Mike Hodges
Flash Gordon

Even when I was a kid, this film had something strange about it; when I happened to watch it on a wasted afternoon, it seemed more than a little negligible. Perhaps it was the VHS that was a mess, full of disturbances, color jumps, and dark as hell; or perhaps it was the character of Flash Gordon who, for those of us who grew up in the '80s, was already out-of-date. The fact remains that it never made a great impression on me, it's one of those films you watch without even enjoying it and then quickly forget.

Well, for some darn reason, a friend and I dredged it up on streaming a couple of weeks ago and resolutely made the unhealthy decision to watch it. Self-punishing viewing assured? Yes and no.

Let's be clear, at first glance, the film is indeed a half-wreck; sloppy direction, a clichéd script as linear as a flat EEG (Bad guy attacks Earth - Hero confronts Bad guy - Hero gets beaten up for two hours - Hero defeats Bad Guy/Saves Earth - Hero hooks up with the Girl), shots and dialogues truly worthy of a comic book, rather crude special effects. Not to mention that fool Sam Jones, a two-bit cornball playing a Flash Gordon who seems to have undergone a lobotomy.

And yet, there is a yet. I found something captivating in this slushy colossus with half Italian blood. The special effects are indeed elementary, but their rudimentary artisanal charm makes them genuine and in their own way effective and coherent. Just as seductive and admirable are the sets and costumes, perhaps the true strong point of the film. Some masks are grotesque and funny, the costumes in general are excellently crafted, and Max Von Sydow decked out as Ming The Merciless is just spot on.

Producer De Laurentiis’s hand was fundamental in giving the film this artistic imprint which at times harks back to theatrical sets and staging. A trademark that in some ways precedes what would also be recognized in some major subsequent productions, first in Conan The Barbarian and then, at least in part, in Dune. Films with very different ambitions that nonetheless share with Mike Hodges’s film the patinated and baroque charm of the entire artistic and scenographic department. It’s a shame that De Laurentiis's hand is also felt in the characterization of the characters, whom he too often wanted to be parodic and caricatured. The results of this approach are weak and often unintentionally ridiculous; a more austere and shadowy tone would certainly have served to enhance the film's credibility. Kudos must certainly go to the memorable Ming by Von Sydow; an honorable mention instead for Ornella Muti as the sexy voluptuous Princess Aura, who despite not outstanding acting skills and a hopeless English, certainly figures far more dignified than the bland Dale Arden.

Ultimately, Flash Gordon is a sci-fi peplum closer to Maciste than to Star Wars (although the references in this regard, however naive, are not lacking); there is a bit of everything in there, from erotic-sadomasochistic suggestions to self-punishing film-brute sequences, from delightful freak moments to limping comedic interludes. Also amusing is the final climax with the airship Ajax, a magnificently kitsch designer spaceship lifted straight from the 1940s comic strips, which also becomes the weapon for Ming’s defeat and the obvious triumph of the hero.

Re-evaluated film? Not quite, it remains a somewhat challenging piece to swallow. Yet I found myself admiring and fascinated watching it as an adult; I saw the passion and effort of an almost lost way of filmmaking, along with a good dose of genuine silliness that never hurts. Crude and bizarre, imaginative and naive, Flash Gordon is a cult in its own way. I don’t know how effective it is as an adaptation of a comic strip that I don’t actually know, but the exotic planetary romance imagery evoked by Hodges and company is ultimately lively, often unpresentable, sometimes tastefully kitsch and grotesque.

Ah, there’s talk of a reboot or sequel at Fox; if that's the case, I'm guessing this time CGI will take center stage... “O great goodness of ancient knights!"