FLASH GORDON
Michael Hodges' film from Alex Raymond's strip cartoon
Identification Sheet:
1980, USA
Running Time: 110 minutes
Direction: Michael Douglas
Production: Dino de Laurentiis
Sound Track: Queen
Main characters:
Flash Gordon (Sam Jones) shares protagonism with his fiancé Dale Arden (Melody Anderson) and the nefarious princess Aura (Ornella Mutti). Professor Zarkiv (Haim Topol) is the hero's scientific friend and Ming, Emperor of Mongo Galaxy, his sworn enemy. All these characters are also present in the comic strip. Flash Gordon's adventures were so rich and there were so many characters that tha authors of the film had to chosethe most famous ones. In this sense, Ming is the compulsory bad guy and the bermanian actor Max Von Sydow gives him a certain "depth", and the same with Ornella Mutti in her role of Princess Aura.
An adaptation marked by the 80s
Michael Hodges' film has taken advantage of the fashion triggered off by Star Wars. In George Lucas' film wake, many "byproducts" appeared, special effects taking pride of place. This Flash Gordon of 1980 is more of an imitation of the popular succes that Luke Skywalker had than the actual hommage to Alex Raymond's srtip cartoon or to Universal's TV series of 1936 and 1938.
Its adaptation is just an excuse for targeted commercial films without a strong personnality (even if excessive scenes and cheap erotism have great character). Nothing to do, for instance, with Warren Beatty's adaptation of Dick Tracy where its actor-director-productor has tried to put all technical and artistic means in the service of the comic strip.
But this film is also influenced by other literary genres, veruy fashionable all of them in United States: Sword and Sorcery and for sure Heroic Fantasy. From here we can deduce, then, that this film "part of the current climate" is the previous step to the appearance of Conan. In fact, from the point of view of their set of muscles, Sam Jones should not be jealous of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Flash Gordon and its previous TV series:
In 1936, Frederick Stephani directed the first black-and-white adaptation of Flash Gordon. This Tv series had 13 episodes and already narrated the fight against Ming on Mongo Planet. Its success brought about two new episodes.
In 1938 Flash Gordon's trip to Mars had 15 episodes, under the direction of Ford Beebe and Robert Hill. In 1940, Ford Beebe and Robert Taylor filmed Flash Gordon conquers the Universe in 12 episodes.