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I like to play with things awhile,

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before annihilation.

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(RUMBLING)

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(LAUGHS, FADES OUT)

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(EXCITING RHYTHM)

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(PIANO NOTES BEGIN)

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♪ Flash!

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♪ Ah-ahhh! ♪

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As Mike Hodges' flamboyant
science fiction epic declares,

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Flash Gordon will be
the saviour of the universe.

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In the iconic song
by rock legends Queen

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that propels the opening titles,

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Freddie Mercury underlines the fact,

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"He will save every one of us."

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♪ He's for every one of us

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♪ Stand for every one of us

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♪ Ahhhhh-ahhhhh
♪ He saves with a mighty hand

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♪ Every man, every woman

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♪ Every child,
it's the mighty flash! ♪

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Do you think
the playfulness of Flash Gordon

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is something of a lost art
in modern film?

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I definitely think that
contemporary cinema is not playful.

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You know, we sort of forget
what cinema is about.

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It's about going into a room with
a big screen and a load of people,

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and enjoying yourself enormously,
laughing out loud,

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having a brilliant time,
throwing popcorn around.

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That's cinema. It's a spectacle.

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It's kind of
the size and scale of it all.

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(WHOOSH)

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(EXCITING RHYTHM, PIANO NOTES)

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(INSTRUMENTAL BUILDS)

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♪ Flash! ♪

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(EXCITING MUSIC FADES)

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(UNSETTLING TECHNO MUSIC)

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(DRAMATIC PERCUSSION)

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(OMINOUS NOTES)

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(CROWD CHANT) Hail, Ming! Hail!

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Ruler of the universe!

39
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(CHEERFUL MUSIC)

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Flash Gordon was born in 1934

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as a comic strip rival
to Buck Rogers,

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and then adapted into a popular
black and white serial in 1938,

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starring Buster Crabbe,

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the unabashed story
of the all-American hero,

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who heads into space
to stop Ming the Merciless

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from conquering Earth.

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This is a world of glorious
nominative determinism.

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Flash will be flash,

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Ming will be Merciless.

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Flash Gordon was invented
by illustrator Alex Raymond

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when his employers,
King Features Syndicate,

52
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demanded a competitor
for Buck Rogers.

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He drew from Edgar Rice Burroughs

54
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and the Philip Wylie novel
When Worlds Collide,

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which imagined an alien planet
encroaching on Earth.

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Flash was a superhero
before the term existed,

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a beaming American ideal

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offering escape from the Depression.

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REPORTER: 'A common denominator
of all young America

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is its love of the comic strip,

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read conscientiously daily on Sunday
by every US youngster.'

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Flash Gordon started life
as a comic strip

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in American newspapers in the 1930s.

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A little before then,

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there'd been another comic strip
called Buck Rogers,

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about an astronaut,

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and that had proved very,
very successful.

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And King Features Syndicate,

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who basically created cartoon strips
for the Hearst organisation,

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wanted to do something similar.

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They tried first of all
to buy the rights

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for John Carter of Mars
from Edgar Rice Burroughs,

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but that didn't work out.

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So they went internally
to Alex Raymond,

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who was one of their
in-house cartoonists, to say,

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"Perhaps you can come up
with something."

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(UPBEAT MUSIC)

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'But despite the tremendous
popularity of these characters,

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few people are aware
of the busy processes

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of their birth and growth
behind the scenes

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of the syndicates
which develop them.

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Each may produce and distribute
a dozen or more strips,

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all presided over and nursed along
by the comic's editor.

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In a briskly competitive field that
deals with talent and fresh ideas,

85
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he is constantly on the search
for new and exciting properties.

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It is said that a really great
new comic comes along

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only on the average
of about once every five years.

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Some obscure young artist
from the bush country

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may suddenly be included

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among the top-notchers
passing over his desk.'

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(CHEERFUL, CURIOUS MUSIC)

92
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Let's talk about the comic strip
origins of Flash Gordon.

93
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He was invented by an illustrator
called Alex Raymond, wasn't he?

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Yes, he was a staff illustrator

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for King Features Syndicate,

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which had, like, sort of,
a competitive set of cartoon strips

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they'd sell to newspapers
across America.

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So Alex Raymond was charged
with coming up with this.

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He was inspired
by Edgar Rice Burroughs' work,

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so including elements
from Tarzan and...

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The Mars Stories he did, didn't he?
Yes.

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And so, he...

103
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There's a lot about the way
that Flash Gordon develops,

104
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which moves away
from the Buck Rogers

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'just people in space with ray guns'
and moves out.

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And the way he did this was
to create this world of Mongo,

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which is surrounded
by other planets,

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all of which were enthralled
to the emperor, Ming the Merciless.

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And that allowed him
to go to a jungle world,

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or go to, you know, an ice world,

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which all fitted into his concept of
it not just being a space adventure,

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it's an epic adventure through,
in a sense, through time and space.

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I mean... in the cartoon strip,

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there are certain Flash Gordon
adventures where he fights dinosaurs

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or he'll go up against,
sort of, lion people.

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So it's a very, very exotic take.

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He moves that whole idea of the
Buck Rogers 'shooting with lasers'

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into a very elaborate
and very ambitious space.

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It was an immediate success.

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All the kids loved it.

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They all wanted to,
sort of, be Flash.

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They wanted to go
to distant planets.

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This was a great idea because,

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if you had a successful comic strip
like that,

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you also had
very successful peripherals.

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So, very quickly after that,

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Flash Gordon toys came out,

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Flash Gordon ray guns...

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And so immediately, you can see that

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this is a question
of some kind of new profit

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that can be made
from basically a cartoon.

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♪ ..with a man's courage

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♪ You know he's nothing but a man

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♪ And he can never fail

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♪ No one but the pure at heart

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♪ May find the Golden Grail

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♪ Oh-ohhh

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♪ Ohhh... ♪

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Backed by the prolific Italian
producer Dino De Laurentiis,

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the 1980 adaptation

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is science fiction
with a European swagger,

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paying homage to
the history of the genre,

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from Georges Melies

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to the Hollywood B Movie.

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Sam J Jones,
a square-jawed former Marine,

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was born to embody Flash.

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Melody Anderson makes for
a sassy heroine as Dale Arden.

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And Max von Sydow rules
as the wicked Ming.

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The entire cast is a match
for their outer space counterparts...

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Ornella Muti
as a seductive Princess Aura,

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Topol as half-crazed scientist
Hans Zarkov,

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Timothy Dalton cutting an Errol
Flynn-like dash as Prince Barin,

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and of course,
Brian Blessed roaring to the rafters,

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as the winged brute Prince Vultan.

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(EXCITING ROCK MUSIC)
Oh, well...

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Who wants to live forever?

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(LAUGHS)

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(ROARS) Dive!

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What's also interesting to me
is that

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there's this contextual element
to Flash Gordon,

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that he reflects America of the time.

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He was idealistic,
he offered escapism,

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you know,
this was the time of the Depression.

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But also, there's, sort of,
a cynicism in the stories

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about science and about government,

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and there's a certain kind of
anti-authoritarianism about it.

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Yes. And later, towards the
beginning of the Second World War,

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explicitly, there would be
a group called The Red Sword,

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that were very closely modelled
on European fascists.

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So, he's kind of commenting
on the world around him

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as he goes along as a cartoonist,

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And so, that makes it feel
very alive to the times.

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You can learn a little bit about
America from reading Flash Gordon.

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Just to clarify,
what is the difference

175
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between a comic strip
and a comic book?

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Well, a comic strip would appear
in the newspapers in America,

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and it would be-
there'd be a page of them,

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whereas the comic book
would be a book

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which would be devoted entirely
to the cartoon.

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So you know, if you think of the way
that we think of comics now,

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we think of comics as being entirely
Beano, Dandy, or a Marvel comic.

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But this would be
part of the newspaper's offering,

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00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:55,359
whether that's weekly
or whether that's daily.

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I mean, we have to realise
that Flash Gordon has been going

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for a very long time indeed.

186
00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,359
In fact, the cartoons only
came to an end in 2003.

187
00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,679
So, in that period, of course,

188
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there had been many, many different
adventures for him to have,

189
00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,199
many sort of different villains
for him to fight.

190
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But the essential Flash

191
00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,639
deals with the evil
Emperor Ming on Mongo.

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00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:23,239
Flash Gordon is a genuine expression
of the comic book form,

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00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,279
heedless of realism,
bursting with colour and imagination,

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00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,560
and a current of sly self-awareness.

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00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,599
This is a pastiche that knows
it must still be thrilling.

196
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Flash has to save the universe!

197
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(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

198
00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:00,160
(RUMBLING)

199
00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,000
(DRAMATIC MUSIC BUILDS, CONCLUDES)

200
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,560
(DRAMATIC, OMINOUS MUSIC)

201
00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,080
(EERIE NOTES)

202
00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:25,999
Wake up. Dale, wake-

203
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:27,799
We're OK.

204
00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:29,799
(GROANS)
It's me, Flash. Remember?

205
00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:31,440
We're on the ground!

206
00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:33,799
Back home?

207
00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:35,320
I don't think so.

208
00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,320
(DRAMATIC, OMINOUS MUSIC)

209
00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:41,920
(SOMBRE, CURIOUS MUSIC)

210
00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,079
Flash Gordon made his debut
on the big screen

211
00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,839
in three Universal serials,
which began in 1938.

212
00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:54,879
Using left-over sets from
Universal horror films,

213
00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,799
model spaceships
that resemble pepper grinders,

214
00:10:57,800 --> 00:10:59,799
a score borrowed from Liszt,

215
00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,479
and a habit of agonising
cliffhangers,

216
00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,399
it was a sensation.

217
00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,999
Star Buster Crabbe
was so self-conscious

218
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:08,999
about his bottle blonde hair

219
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,199
that he always wore a hat in public.

220
00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,200
A rich heritage awaited
the age of the blockbuster.

221
00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,520
(GRAND, DRAMATIC MUSIC)

222
00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:31,720
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)

223
00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,360
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)

224
00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:49,119
(DRAMATIC MUSIC FADES OUT)

225
00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:51,999
What elevated Flash Gordon then

226
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,559
was this terrific Universal serial

227
00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:56,919
with Buster Crabbe from 1938.

228
00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,639
That sort of suggested
he was a big screen proposition.

229
00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:03,959
Yes. It was a very unusual decision
at that point.

230
00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,639
This idea of the serial pictures

231
00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,039
which had started in the 1920s
with the silent movies,

232
00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:10,759
things like Pauline in Peril,

233
00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,719
which were, you know,
1920s thrilling episodes,

234
00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:15,959
and in fact invented
the term cliffhanger,

235
00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:17,879
had begun to die away.

236
00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:20,439
And Universal
had bought Flash Gordon,

237
00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,999
and they decided
to invest heavily in it

238
00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,239
and make it an adult A-list-style
serialised feature,

239
00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:29,439
to try and sort of
win back that market.

240
00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,279
And so they threw an enormous
amount of money for it at the time,

241
00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:34,479
but what they also did
is they threw the resources

242
00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:37,439
of the Universal
movie-making machine at it.

243
00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,679
So they used sets from Frankenstein,

244
00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:41,399
sets from all their horror films.

245
00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:43,199
They would use bits of music

246
00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,959
that they'd already had composed
for some other movies.

247
00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,479
So, it had an enormous,
sort of, scale

248
00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:50,999
and movie-like quality to it,
which...

249
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,639
You know, at that point,

250
00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,199
those little early features
had been very small-scale,

251
00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,479
they'd been knocked out
very cheaply and very quickly.

252
00:12:57,480 --> 00:12:59,439
And this felt epic, you know?

253
00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,679
So therefore, it sort of
revamped and revitalised the style.

254
00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:04,319
And they were, sort of,
for their time,

255
00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:05,919
groundbreaking special effects,

256
00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,399
It's model work,
but astonishing for the time.

257
00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:10,439
Yeah, because I mean,
it was made by movie makers,

258
00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,679
rather than people who were,
kind of, the leftovers,

259
00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:14,119
people who were on their way up.

260
00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:16,319
This was made by
the cream of the Universal,

261
00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:17,959
sort of, props department,

262
00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:19,759
all of the best stuff
you could find.

263
00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:22,879
Of course, this gave
a whole new dimension to it

264
00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:26,239
because he came off the page
and actually was live action

265
00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,119
with, you know, fighting monsters,
fighting evil villains,

266
00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,479
in company of his putative
girlfriend, Dale Arden,

267
00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,000
and the mad scientist, Dr Zarkov.

268
00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:40,279
And it's, sort of, fair to say that

269
00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,119
that's where the iconography
is truly born, isn't it?

270
00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:45,319
If anyone remembered Flash Gordon,

271
00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,039
it was from those serials,

272
00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:49,119
so the blond Flash as the hero,

273
00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:50,879
the look of Ming the Merciless...

274
00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,679
All of it, sort of, came,
really, through those serials.

275
00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:57,159
Not just that, the scale
of Flash Gordon as well, I think.

276
00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:00,479
And this would go on
to influence movie makers

277
00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,599
in terms of how they approached
sci-fi from then on.

278
00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:07,999
Because those Universal epics
were so epic,

279
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,759
because they used the sets
from these vast movies,

280
00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:13,719
that begins to establish
the template for sci-fi,

281
00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,959
which is that when you go
to another world, it looks enormous.

282
00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:21,079
You know, other civilisations
will have these vast buildings

283
00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,159
and these, you know, endless armies,

284
00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:26,359
because it sets out to say,
"When you go to these other planets,

285
00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,679
they will be big, they will be
spectacular, they will be enormous."

286
00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:32,039
And then, filmmakers
who grew up watching that,

287
00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,719
for instance, George Lucas,
would internalise that.

288
00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,279
And that, you know, begins to become
the template for science fiction.

289
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:39,919
Dino De Laurentiis,

290
00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,039
the extravagant mogul who had
nurtured the career of Fellini,

291
00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,479
was also a notable champion of genre.

292
00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,279
A fan since boyhood,

293
00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,999
he had bought the rights
to Flash Gordon in the '60s,

294
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,480
preventing a young George Lucas
from adapting the comic strip.

295
00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:58,399
When Lucas reworked his ideas into
the stellar success of Star Wars,

296
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,479
De Laurentiis decided
the time was ripe for the real thing.

297
00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:05,039
Dino De Laurentiis,
the Italian producer,

298
00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:10,559
had been very interested in making
comic strip movies since the '60s.

299
00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:12,839
In fact,
he really wanted Flash Gordon.

300
00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:16,239
And he bought the rights
to the serials,

301
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,839
and he'd taken a long time

302
00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,759
to actually find someone
to actually put it together

303
00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:25,199
to satisfy his own vision of it.

304
00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:29,199
Dino De Laurentiis had worked on
many films with Frederico Fellini,

305
00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,759
and Fellini was fascinated
by Flash Gordon,

306
00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,039
and in fact, bought the rights,

307
00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:36,959
or optioned the rights,

308
00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,439
from De Laurentiis
in order to make the film.

309
00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,439
Unfortunately, for various reasons,
that project never came to fruition,

310
00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,559
and the rights returned
to Dino De Laurentiis.

311
00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:48,959
Laurentiis was still keen
to do it though,

312
00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,679
and he even offered it
to Sergio Leone,

313
00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:54,479
with whom he had also worked.

314
00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,799
And Leone turned it down
because he didn't like the script.

315
00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,919
He thought that it wasn't faithful
to the original comic strip.

316
00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:02,759
So, let's talk about Dino
a little bit,

317
00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,599
because he, obviously,
is at the centre of this story.

318
00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:07,679
You know, who was he as a producer?

319
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,719
I mean,
he was an extraordinary character

320
00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,559
and prolific as a filmmaker,

321
00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:13,359
but tell me a bit about him.

322
00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:14,959
Well, he starts off...

323
00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,719
I mean, he briefly begins in film
just before the Second World War,

324
00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,519
but he really flourishes immediately
after the Second World War,

325
00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:22,399
where he's part of
the neorealist movement.

326
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,359
But his ambition
starts to become, er...

327
00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:29,199
more fantastical,
more imaginative, more flowery.

328
00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,039
And in the end, he sets up
his own studio, Dino Cheater,

329
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,239
where he's allowed to have the,

330
00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,799
sort of, the full run
of what he wants to do.

331
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,159
And he decides that
he's going to pay top dollar

332
00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:44,199
for Hollywood stars to come over
to Italy and star in his movies.

333
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,759
So, he'll pay for Jane Fonda
to appear in Barbarella, or...

334
00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,999
You know, he thinks that
it is important to be big,

335
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,359
that Italian cinema can compete
with the rest of the world

336
00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:56,799
in terms of the scale
of its ambition

337
00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,039
and the names that it draws in.

338
00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:01,719
And he struggles in the end,

339
00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,039
towards the end of the '60s,
to keep that going.

340
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,039
There's a slump in Italian cinema.

341
00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,359
And so he moves to Hollywood to pick
up, kind of, where he left off.

342
00:17:09,360 --> 00:17:14,399
But where he works in Hollywood,
I think, is... unexpected.

343
00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:16,359
He starts making films like Serpico,

344
00:17:16,360 --> 00:17:18,679
Death Wish,
Three Days of the Condor.

345
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:20,999
Very dark, very paranoid films,

346
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,839
films which are
very much against the kind of...

347
00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:26,039
style and pleasure that he showed

348
00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:30,280
when he was making these
big cartoony comic book films.

349
00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,440
And then he decides
to make Flash Gordon.

350
00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,239
De Laurentiis had big ideas.

351
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,039
Nicholas Roeg was on the project
for over a year.

352
00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:42,519
He had pursued a metaphysical take

353
00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:44,359
with a bold, erotic subtext

354
00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:46,440
and Debbie Harry as Princess Aura.

355
00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:49,239
As far as Mike Hodges was concerned,

356
00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:51,559
he was entirely wrong
for the material.

357
00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,960
He had made his name with
the grim British noir of Get Carter.

358
00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:57,999
But there is something
in that tension.

359
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,559
Hodges was the sense
to Dino's sensibility.

360
00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:04,319
Dino De Laurentiis
is a very hands-on producer.

361
00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:08,839
And so he basically sacked Roeg,
he left the project.

362
00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:13,239
And so he was still left
with this unrealised project

363
00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:16,599
that he was increasingly,
you know, interested in doing.

364
00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,199
George Lucas wanted to do it
back in the '70s,

365
00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:22,719
and Dino turned him down.

366
00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:26,720
That made George Lucas go off
and make Star Wars instead.

367
00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:30,479
And so finally,
Dino De Laurentiis chose

368
00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,399
the British director Mike Hodges,
for several reasons.

369
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,199
Mike Hodges had had a huge success
with Get Carter,

370
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,439
which is one of the greatest
British gangster films ever.

371
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,559
He had also done a science fiction
film called The Terminal Man,

372
00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:46,999
but he wasn't really...
we didn't, you know,

373
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,239
we couldn't see why Hodges
had actually been hired,

374
00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,159
until you realised
that he was not an auteur,

375
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,759
he was a man who could
actually work in any genre,

376
00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:58,279
and he could work fast,

377
00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,719
having worked extensively
in television and plays.

378
00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:03,799
And the great thing
about working in television

379
00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:05,799
is that you don't waste time.

380
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,879
De Laurentiis felt that
he was the right man for the job.

381
00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:11,239
But, you know, more seriously,

382
00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:13,839
I think the choice of Mike Hodges
is actually crucial

383
00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:15,639
because I think the tension

384
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:19,319
between his grittier,
more pragmatic view of film,

385
00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,319
and the material, and Dino,

386
00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:23,799
and all the, kind of,
science fiction elements,

387
00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:25,399
is actually a good one.

388
00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:26,799
And it's also important

389
00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,999
the way that Mike Hodges
comes across the original material.

390
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,959
So Mike Hodges does not understand,
or know, Flash Gordon at all.

391
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,279
Dino De Laurentiis,
in classic Dino style,

392
00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:40,039
books him Concorde tickets to
fly over to America for a meeting,

393
00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:44,559
and Mike Hodges then starts
to read Flash Gordon on the plane.

394
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:46,559
And he's looking
at this comic strip,

395
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,999
and during this flight,
he starts to think,

396
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:53,519
"There's no way I can really
change this into Get Carter.

397
00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,799
So why don't I just take this
as the story board for the film?

398
00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:02,279
Why don't I take this comic strip
idea, and work with that?"

399
00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:05,999
And that's very important, because
he doesn't have any preconceptions,

400
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:07,999
he's able to work from the comic

401
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,879
rather than impose himself
on the comic.

402
00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:15,039
I mean, also, it didn't help...
it didn't help him impose his vision

403
00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:17,639
the fact that Dino De Laurentiis
had a very clear idea

404
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:19,719
and a lot of the stuff
was already in place.

405
00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:23,279
So it enabled him to release himself
from trying to control too much,

406
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,719
and just say, "Well, this is going
to be a comic book film."

407
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,239
Rewritten by Lorenzo Semple Jr,

408
00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,159
the script stays faithful
to the original story.

409
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,559
We have the arrival
of the planet Mongo,

410
00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,119
ruled by the despotic Emperor Ming.

411
00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:40,039
New York Jets quarterback
Flash Gordon,

412
00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,599
Dale Arden, and the unhinged Zarkov,

413
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,680
take off in a homemade rocket
to confront their foe.

414
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,479
While Ming takes
an unsavoury interest in Dale,

415
00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:51,399
Flash escapes certain death

416
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,919
to rouse the troubled kingdoms
of Mongo to revolt,

417
00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,079
in a flurry of laser beams
and guitar chords.

418
00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,519
Shall I inform his majesty?
Imbecile.

419
00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,439
The Emperor would shoot you

420
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,039
for interrupting his wedding
with this news.

421
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:07,279
Fire when Gordon's in range.

422
00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:08,959
♪ Flash!

423
00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:10,600
♪ Ah-ahhh! ♪

424
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,600
(TENSE MUSIC)

425
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:30,000
Tricked you, Barin!

426
00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:32,920
Back off!

427
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,359
One move
and you're looking for a new prince.

428
00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:38,680
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

429
00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:42,319
Leave him!

430
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:43,920
He's mine!

431
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:46,240
I hunt him alone.

432
00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,400
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)

433
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,360
(TENSE STRINGS MUSIC)

434
00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,639
De Laurentiis was famed
for casting his films on a look.

435
00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,600
And he took one look at Sam J Jones,
and saw Flash Gordon.

436
00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,559
It had taken a year to find him.

437
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:18,439
Kurt Russell had said no,

438
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,280
and Arnold Schwarzenegger's accent
was an issue.

439
00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,839
De Laurentiis' mother
had spotted Jones

440
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,079
on the television show
The Dating Game.

441
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:30,359
He looked as if he had been drawn
by a comic book artist.

442
00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:32,759
De Laurentiis realised
that he had to have

443
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,319
a really strong force
as Flash Gordon,

444
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:38,119
and spent a year
looking for him in vain.

445
00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:41,759
It wasn't until a family member
suggested Sam Jones,

446
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,359
who she'd seen
in The Dating Game on television,

447
00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:47,559
and said, "Have a look at this guy.

448
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,959
He's got the sort of...
right sort of presence."

449
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:52,719
Jones came along,

450
00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,319
and was cast as Flash Gordon.

451
00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:57,559
De Laurentiis liked the look of him,

452
00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:59,599
he had his hair dyed blond,

453
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,799
and he had the right kind
of athletic figure

454
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:05,319
and energy for the role.

455
00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,599
And in some ways,
it's the hardest role, isn't it?

456
00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,999
Because he has to be
absolutely earnest

457
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,839
and the hunk and the hero.

458
00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:16,160
And he gets no humour at all, essentially.

459
00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,959
But Sam J Jones holds it together,
doesn't he?

460
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:23,799
Well, he is an ex-Marine,
football player,

461
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:25,399
who appears on a dating show.

462
00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:26,999
He's done a little bit of acting,

463
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,159
he's appeared in the Dudley Moore
film 10 as a small part.

464
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,919
And so then, they had-
it took 10 months from there

465
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:34,519
of auditions and tests,

466
00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:36,799
screen tests and chemistry tests.

467
00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,720
But basically, he was hired
because he looked like Flash Gordon.

468
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,880
Pathetic earthlings.

469
00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,240
Hurling your bodies
out into the void,

470
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,639
without the slightest inkling
of who or what is out here.

471
00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:56,799
Casting Ingmar Bergman favourite
Max von Sydow as Ming

472
00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,159
was an emblem of the film's
pan-European verve.

473
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,359
Von Sydow sets the tone.

474
00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:04,959
These are one-dimensional characters

475
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:07,039
enriched by colourful actors.

476
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,719
There is a wonderful
dry superiority to Ming,

477
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,920
opening the film with the jaded line,
"Klytus, I'm bored."

478
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,639
Flash Gordon
is as quotable as Casablanca.

479
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:23,360
Surrounding Sam Jones
was an absolutely wonderful cast.

480
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,199
Max von Sydow was, of course, key
as the Emperor Ming.

481
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,399
Max von Sydow, who was adept

482
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,559
at playing villains of all kinds,
as well as heroes.

483
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,439
But in this case, he embodied

484
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:38,159
the evil master of the universe,

485
00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:40,519
the ruler of Mongo,

486
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:42,159
absolutely perfectly.

487
00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,359
Not only was he made up
to look very much like

488
00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:48,519
the character in the comic strips
and in the early serials,

489
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:50,879
he actually brought something
else to the thing.

490
00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,599
Because he is a very fine actor,

491
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:57,719
he gave a level of sadistic evil

492
00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,679
that was wholly convincing,

493
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:02,959
which kind of brings
a new dimension to the whole idea

494
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,999
of a master of the universe
who really will do anything.

495
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:11,679
There's something also, I think,
in von Sydow's performance and look,

496
00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:14,039
of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu,

497
00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:16,479
another great,
sort of, epic villain.

498
00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:18,799
Bear in mind
this is coming out of the '70s.

499
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,559
The idea of the villain has been

500
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,039
someone who is genuinely psychotic,

501
00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,119
or, sort of, Darth Vader.

502
00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:30,039
And what Max von Sydow
brings to the role of Ming is

503
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,599
an intelligence, a weariness...

504
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,079
real class.

505
00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:37,719
I mean, I was watching the film

506
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,399
and going back to watching him
in The Seventh Seal,

507
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,839
where he's involved in a chess match
between a knight and death.

508
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:45,959
And there is something about

509
00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,599
the gravity of working in that film

510
00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:51,879
that he brings to this part.

511
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,839
But at the same time, he has a
sparkle and a slight sort of smile

512
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,079
which suggests that
he's enjoying himself.

513
00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,239
And indeed,
that was what Mike Hodges said,

514
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:03,119
is that most of the films
that he'd been in,

515
00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:05,799
were just really hard work,
miserable films,

516
00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:08,399
and he got the chance to be
in a film which he really enjoyed

517
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:09,799
based on a comic strip he loved,

518
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:11,639
and he was enjoying
every minute of filming.

519
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,879
There's this legacy
of Nicholas Roeg's original idea

520
00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:18,439
that he was going to wipe out,
you know, all earthlings

521
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,759
and repopulate the planet
with entirely his own species,

522
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:23,359
so a planet full of Mings,

523
00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:27,119
and that was one of the reasons why
he'd chosen Dale Arden as his bride.

524
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:29,399
But I think
he's glorious in the film.

525
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:33,879
I think, as you say, there's this
measured approach to it,

526
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,839
his sort of eloquent delivery
of lines, his weariness.

527
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,639
He sort of defies the audience
to laugh at the film.

528
00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:43,999
Yes.
And I think he sets up, actually,

529
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,999
a series of Hollywood villains
from then on.

530
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:49,919
If you think of Beverley Hills Cop,
if you think of Die Hard,

531
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,159
you think of these
Alan Rickman villains,

532
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,759
you think, you know, this kind of
idea of the weary British villain,

533
00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:58,639
or the very,
very intelligent, like...

534
00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,359
Those people are formed, really,
by Max von Sydow in this film.

535
00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:04,319
Prior to that,
we've not had villains like that.

536
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,039
We've had raging psych- you know...

537
00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:08,159
He plays it so subtly, and...

538
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:09,759
But again, that weariness.

539
00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:12,599
"I am so much better
than everybody else,

540
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:14,960
and I can't believe
I'm being defeated."

541
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,720
(CURIOUS MUSIC)

542
00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:22,879
Come along, Fellini.

543
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,440
(BELLS JINGLING)

544
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,080
Hey! Remember me?

545
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:34,439
(UNSETTLING MUSIC)

546
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,479
Melody Anderson was a charming,

547
00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:40,359
absolutely lovely,
fresh-faced actress,

548
00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:42,279
who plays Dale Arden.

549
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:44,039
She was perfect for the job.

550
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,959
She looked like a sort of,
erm, prom queen.

551
00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:50,079
She was perfect because
she had that aura of innocence,

552
00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,919
and yet a sense of capability
about her.

553
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:54,919
There is no side to her at all,

554
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,879
she is exactly
how she presents herself on screen.

555
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,119
Ornella Muti was, of course,
the exact opposite.

556
00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:03,119
She was the sort of exotic,

557
00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:06,079
threatening, femme fatale.

558
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,879
There's a strong sense of morality
throughout this film,

559
00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:11,639
and Ornella Muti is,
of course, utterly immoral.

560
00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:15,439
She has, as far as one can see,
as Princess Aura,

561
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:19,199
who is the daughter
of Ming the Merciless,

562
00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,919
she seems to have numerous lovers
of various kinds.

563
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:28,319
And of course, she sets her cap
at Flash the minute she sees him.

564
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:32,679
Among the cast are some real curios
to bolster the cult appeal,

565
00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:36,239
such as Blue Peter presenter to be,
Peter Duncan,

566
00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,639
failing his initiation
into the Tree Men of Arboria.

567
00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:42,719
Or kitchen sink playwright
John Osborne,

568
00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:47,439
who featured in Hodges' Get Carter,
straight-faced, as a woodland priest.

569
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:51,800
Or Rocky Horror's Richard O'Brien,
as a traitorous ally to Flash.

570
00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:55,399
And beneath
the golden mask of Klytus,

571
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,479
Ming's chief henchman,
is Peter Wyngarde

572
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,040
from the '60s television show
Jason King.

573
00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:04,600
No one, but no one,

574
00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:08,120
dies in the palace
without a command from the Emperor.

575
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:11,960
(LOW, TENSE MUSIC)

576
00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,519
Hail, Ming. (ECHOES)

577
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,879
(YELLS)
Vultan!

578
00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,439
I'm gonna ask you about
two performances in particular

579
00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:24,159
that are very, very memorable.

580
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:25,879
And the film is so memorable.

581
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:29,759
Two British actors, doing very
different things, but get it right.

582
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:31,919
One is Timothy Dalton,
who's clearly doing

583
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,359
some kind of riff on Errol Flynn
as Prince Barin.

584
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,439
And the other, of course,
is Brian Blessed

585
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:38,599
as the winged Prince Vultan,

586
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,919
who's kind of
playing Brian Blessed in it.

587
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,159
Well Brian Blessed said
that when he was a boy,

588
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:47,319
he'd gone to see Flash Gordon
at the cinema,

589
00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,319
and he'd felt that he was Vultan.

590
00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:51,719
He thought that's what, you know,

591
00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:54,079
he would always afterwards
with his friends play Vultan.

592
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:55,559
And when he went into the audition,

593
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,879
the mock-ups of what the character
looked like, he said,

594
00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,119
"Well, they've already cast me,
I just look like him."

595
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,719
But they hadn't, that was just
how they drew the character.

596
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:04,439
So he was, really.

597
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:06,519
It was a role
that he was born to play.

598
00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,799
And he inhabits it
so wholeheartedly,

599
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:14,479
that it's genuinely joyous
to watch him laugh.

600
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:16,359
And then Timothy Dalton, conversely,

601
00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,159
is playing
to a very particular type,

602
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:20,919
and it works incredibly well.

603
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:22,999
The thigh slapping,
taking off the gloves,

604
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:24,679
"Come on, I'm going to dare you."

605
00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:26,559
I'm surprised
he doesn't have a rapier

606
00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:28,839
because he really is
crying out for one.

607
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,319
You know, a man in a jungle
who's leading his men to victory.

608
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,959
He is, as you say,
he's very much the Errol Flynn role.

609
00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:37,959
But he's dashing.

610
00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:39,719
So you've got these two...

611
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,039
I mean, they're archetypes,
absolutely archetypes,

612
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,359
but both these actors
inhabit these archetypes

613
00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:47,199
with so much commitment
and so much talent

614
00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:51,359
that you forget the archetype
almost instantly.

615
00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:52,959
There is another actor in there

616
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,239
that I only just noticed
when I saw it again.

617
00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:59,079
A small role, but a surprising
face to see, is John Osborne,

618
00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,599
who plays the father of a boy

619
00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:03,999
who has to go through
an initiation ceremony

620
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,399
and subsequently fails and dies.

621
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:08,199
That was quite a treat.

622
00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:12,599
So, you can see that
there are a tremendous amount

623
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:18,239
of support for the relatively
inexperienced Sam Jones around him.

624
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:20,599
And Dino, sort of, made sure

625
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:25,000
that he's peopled his cast
with really famous faces.

626
00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:28,079
Shot on British sound stages,

627
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:30,559
including a converted hangar
in Weybridge,

628
00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:32,959
the film is a cocktail of textures.

629
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:37,679
It draws from the high style of
De Laurentiis' '60s comic book hits,

630
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,479
Danger Diabolic and Barbarella.

631
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:43,839
Hodges wanted the audience to laugh
along with the film knowingly,

632
00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:45,839
like a grand pantomime.

633
00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,159
Yet this surreal universe
has a vivid immediacy

634
00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:50,919
like the sets of an opera.

635
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:52,719
What works so well is

636
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:55,599
the performances live up
to the flights of fantasy.

637
00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:59,999
They recall the golden era Hollywood
of charisma over naturalism,

638
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,039
but without breaking the spell.

639
00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:03,799
It is a delicious balance.

640
00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:06,079
There is real zest and sexiness,

641
00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:08,879
making it more grown up
than Star Wars.

642
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:12,919
As Brian Blessed extolled,
it isn't camp, it's comic strip.

643
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:14,959
Tone is all important here, isn't it?

644
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,839
And it is a tone
that's on a knife edge.

645
00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:20,799
It sort of peers over
into the world of parody.

646
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:22,919
And it's still a pastiche,

647
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:24,599
but it never breaks the spell.

648
00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:25,919
It holds it.

649
00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:27,879
I mean,
I think one of the most spectacular

650
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:29,759
pieces of directing he does

651
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,999
is during the fight
between Barin and Flash Gordon

652
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,199
on this tilting platform,

653
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:36,999
as the spikes come up,

654
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:38,879
Dale Arden says, "Flash, I love you,

655
00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:41,679
but we only have 14 hours
to save the earth." (CHUCKLES)

656
00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,799
It's a laughable moment,
it's a laugh out loud moment,

657
00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:46,439
but then you go back to the fight.

658
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:48,039
And when you're back to the fight,

659
00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:49,919
immediately,
the peril is there as well.

660
00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:52,879
There's something about
the way he cuts so sharply

661
00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,879
between these
unusual script moments,

662
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:58,239
and the terror of what's there.

663
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,719
Production designer Danilo Donati
had worked with Fellini.

664
00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:05,759
Rather than the lived-in futurescapes
of Star Wars or Alien,

665
00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,439
he embraced the variety
of the original comic strip

666
00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:10,560
and art deco serialisation.

667
00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,759
Mongo hints at
the brutal formality of fascism.

668
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:18,239
We take a ship to
the fairytale forest of Arboria,

669
00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:20,839
and the floating sky city
of the Hawk Men,

670
00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:23,239
which resembles a giant chandelier.

671
00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:27,519
The skies swirl with inky colour
as if painted by Dali.

672
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:29,280
(HORN BLOWS)

673
00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:31,719
He's not coming out, sir.

674
00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:33,840
Charge capacities
to electrify cloud.

675
00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:38,400
Prepare Sky nets
to catch Gordon's body.

676
00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:41,600
Fire capacitators.

677
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,239
(LAUGHING)

678
00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:49,599
They're trying to flush you out!

679
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,400
OK, let's go in after him.

680
00:34:00,008 --> 00:34:03,000
(GRAND MUSIC)

681
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:07,960
(EXCITING RHYTHM)

682
00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:10,800
Squadron 40!

683
00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:13,360
Dive!

684
00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:17,200
(DRAMATIC TECHNO ROCK MUSIC)

685
00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:29,239
(MUSIC FADES OUT)

686
00:34:29,240 --> 00:34:32,159
Hodges had wanted Pink Floyd
to write the score,

687
00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:34,719
but who is more Flash than Queen?

688
00:34:34,720 --> 00:34:38,159
Their exuberant music gives
the film the feel of a rock opera.

689
00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,719
Based on the idea
of thunder and lightning,

690
00:34:40,720 --> 00:34:43,719
their tunes are a special effect
in themselves.

691
00:34:43,720 --> 00:34:46,719
Queen's score electrifies
Flash Gordon.

692
00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:49,639
The music just adds
an extraordinary dimension to it.

693
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:51,359
It was entirely fitting.

694
00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:53,159
It matched it tonally.

695
00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:55,599
There was something
about Queen's style of music

696
00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:57,919
that matched
the story of Flash Gordon.

697
00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,879
But it almost serves
as a narrative device.

698
00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:05,079
It serves us, to give us
the heroism and the passion.

699
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:06,919
It all comes from the music.
Yes.

700
00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:10,079
I mean, the music
for the original TV series,

701
00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:14,319
had come from the full work of the
Universal movie studios' orchestras.

702
00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,319
There are pieces of Liszt in it
and so forth.

703
00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:19,159
So, they really had this idea
of big music.

704
00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:21,199
And Queen had already
done this album,

705
00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,479
A Night at the Opera,
with Bohemian Rhapsody,

706
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,799
these grand, operatic,
sort of, rock styles.

707
00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,039
Now, the movie came along

708
00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:31,999
just as Queen, which had
made this... a vow, really,

709
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,479
on a lot of their albums,
never to use synthesisers,

710
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:37,479
had just decided
they were ready to use synthesisers.

711
00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,879
And you can sense them
playing with it.

712
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:43,559
It couldn't be more appropriate

713
00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,639
to hire Queen for that soundtrack.

714
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:47,439
I- I can't think of another band.

715
00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:49,519
Queen were ironically
the second choice.

716
00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:51,159
There was originally Pink Floyd,

717
00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:54,039
which I don't think would've been
as appropriate for this film,

718
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:55,879
because there's something about

719
00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,799
the way that
Freddie Mercury and Brian May

720
00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,479
cut straight into that,
"Flash! Ah-ahh!"

721
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:03,439
This enormous crashing sound.

722
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:07,240
It's hard to think of another band
that would enjoy that so much.

723
00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:10,479
Yeah, it's the talent
of being over the top, isn't it?

724
00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:12,359
Yes.
And it's a great talent.

725
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:15,959
To be over the top and still
greatly enjoyable is a skill.

726
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:17,719
I mean, when you watch videos now

727
00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:20,759
of Freddie Mercury
at the peak of his success,

728
00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:23,479
strutting around the stage
in his white vest,

729
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:25,839
he's very, very similar to Sam Jones

730
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,199
strutting around the set
in his white T-shirt.

731
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:30,519
There's something about
that kind of...

732
00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:32,839
just spectacle and glamour,

733
00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:36,480
and, sort of, performance
that just makes it exactly right.

734
00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:41,159
The energy and excitement,
and indeed quirkiness, involved

735
00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:45,119
made Flash Gordon a splendid success
in the UK and Europe,

736
00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,080
if less so in a bemused America.

737
00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:49,959
The singularity of the film

738
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,999
allowed it to pass into the realms
of a cult hit.

739
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:55,199
It still has a huge following,

740
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,879
fans who laugh along with it
and quote it at will.

741
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:02,199
The response to Flash Gordon

742
00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:04,319
as the decades have gone on

743
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:06,439
has altered slightly.

744
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:10,279
At the time, it was very successful

745
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:14,039
with audiences and critics
in the UK and Italy.

746
00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:16,479
Outside of those two regions,

747
00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:18,399
it didn't do very well.

748
00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:21,399
It wasn't the big hit
that Dino wanted it to be.

749
00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:25,039
It doubled its budget. That's OK,
you know, he made money on it.

750
00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:28,279
But I don't think people were ready

751
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:31,439
for this kind of mutant film.

752
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,000
And it is a mutant film
in many ways.

753
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,719
However, as time has gone by,

754
00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:40,799
I think more and more people
have come to realise

755
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:43,359
the fascinating elements of it.

756
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:46,519
And the fact is that
what everybody concerned,

757
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:49,800
but De Laurentiis particularly...

758
00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:54,239
What he wanted was what he got,

759
00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:58,319
which was a film that was exciting,

760
00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:02,679
that was a kind of
retro, nostalgic movie,

761
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:04,879
science fiction movie, you know?

762
00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:07,839
The rockets look exactly like
they are drawn in the first place,

763
00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:10,479
which, of course, by 1980,
they would not have done.

764
00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:14,279
This is nostalgia, this is the
harking back to a different era.

765
00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:17,919
This is harking back
to not just the 1930s,

766
00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,039
but the 1940s and the 1950s.

767
00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:23,839
It's not until later that people go,

768
00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:27,959
"Ah, no, this is...
this is silly stuff." You know?

769
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:30,119
And then the cult begins

770
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:34,359
because the cult that has grown up
around Flash Gordon,

771
00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:37,559
is of genuine appreciation

772
00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:40,319
for something
that could not be made now.

773
00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:42,999
And this is the definition
of a cult film, isn't it?

774
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,679
It's not just you enjoy the film,

775
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:48,079
you have a kind of
relationship with it,

776
00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:50,719
you know the lines,
you can follow the scenes,

777
00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:53,039
you have the soundtrack, you know.

778
00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:56,519
I think there's now people who do
Flash Gordon cosplay and dress up.

779
00:38:56,520 --> 00:39:00,079
It is definitely what we would call
a cult hero, isn't it, a cult movie?

780
00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:02,519
Yes. I mean, the script
really lends itself to that

781
00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:03,999
because there are so many lines.

782
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,399
"Flash, I love you, we only have
14 hours to save the earth."

783
00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:08,359
"Gordon's alive?!"
All of these lines which-

784
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:11,279
In fact, it's very hard to say
those lines without actually quoting

785
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:13,479
and trying to do minor impressions
of Brian Blessed.

786
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:15,559
All of Brian Blessed's lines,
every time you do it,

787
00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:17,159
you have to sound
a little bit like him.

788
00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:18,959
There's something compelling
about them.

789
00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,439
(LAUGHING) And also those lines,
they are the kind of lines

790
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,879
that you can use in the pub,
which is even better.

791
00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:25,359
So that builds that up.

792
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:27,839
It's something that
you can watch and enjoy,

793
00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:30,839
you know, late at night,
or in the afternoon.

794
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:33,519
It's a perfect film,
it doesn't have any...

795
00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:35,679
There's no difficulty
in watching that film.

796
00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:37,800
To the death!

797
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:43,800
(ROPE THUDS LOUDLY)

798
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:46,920
(TENSE MUSIC)

799
00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:53,519
(GRUNTS)

800
00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:55,279
(ALL GASP and SCREAM)

801
00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:58,320
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(GASPING and SCREAMING CONTINUES)

802
00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:04,359
(WHIP CRACKS)
(YELLS)

803
00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:05,399
(GROANS)

804
00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:07,839
(CHANTING) Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

805
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:10,519
(WHIP CRACKS)
(LAUGHING)

806
00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:12,720
Give me the remote control!

807
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:17,479
One of the most impressive things
about Flash Gordon

808
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:19,319
is of course the way it looks.

809
00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:21,839
It is beautifully designed,

810
00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:25,519
in every respect, by Danilo Donati,

811
00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:29,319
who designed not just the sets,

812
00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:31,159
but also the costumes,

813
00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:34,359
for several
Dino De Laurentiis productions.

814
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:36,679
The great thing about Donati

815
00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:39,319
was that he was equally at home

816
00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:43,279
with historical reality and fantasy.

817
00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:48,799
He knew exactly
how far to push the designs

818
00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:51,479
in order to make an impact
on the screen.

819
00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:53,319
Do you think there's a relationship

820
00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:56,719
with the style of Flash Gordon
and its use of music,

821
00:40:56,720 --> 00:40:59,479
and the kind of,
flourishing of the music video,

822
00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,799
which probably happened
shortly after that?

823
00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:05,479
It does have very much a quality
of some of the music videos

824
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:08,359
that the '80s, particularly
the early '80s, produced.

825
00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:11,519
Those kind of performative,
over the top,

826
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:13,639
you know, collapsed epics

827
00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:17,639
that dominated
the early part of MTV's output.

828
00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:20,839
There are lots of
just amazing vistas,

829
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:25,120
amazing, sort of, erm,
breathtaking scenes

830
00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:29,919
without any of the dialogue,
just the look of them, you know.

831
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,839
The colour is extraordinary.

832
00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:35,679
And the strips were in colour,
so they...

833
00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:39,959
In fact, Alex Raymond's strips are
used in the opening credit sequence.

834
00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:42,200
They are the actual,
sort of, cartoons.

835
00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:45,079
And within that,

836
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:50,039
I think you have a sense
of a world or several worlds

837
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:52,439
that can exist

838
00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:55,160
within the context of the film.

839
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:59,519
The film's strongest influence
has been on a different genre.

840
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:03,240
Put simply, there would be no
superheroes without Flash Gordon.

841
00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:06,679
And the translation
of the cells of a comic book

842
00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:09,239
into film form
has become an industry.

843
00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:12,840
In its way, Flash Gordon
helped shape the future of cinema.

844
00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:16,799
Yet its abiding pleasure
is one of escapism

845
00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:19,839
into a universe of charm, wit,

846
00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:22,999
bold style and a glint in its eye.

847
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:24,599
You can really see,

848
00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:27,919
starting with the original comic
strip, which became a comic book,

849
00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,079
and then obviously, the adaptation,

850
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:32,439
you can see the future of films.
Yes.

851
00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:35,119
You can see
the superhero genre emerge,

852
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:36,759
and it's right here in Flash Gordon.

853
00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:40,799
Well, as you say, I mean,
the idea of the name Flash

854
00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:42,719
in and of itself,
the idea that you would

855
00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:45,039
have a character
whose name wasn't...

856
00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:47,959
I mean, even Buck Rogers is,
it's cowboy name.

857
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:51,519
This is the name of someone
who is going to be what they do.

858
00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:53,959
It's nominative determinism
at its finest! (CHUCKLES)

859
00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:57,479
So the idea, then, of a superhero
who is the name of the thing he is,

860
00:42:57,480 --> 00:42:59,199
Superman! Flash Gordon!

861
00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:01,119
These things are very
interchangeable.

862
00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:03,159
I mean, there is even,
much later on, of course,

863
00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:04,999
a comic strip character
called The Flash.

864
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,799
And so that beginning
of that idea of these...

865
00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:10,919
I mean, he doesn't have superpowers.
No.

866
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:12,999
He's nothing but a man
with a man's courage

867
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:14,599
as Freddie Mercury reminds us.

868
00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:17,359
(GRAND TRUMPETING)

869
00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:19,600
(EXCITING RHYTHM)

870
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:23,040
♪ Flash! ♪

871
00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:28,320
(LOUD DRUMMING, DRAMATIC MUSIC)

872
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:31,840
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

873
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:34,599
♪ QUEEN: The Hero ♪

874
00:43:34,600 --> 00:43:36,960
(EXCITING ROCK INSTRUMENTAL)

875
00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:45,240
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