FLASH GORDON remake

[Goatilocks]

"No, not the Boor Worm!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO-kfrG4fwQ

Boggles the mind what that worm did ...

[Jim_Campbell]

I'm not even joking about it in a 'so bad it's great' kind of way - it's an all-ages movie where Hawkmen fight laser-toting cyborgs on the wings of a war rocket inside a stormcloud while Brian Blessed shakes his fist to Queen's 'The Hero'.  It doesn't matter how cheap it looks, that is ballsy high concept action that no amount of CGI can replace.

No argument. It's a fantastic movie and one of the few that I will go out of my way to sit down and watch whenever it's on TV. An absolute triumph of enthusiasm over all budgetary limitations!

Cheers

Jim

[ThryllSeekyr]

I didn't catch the (new) TV series, although I remember enjoying the old chapter serials as a lad.

The 80s film had it all - dramatic OTT music, campy sets and costumes, cheesy one-liners and Brian Blessed.

Going to be hard to beat that!  

You really don't want to. It's awful from what I have seen of it.

The Buster Crabb serial in black ansd white is the best by far.

It would be hard to imagine another Flash Gordn film done unlike the eighties version with the song Queen wrote for it and it's memorable use of colour.

Ah....... those water tank effects, for want of a better term.

Just add some food colouring to a fish tank filled with water ( Removee the fish first.) to geta idea of what I mean. Actaulley add different colours, like reds, blues, purples, greens and film it to reproduce that ose fluid gas cloud effects.

Very hard to go past Sam -Whats his name?- for Flash himself, Max Synder for  Ming and that well known english actor for the leader of the Hawk-men and that one time James Bond

"No Queen [music]. It is not camp in any way. We're going back to the original Alex Raymond [comic strip] scripts and imagining if he were living today, what would those strips be like?"

without prejudging this, that is the most stupid statement ive read in a long time - if Alx Raymond was creating the strip now it wouldnt be even 1% of the Flash Gordon he created then -The things that make Flash Gordon unique (and cool) are not things you'd contemplate puting in a "modern" story - the derring do, the damsels, the animal men, the naive science and the cruel dictatorship of Ming are all firmly products of their times.  I'm happy to be corrected on this, but updating Flash Gordon seems to me would require excising just about the entire thing and replacing it with something you may as well call your own.

I think I know what you mean.....

As for remaking it, I definitly think it can be imrpoved, but if only they they stick to retro scifi appeal of the original comic. As long as they don't sugar coat it as well.

The planets and moons that weren't really planets but oddly shaped landscapes comprising the different kingdoms and territories.

I imagine that they did this perfectly in films like Neverending Story and Avatar.

Something had to be done about the lizarrd man costumes from the eigties version. Were they mean to look that bad? Because, they were just awful. Get rid of those, replace them.

[Tiplodocus]

They may not be the best executed special effects ever but blow me if they aren't some of the most imaginitive and crazy.  The skies, once you see beyond the inch thick matte lines, are gorgeous.

Tiny Tips watched this with me and loved it. He looked slightly confused as to why I'd light up at the seduction of Dale and, well, whenever Ornella Muti showed up.

(I always thought the first Stargate movie had a distinct FLASH GORDON feel to it; travel to alien planet, evil overlord, get the locals to fight back against him etc.)

[HdE]

Is it just me, or are the Hollywood boffins excelling lately at optioning movies that have 'INSTANT PASS' written all over them?

Yeah, they've exhausted the Asian-remake-of-a-perfectly-good-film market, and are now going for shoddy remakes of anything going.

Don't even get me started! I just made a pact with some friends that if that thrice-accursed US Akira movie ever gets made, we're all gonna deliberately stay away from it and sit at home reading the books or watching the 1987 movie instead. Similar deal with that 'The Last Airbender' movie.

Seriously, Mr. Hollywood - why even bother?

[SuperSurfer]

Yeah, loved the 80s Flash Gordon film. But then again I loved the 60s Batman. But I am up for other interpretations especially those closer to the originals.

Brilliant Queen soundtrack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj8YXtEGcwM
("He just winged me." Good one.)

'Hero' The version with lyrics, rocks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SP2CsHNHd8

[JohnMcF]

This is a fun version.

http://srv14.movie-list.net/sexmaniac/flesh_gordon.mov

Not safe for work though.

[Radbacker]

man i bloody loved this movie as a kid, the cheese is the best part.  Still wait to see what the new director brings before i shit on it, couldn't be as bad as the recent TV series though, just tragic, WTF were they thinking, no rockets\, stupid stargate type thing, nothing likre flash.

On the remake wagon they're apparently redoing Amrican Pie, make of that what you will, surely it'd make more sence to do Porkie's or something from  that era if you want to remake a sex comedy.

CU Radbacker

[Colin YNWA]

On the remake wagon they're apparently redoing Amrican Pie, make of that what you will,

Wow, wow wow. If this gets made surely proof, if any was needed, that Hollywood has run out of any original ideas of their own.

[ThryllSeekyr]

man i bloody loved this movie as a kid, the cheese is the best part.  Still wait to see what the new director brings before i shit on it, couldn't be as bad as the recent TV series though, just tragic, WTF were they thinking, no rockets\, stupid stargate type thing, nothing likre flash.

On the remake wagon they're apparently redoing Amrican Pie, make of that what you will, surely it'd make more sence to do Porkie's or something from  that era if you want to remake a sex comedy.

CU Radbacker

A remake of Porkies now thats scary.

How would you even improve on what ever needs improving on.

[TordelBack]

On the remake wagon they're apparently redoing Amrican Pie

Haven't they been remaking that as direct-to-video 'sequels' ever since?  I caught sight of some unimaginable awful piece of shite apparently entitled American Pie:  The Naked Mile on telly over Christmas... sweet jesus, who knew young women's breasts could be made to look so ugly.  I wouldn't touch them with Roger's.

[HOO-HAA]

On the remake wagon they're apparently redoing Amrican Pie, make of that what you will,

Wow, wow wow. If this gets made surely proof, if any was needed, that Hollywood has run out of any original ideas of their own.

That's outrageous.

I don't give  a monkey's about American Pie, but .... Jesus H?!

Soon, there'll be remakes of films within a year of being released.

OUTRAGEOUS, I say! 

[Colin YNWA]

Then eventually Odeon cinemas will ban its first remake, as the remake comes out 12 weeks after the original release rather than the 16 week 'curfew'

[Devons Daddy]

the 1980s
one of the best sci-fi spoofs ever made, brillant one liners,perfect casting,
outstanding sound track.

a true remake of the saturday morning pictures it came from.

for his arrognace i hope he fails miserably,we dont need a generic sci fi movie.
be original or accept perfection.

FLASH the savouir of the universe.
MING a baddie of the highest levels.

[Mike Gloady]

So we have: 1. The director mis-understanding the appeal of both the original comic strip AND the 80s movie - it's camp retrofuturism. 2. No Queen. 3. The director attempting to update something that doesn't need it and which, like Dan Dare, would become almost unrecognisable if it WERE to be updated (again missing the point). 4. Oh god, there has to be a four, doesn't there?  I just can't see it because I'm bellowing "YOU STUPID MORON" at the computer.  Not you guys, this twonk planning on remaking this classic.

I'll tell you how cracking this movie is.  I was at my folks house watching it as my poorly dad excused himself to go upstairs and died of a heart attack on the stairs.  I've never failed to watch it on every opportunity it's been aired ever since.  Now there are tears amoung the grins, but they're mostly good ones.  Just that iconic bass line makes me think of my da's raised eyebrows at the appearance of Ming's lovely daughter on screen.  It's pure cinematic joy, not even one of my saddest memories can dilute it.  It's THAT good.

There are songs that no sane artist should ever attempt to cover, they've just been done perfectly already and nobody will ever give you time to do your thing, no matter how cool you might think it is so why bother?  There are films like that too - not many, but some and Flash Gordon is one of them.

And the best way to update Flash Gordon?  Isn't it obvious?  It's called Nikolai Dante.