh?" She did not have to see her father's eyebrow to know he had raised it.

"I've missed the security of your company and the thrill of private moments when you drop your reserve and demonstrate your love for me."

Ming rubbed his beard. "Yes, I freely admit I have missed that closeness between us as well. When I am through with this Dale Arden -  I do not believe it will take very long - we shall strip down to our essences and I will tie you to my royal bed and I shall flog you senseless, until the blood flows from the wounds on your pert buttocks, just as we did during happier, more innocent days."

"Oh yes, Father, yes!"

He took her right hand and kissed it tenderly. "And who can say? Perhaps your spanking shall be but the the beginning."

Her voice possessed a huskiness she had not quite planned on. "Yes, Father, that would be wonderful."

 
Gives a whole new meaning to father daughter bonding, doesn't it? :)

>sicked the bore worms on her because he was jealous. ;-)

 Actually, acording to the book, she kind of liked the bore worms, at least at first.

[Jay O'Connor]

> Dune"'s soundtrack also had Queenish touches now and then. Another De Laurentiis obsession?

The pop/rock band "Toto" did the music for Dune

[Susan]

Well that sounds like some interesting reading you got there..lol. It's insinuated in the movie and frankly that was enough for me.  You don't have that particular passage/chapter highlighted by any chance do you? ;-)