Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical movie?

[FalTorPan]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Ideally it should be faithful to the original comics and the designs of Alex Raymond, as well as paying tribute to the classic serials. That's how the 1979 Filmation movie (tragically unavailable on home video, although the weekly series that parts of it were recut into is available) did it, and that was fabulous. Samuel Peeples originally wrote it as a script for a live-action FG movie that Filmation was going to make, but once they got this lush, rich script, they realized they could never do it justice in live action on their budget, so they made it in animation instead. And it looked utterly gorgeous and was the best filmic adaptation of Flash Gordon ever made, bar none. Unfortunately, it was only aired once in 1982, and there are no surviving prints of it deemed good enough in quality for DVD release. So the best FG movie ever made is also the most obscure one.

The movie is available on DVD. It's bundled with the DVD box set of the animated series.

 

[Pingfah]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

The new movie better have Queen do their soundtrack.

Is that a joke?! I really hope so because it's an awful, awful idea.

Quite beside the fact that Queen are one quarter dead and one quarter retired, and the band that remains are not the same band they used to be, why would people filming a story for a 21st century audience want to use the same band that did the soundtrack for a totally campy 80s version of the same story?

Do you want to tell this to the Highlander franchise?

Queen recorded all the music used at any point in the Highlander franchise for the original movie, that was the extent of their involvement. A Kind of Magic being in H2 and Princes of the Universe being the TV show theme tune were a licensing matter only, and whilst Queen are picky about the work they produce, historically they have not been picky about how they license it. Iron Eagle anybody?

Plus they were the same incarnation of the franchise, I somehow doubt this is going to be a continuation of the Mike Hodges movie

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

I saw that Bugs Bunny cartoon with Robin Hood once where at the end instead of Errol Flynn showing up, it was Kevin Costner.

There is no problem you can't throw enough money at until it buckles, wavers and vanishes... As long, of course as you have more money than the people you're throwing your cabbage at.

This would make Queen problematic.

 

[JoeZhang]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Queen would be a terrible idea - they are not (as far as I am aware) doing a remark of the 1980s film.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

The movie is available on DVD. It's bundled with the DVD box set of the animated series.

Since when? I've rented the entire set from Netflix and the movie wasn't there. I've spoken to Andy Mangels, one of the people who produced the DVD set, and he explained to me in detail the reasons why the movie could not be included in the set.

 

[grabmygoblin]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Queen would be a terrible idea - they are not (as far as I am aware) doing a remark of the 1980s film.

I wouldn't mind a remix played over the first part of the credits, but yeah, nothing more than that.

 

[cylkoth]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Ideally it should be faithful to the original comics and the designs of Alex Raymond, as well as paying tribute to the classic serials. That's how the 1979 Filmation movie (tragically unavailable on home video, although the weekly series that parts of it were recut into is available) did it, and that was fabulous. Samuel Peeples originally wrote it as a script for a live-action FG movie that Filmation was going to make, but once they got this lush, rich script, they realized they could never do it justice in live action on their budget, so they made it in animation instead. And it looked utterly gorgeous and was the best filmic adaptation of Flash Gordon ever made, bar none. Unfortunately, it was only aired once in 1982, and there are no surviving prints of it deemed good enough in quality for DVD release. So the best FG movie ever made is also the most obscure one.

The movie is available on DVD. It's bundled with the DVD box set of the animated series.

Unfortunately, the movie is not a part of the tv series' dvd release. There was an early vhs release of the film back in the 80s, but I've never been able to track down a copy. Someone has, as I've only just discovered today, posted it in 10 min segments at You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/user/goclickyourself
It is a beautiful production, and watchig it,makes me realize and appreciate just how much work Filmation put into the series. They could have easily stuck with the wardrobe designs used in the movie, but they went to the trouble of creating new animation (or more specifically, redressing animation created for the film).
Heck, if they can't find a decent print of the film, I'll take whatever they have. This has just got to be released somehow.

 

[drasche]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

The new movie better have Queen do their soundtrack.

Is that a joke?! I really hope so because it's an awful, awful idea.

Quite beside the fact that Queen are one quarter dead and one quarter retired, and the band that remains are not the same band they used to be, why would people filming a story for a 21st century audience want to use the same band that did the soundtrack for a totally campy 80s version of the same story?

Brian May was more involved than usual with this album because he has a lot of experience in movie soundtracks (except Mad Max because that's another Brian May ) In fact, the Flash Gordon sountrack was the only Queen album not co-produced by Queen. It was co-produced by May. I know, the other members were also involved in the writing as usual. I wouldn't be worried if Queen+Rodgers were to do this movie soundtrack.

Queen would be a terrible idea - they are not (as far as I am aware) doing a remark of the 1980s film.

I won't go that far but I'm waiting their new album to form an opinion on the subject.

It would certainly be nice to acknowledge the old theme in the new soundtrack, whoever is working on it.

 

[Pingfah]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Brian May was more involved than usual with this album because he has a lot of experience in movie soundtracks (except Mad Max because that's another Brian May ) In fact, the Flash Gordon sountrack was the only Queen album not co-produced by Queen. It was co-produced by May. I know, the other members were also involved in the writing as usual. I wouldn't be worried if Queen+Rodgers were to do this movie soundtrack.

I wouldn't be worried in terms of their ability to record a good soundtrack, although having heard Brian's "Furia" soundtrack i'd certainly be glad of Roger and Paul's input Me being worried about their ability was never mypoint, I have seen Q+PR and I loved what they were doing.

My point was that unless the film makers were remaking the Hodges movie it would be a bizarre and illogical decision. This film has absolutely nothing to do with that film I would imagine.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Put me down for the "No Queen, for God's sake, no" category. Not only is it a dreadful song (come on, rhyming "savior of the universe" with "he'll save every one of us"????), not only can I not stand Queen's shrieking vocals and harsh instrumentals, but the 1980 movie does not remotely deserve to be seen as an archetypal or definitive version of Flash Gordon. It was a highly revisionist, campy, and parodic interpretation, not faithful to the original's style at all.

 

[Pingfah]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

^ They did not rhyme those 2 lines, they are stand alone, as are the next 2 lines, which also don't rhyme.

Flash a-ah
Savior of the Universe
Flash
He save everyone of us
Flash
He's a miracle
Flash
King of the impossible

If you think that is Freddie Mercury trying to rhyme then you don't have much of a clue about the man's music.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

And I don't want to. Those are stupid lyrics whether they rhyme or not. And they obviously are meant to be approximate rhymes in an AABB arrangement, specifically, a pair of oblique rhymes followed by a pair of half rhymes. I mean, come on, what else could motivate the creation of a line as awkward as "He'll save every one of us" if not a misguided attempt to find some kind of rhyme for "universe?"

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Because, he will save every one of us.

And in just 14 hours!

The Beverly Hillbillies movie didn't change a thing and that Busker in the first Spider-Man movie singing the theme from the 60s movie was just adorable.

I was 4 when I saw Flash Gordon first and I had no idea how bad it was, but i still associate that feeling of elation with modern viewings of the film...

 

[grabmygoblin]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

I have that song in my head now.

I hate every one of you.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

The Beverly Hillbillies movie didn't change a thing and that Busker in the first Spider-Man movie singing the theme from the 60s movie was just adorable.

I was 4 when I saw Flash Gordon first and I had no idea how bad it was, but i still associate that feeling of elation with modern viewings of the film...

I wouldn't mind a subtle nod like a cameo by Timothy Dalton or Brian Blessed or something. Actually the SciFi FG series had Sam J. Jones guest-star in an episode, and that didn't bother me. (Although the cover of the Queen song that they used in the episode previews bothered the hell out of me; it was even more irritating than the original.) I just want to see a Flash Gordon movie that captures the spirit and aesthetics of the original Alex Raymond comic strips in live-action (and photorealistic CGI) in the same way the Filmation movie did in animation. And I want the general public to be aware that Flash Gordon did not originate in a 1980 movie but in a 1930s comic strip. The '80 movie is one highly variant interpretation, and it would make no sense to use it as the archetype.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

For about two days in primary school we played this game before some one got seriously hurt.... We'd run up to some one and scream in their face "FLASH!" while stomping on their foot as hard as we could and they'd say "Arrrghhh!"

Children are bastards.

 

[FalTorPan]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

The movie is available on DVD. It's bundled with the DVD box set of the animated series.

Since when? I've rented the entire set from Netflix and the movie wasn't there. I've spoken to Andy Mangels, one of the people who produced the DVD set, and he explained to me in detail the reasons why the movie could not be included in the set.

Well, I'll be damned. I just looked at my box set again, and it isn't included after all.

I could have sworn that the movie was listed as a bonus feature... but it isn't.

I never finished watching the series. I devoured and loved season one, but I could only take so much of Gremlin the Baby Dragon. Ack.

 

[Tyson]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Put me down for the "No Queen, for God's sake, no" category. Not only is it a dreadful song (come on, rhyming "savior of the universe" with "he'll save every one of us"????), not only can I not stand Queen's shrieking vocals and harsh instrumentals, but the 1980 movie does not remotely deserve to be seen as an archetypal or definitive version of Flash Gordon. It was a highly revisionist, campy, and parodic interpretation, not faithful to the original's style at all.

Sorry, but Queen is awesome and you're a bitch.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

I never finished watching the series. I devoured and loved season one, but I could only take so much of Gremlin the Baby Dragon. Ack.

Ohh, yes. The second season of the Filmation series was an ordeal. Me, I'm convinced that Gremlin possessed an insidious psychic defense mechanism that made everyone around him believe that he was the most important being in their lives. This compromised their judgment to the point that when Flash had a dangerous mission to go on, he'd take Dale, Thun, and the baby dragon instead of a platoon of Barin's forest men. Even Ming was affected by this psychic influence, so that his evil plans tended to revolve around Gremlin as well. Not to mention the mole people of the underground kingdom, who, when raiding Arboria for its greatest warriors for their arena, actually believed the baby dragon qualified.

I like to imagine a third-season premiere in which the characters realize how this horrible cute pink fiend has brainwashed and enslaved all of Mongo, and all the various factions band together to destroy him. But of course, Ming double-crosses everyone immediately thereafter and tries to take over Mongo again, and we get back to the real storyline.

 

[Cutter John]

Re: Flash Gordon TV series flopped...so they're making a theatrical mo

Hey now, lets not go dissing the 80's movie. Yes the two American actors sucked and I wished they'd played it straight, but to me its still the best modern version of Flash. Tons of action, and the sets, costumes and spacecraft were downright beautiful, and captured the art deco feel of the 30's perfectly. Not to mention Brian Blessed, Max Von Sidow, and Tim Dalton all being just amazing to watch.