Flash Gordon (1980)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Flash Gordon |
| Original title | Flash Gordon |
| Country of production | UK , USA |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1980 |
| length | 111 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Mike Hodges |
| script | Lorenzo Semple Jr. |
| production | Dino De Laurentiis |
| music |
Queen (Songs) Howard Blake (Score) |
| camera | Gilbert Taylor |
| cut | Malcolm Cooke |
| occupation | |
| |
Flash Gordon is a 1980 science fiction film based on the comic book series of the same name .
action
Imperator Ming is an intergalactic leader who has already brought several races of space under his control. Every thousand years Ming examines all the worlds of his empire. If the planet's inhabitants consider the phenomena that he has triggered, which he is also delighted to enjoy, to be natural disasters, then he considers them harmless and spares them. However, if they realize it is an attack, Ming will consider them a potential threat and destroy them completely. In this way he is now also testing the Earthlings .
Meanwhile, the paths of three people, the athlete Flash Gordon and the tour guide Dale Arden as well as the eccentric scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov, who now believes his theory of the extinction of the earth by aliens is taking shape. At the last moment they launch Zarkov's rocket and are catapulted through a wormhole into the empire of Emperor Ming, to the planet Mongo. All three are set by Ming. While Gordon is sentenced to death by gas, Dr. Zarkov to be brainwashed. The Emperor, however, wants to marry Dale. Ming changes the orbit of the moon so that it will fall to earth in a few days, because Zarkov saw through Ming's game with the earth and thus inadvertently provided evidence that the Earthlings could be dangerous to Ming.
Through Ming's daughter, Princess Aura, Gordon survived the execution and was brought into the kingdom of Prince Barin. Barin himself is addicted to Aura and he is jealous as he rightly believes that Aura only saved Gordon for personal reasons. That's why Prince Barin tries to kill him to get rid of his adversary. But he did not expect his rival, the winged falconer Prince Vultan, who had both captured and brought to his floating city. Dale and Dr. Zarkov, who survived the brainwashing through the silent recitation of "Shakespeare, the Talmud and Einstein's Theory of Relativity" unscathed. Vultan has been planning the rebellion against Ming for some time, but only has outdated weapons. To buy time, he wants Barin, Gordon, Dale and Dr. Deliver Zarkov to Ming. Barin invokes a law that gives him the right to a duel. He chooses Gordon as his duel partner.
During the duel in the realm of Vultans, Barin realizes through Gordon's humanity that there is a much more important opponent, namely Ming. They fraternize with Vultan, and Gordon becomes a hero. But at the same time, Clytus, Ming's chief secret service and first servant, tortured Princess Aura to confess and travels to Vultan's place by spaceship. There he finds Gordon, Barin and Dale as well as Dr. Zarkov in front. After Flash Gordon and Barin overpower and kill Klytus in a spontaneous action, the Ming who follows, presents him with the choice of becoming ruler of the earth or dying. Gordon refuses, but escapes the palace explosion in a rocket scooter.
But the time remaining until the destruction of the earth is running out, and the wedding between Ming and Dale is imminent. Flash Gordon sets off with Vultan and his winged hawks to the Mings Palace, which is heavily secured with lasers and protective shields. But Gordon is lucky as he rushes towards the palace. Zarkov and Barin managed to escape and they switch off the protective shield. Gordon races into the ceremony with a hijacked spaceship and prevents the wedding. But the badly injured Ming is certain that no Earthling will ever kill him and dissolves in dust. Only his ring of rulers remains of him. Since Ming is dead, Barin is proclaimed the new ruler. He appoints Vultan as lord of the troops.
The final scene shows Ming's ring lying on the floor before it is picked up by the hand of an unrecognizable person. Ming's laughter can be heard before the credits begin with "The End" and a question mark attached after a short pause.
Film music
The soundtrack including the theme song Flash is from the rock group Queen and appeared on the album Flash Gordon . Additional arrangements and the orchestral parts of the film music come from Howard Blake .
German synchronization
Dialogue book and dialogue direction : Heinz Freitag . Max von Sydow was dubbed by Jürgen Thormann . Thormann was also the standard voice of Peter Wyngarde , who became known as Jason King in the series of the same name and through the Department S series. Since Wyngarde was not recognizable through a mask at all times, he was given the Darth Vader voice of Heinz Petruo due to the Star Wars boom . Flash Gordon will also be spoken by Hans-Georg Panczak , the German voice of Luke Skywalker , Vultan by Wolfgang Pampel ( Han Solo ) and Barin by Frank Glaubrecht ( Lando Calrissian ). Other dubbing actors were u. a. Cornelia Meinhardt (Dale) , Harry Wüstenhagen (Zarkov) , Evelyn Maron (Aura) , Almut Eggert (Kala) and Wilfried Herbst (Munson) .
Jürgen Thormann spoke the role of Imperator Ming not only in the film, but also in the Flash Gordon radio play series of Europe .
Premiere dates
- USA: December 5th, 1980
- UK: December 10, 1980
- Germany: February 25, 1981
Awards
- The film was nominated for the Saturn Award in 1981 in the categories of best costume, best science fiction film and best supporting actor (Max von Sydow) .
- Flash Gordon received three nominations for the British Academy Film Award in 1981 , Best Costume, Best Score, and Best Artistic Design.
- Sam J. Jones was nominated for a Golden Raspberry for Worst Actor .
Reviews
The film service found that the “knight's fairy tale à la Prince Eisenherz in fashionable garb” lives from “anachronistic elements”, such as the jungle and swamps and the medievally dressed residents who Ming's troops face with lasers and brainwashing machines. In view of the decoration and technology, directors and actors are hardly required; the main actor appears "like a male pin-up with a stupid facial expression and a muscular body". “In addition to the elaborate and imaginative special effects, there are also a few staging pieces, such as the attack on Ming's guard as a sporting confrontation. Some subjects, such as the sadistic methods of the secret police or allusions to the SS , appeared tasteless and unnecessary for family entertainment . Apart from that, Flash Gordon is "an imaginative and enjoyable science fiction adventure that not only friends of the genre can have fun with."
The Protestant film observer found the film "on the whole successful" and retained the flair of the comic. With “well-cast” roles and “hardly any lengths” it is “a splendid and colorful film”, “a very entertaining cinema soap bubble” that neither wants nor can do more than entertain. The naivety of this version, which shows the "budget of a big film", corresponds almost to the cheaper Flash Gordon film series of the 1930s, but is "bearable again due to the fairytale character and humorous alienation."
Similarly, it was said in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the “entertaining fantasy spectacle” was visibly influenced by Star Wars , but in comparison to this, despite “trivial political clichés”, it was “refreshing naivety”.
In a short review, Der Spiegel ruled that the flick was less "stiff" than Star Wars and that it was "kidding itself and the successful genre."
"Imaginatively equipped science fiction adventure that draws its charm mainly from the contrast between futuristic and anachronistic elements."
Web links
- Flash Gordon in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Flash Gordon at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Sound carrier with the film music
- Original promotional material from the film
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Flash Gordon. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 22, 2016 .
- ↑ Flash Gordon. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Rolf-Rüdiger Hamacher: Flash Gordon . In: film-dienst , No. 6/1981 of March 24, 1981, pp. 8–9
- ↑ Wolfgang J. Fuchs in the Evangelisches Filmbeobachter , printed in: Lothar R. Just (Ed.): Das Filmjahr '81 / 82. Filmland Presse, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-88690-022-3 , pp. 83-84
- ↑ Andreas Obst: An obscure celestial body . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , March 24, 1981, p. 24
- ↑ Der Spiegel No. 11/1981 of March 9, 1981: Triviales Pop-Kino: Flash Gordon