Filmation Flash Gordon 1979

I remember watching this years ago. I remember Flash Gordon  was shown on the BBC, and ITV at once sometime in the early eighties If I recall correctly the BBC showed the  Flash Gordon series, and ITV showed the telefilm. 

I rediscovered Filmation Flash Gordon  on YouTube and I  watched it over a night and morning.

I can see why people liked Flash Gordon. It actually allows a mash of genres. The TV movie  starts in Warsaw in 1939. We see Stukas marked with swastikas bombing Warsaw. ( Interesting-the producers depicted Swastikas- that is often banned in Europe) 

Flash who was a star of the 1936 Olympics, finds a man, dying in an apartment. (Hitler is in fact an unseen character in this film, We learn that Ming the Merciless had been supplying Herr Hitler with super weapons)

Flash and Dale, go to meet Professor Zarkov.  I wondered if it was possible to catch a passenger flight, in 1930s Europe. Well, I suppose Flash may have returned to the US. The air-plane is attacked by flying furious hail.. Oh and Dale, looks the part. She has the look of a Heady Lamar. Dale is different to a female lead in a modern cartoon. She-ra or Princess Bubblegum. She is rather passive, she is openly intimated by Aura's desire for Flash. She is sent off to be married to Ming.

 There is a dancing bikini girl in Ming's harem

Zarkov has build an energy weapon that can destroy the sun. Which is nice, but there are Nazis... 

You can test this weapon..doc

If you have seen, the  1980's Flash Gordon film. Then you know the plot. The Professor, Flash, and Dale travel to Mongo, to stop Ming the Merciless attacking Earth

Mongo is actually a bit like Galifrey- In that  it is red tinted and  bigger than Earth and seems largely empty desert. Flash's ship, is attacked by alien dinosaurids. I actually wonder what these lizards are eating-The ape men and the dinosaurids both as Mongo seems to be a desert.  I have digressed too much  Surviving the crash the trio of heroes, fight off the dinosaurids, with shot guns, despite the fact the Zarkov has death rays on his ship. Our trio is to be attacked by brute blue ape men. Nice scene with the Blue blue ape men, opening their temple to Ming.

 So, we have ancient sword and sandal epics. Then a jungle adventure

Lionmen, Lizard women, and  a bird woman.  This is actually from the earliest days of SF

 Russell T Davis must have seen this film and fallen in love. The lizard women have breasts- which makes no sense and guard the mines-They also eat the dying prisoners indeed actually fatten them up first.

 They are Princess Aura, the very sexual daughter of Ming.  She seems to be  sitting on straw, in a spaceship at one point

By the way Ming looks rather Peruvian, in particular because he just seems to be amused at everything. So a rebellion starts in the mine, and Ming has it flooded. Rather Dukhat like.., 

Then one of the scenes I remembered Flash beating a blind monster, by running about a shouting.

Oh and Ming commands, and Aerial navy.. nice.

After Than, the prince of the lion men, and Aura and Flash escape  Zac. The evil guardian of the mines. (Yes in the eighties, zac sounded mysterious)  We meet Prince Barrin, the last of the group. Prince Barrin, is a Green arrow, lookalike with a pencil thin moustache. Barrin who wears clothes, (Flash gets more and more undressed until the final scenes of the movie)is from Abroria, and wants Princess Aura to be his girl. Oh and I forgot Voltan, the King of the Hawk-men ala Brian blessed Voltan has giant pigeon air cavalry. Mongo has lots of Aves, but aside from Humans, and Lion people very few mammals it seems.

Well I do not want to do a walk through as such. But Voltan, is clearly a Viking, he has dancing girls, chicken legs and beer. Speaking of the cartoon girls there is a lot of cartoon flesh on view here. 

Voltan also wants to marry Aura, yes he wants to secure an alliance but also get access to her chamber  Yes that is a motivation you do not see in cartoons anymore. It is probably true to the source material though

The final battle between Ming and Flash is a shoot out, like a western, and Ming falling to his death to be revealed to be a robot.. As people where not allowed to die, in cartoons. Hence the robot armies, and molemen

Interesting..  We learn that the Free world, will stop the the Nazis. Flash will live his dream on an Alien world.. Dale and Flash kiss, and kiss passionately

It is a strange piece, looking back. It is a lot more sexualized than other material I have seen. The characters are defined by their desires for each other. Ming wants Dale. Aura wants Flash. Barrin wants Aura. The different genres is good. There are consequences to peoples actions. 

Voltan's city is destroyed and seen falling to Earth.

 Oh and there are actual Nazis.

FLASH GORDON

I spotted this out of the corner, of my eye. In the DVD store, and I thought why not. The Sci Fi channel are doing a remake so why not...

In another world, was there the flash Gordon trilogy ? I was thinking, I have never seen any Flash Gordon merchandise, and I have seen , indeed used to own and have lost a Mr Spock action figure. I have seen some Black hole merchandise. Yet No flash Gordon. At a first glance, this is a little strange. It has a sound track by Queen. Max von sdnow plays the emperor ming. A host of british stalwarts play supporting roles.

It did make some impact. Brian Blessed, still dines out on ``Gordon’s alive?’’

Flash starts off on his Journey, heading to the airport from the resort of Dark Harbour. Dark Harbour is somewhere in the North East, of the United states. There is a Bar Harbour, in Maine! I have been there.
A friend was married there, in 2001

The show gets into the action briskly. The plane Flash, and Dale are travelling into
Is it just be, but watching Flash heave and haw, attempting to ask Dale out. Is a bit unbelievable. I am sure Footballers where not that different in the 1980s. Tanya Tucker, has left a long shadow,

The plane crashes, into Topol’s backyard Topol is playing a mad scientisr, or rather sane scientist. Who has the winning entry for the X prize in his Garden.

So Topol, dupes, Flash, and Dale, into going to counter attack mongo


So why didn’t it make millions. Why did Fox triumph, where universal failed. Well, Flash Gordon its as camp as Christmas.. The Male lead, Sam J Jones. Is not great. Though I learn through the powers of the internet that Mr Jones. Starred as Aris Boch in SG-1. He gets upstaged by Blessed’s Birdman in popular memory. Red and Gold, was upstaged on by battle field grey

The Court of Ming, is an Orientalist vision of the Porte. The Dwarfs, dancing girls. There are the many tribes of mongo. Birdmen, forest men,. Squabbling over who gets to present Ming with the Ice Jewel

With


All kept in order my Mings golden masked secret police chief. With his flying robots. Who check for weapons, After you mention your packing heat.



There is a nod, a dig at Felleni. it’s the name of the dwarf


Flash plays football, with Ming’s Guards. With Dale acting as cheerleader. This leads to one of the great lines of the film. Ming to Parres ``Are your men on the right drugs’’ A quip about steroids., in US sports perhaps?

Dales cheerleading brings her to attention of Ming. Who uses his orgasma-ring. To make Dale dance, about and display her, inner sensuality? It rivals Aura mings beautiful daughter. ( Who I have been subconsciously dating for 15 years)

But alas Flash is defeated. Dale is packed off to Mings bed chamber, Flash is to be executed. Zharkov turned into a slave

When I first saw this. I had a problem with Zharvo’s brainwashing. Something seemed to be missing.
( There is a great quip by the Police chief, seeing Hitler and saying`` now he showed promise. ‘’) The Police chiefs orders that Zharkov be given level 3 is ignored by a sub ordinate. This sort of contradicts the speech about the Human spirit. Zharkovs give.

The Police Chief and the General in Mings service- Evil Lynn and Destro?

Flash has escaped with Aura’s help and has made it to the Forest world.

Peter Duncan of Blue Peter fails the test of manhood.

``I am of age Green Father’’

He is bitten by a scorpion-bug - critter in a hollow tree log. To spare him the pain, James bond. (Timothy Dalton) kills him. This scene struck me as horrifying when I was a kid. Its actually done quite well. Dalton, who was a decent actor. Played it just right.


( Meanwhile the lovely Aura is being tortured - Given the Bore worms)

Richard O’Brian (He of the Crystal maze, and Rocky Horror ) Tries to backstab Flash. Leading to another great line. ``Where are the weapons?’’. ``feel one!’’ Flash however manages to escape to the Moon of the Hawkmen.

Yes despite Ming, despite James bond, and Frank n Furter ``Gordon’s alive’’ However as Dale would warn.
``Flash I love you but you only have 14 hours to save the Earth’’

Ming lands on the Hawk world. He offers Flash the Earth. J Like Jesus Flash refuses the world. To save it.

Escaping from the destruction of the Hawk world. Flash after teaching the Mongolese the value of unity. Flash leads an attack on Mings Palace. Where Ming is getting married to Dale. `` Where all creatures of the earth must make merry’’

With Ming slain, and Dale saved. Mongo is free, and the Earth is saved

Or is it…

Yes it is…..