Films
Flash Gordon
Starring Sam J. Jones, Max Von
Sydow
Directed by Mike Hodges
Cinema World
A comic book in the hands of
a kid is a source of endless en
joyment. Never mind that the
story is memorized — every
rehash is fun.
Flash Gordon has been
re jurgitated many times in
many forms since its Sunday
comic page premiere in 1934
It’s doubtful Flash Gordon's
creator Alex Raymond had any
inkling of the popularity his strip
would have. He hadn’t even
planned on being a comic artist
— even though he worked in the
art department of the Kings
Feature Syndicate, assisting
Chic Young, the creator of
Blondie.
Not until Kings Feature start
ed recruiting ideas for new
strips did Raymond attain crea
tive license. He ran with it. His
peers told him it was foolish to
lavish as much detail onto a
strip as he did with Flash Gor
don.
The strip quickly gained a
reputation as one of the best
drawn comics on the market.
Flash and his companions Dale
Arden and Dr Hans Zarkov
gained much popular support
battling Ming the Merciless, in
terms of readership
So much so that Universal
plucked characters, stories, and
costumes from the newspaper
and splashed them across the
screen in a 13-episode serial
beginning in 1936. Betting on
Flash’s popularity, Universal
sunk a whopping million dollars
into production, even while
commandeering sets, props,
and music from other films. It
paid off. With Buster Crabbe in
the title role, Flash Gordon is
remembered as one of the most
popular serials ever.
In the wake of a formidable
background, Flash Gordon is
dashing across the screens
again; this time delivered by
producer Dino de Laurentiis,
and, not surprisingly, Universal.
There are a few changes:
Flash is a New York Jets quar
terback, and leading man Sam
J. Jones was a former Playgirl
centerfold instead of a swim
ming champion; the music is by
Queen instead of Tchaikovsky.
The few alterations merely
tailor the movie for a new gen
eration. The material is the
same. Even the spaceships look
like Raymond’s renditions of the
thirties.
Flash Gordon is wonderfully
tacky. It's'like the musical in Mel
Brooks’ The Producers: so bad
r i
It’s BUDWEISER Night!
at
The Suds Factory
Buy a Budweiser and
you keep the glass!
75c
Thursday, Jan. 22
from 8:00 ’til Late
The Suds Factory
1-5 and 30th Avenue
(Across from LCC)
it's hard to hate.
The costumes and sets are
bright and garish: everything
glitters, glows, and bangles. The
sky is forever swirling with in
tense hues of blue, pink,
orange, and purple. The special
effects are terrible, with un
steady motion, visible matte
lines, and strings attached. But,
we’ve all been spoiled by Star
Wars. Somehow this Flash Gor
don wouldn't be incredible en
ough, or faithful enough to the
original if it did have top-notch
effects.
It’s a sense of reckless aban
don that makes the film so much
fun. The battle scenes lack the
tactical logic found in Star Wars.
The only tactic in Flash Gordon
is "damn the torpedos,’’ and
everyone just goes in blasting.
This makes Flash Gordon a
more violent film than the ba
sically bloodless Star Wars
movies. The blood may be green
on Mongo, but it’s there.
The makers of Flash Gordon
obviously knew this stuff
couldn’t be taken seriously, and
they’ve made little effort to pre
sent it as such.
The most serious scenes al
ways have a comic element. Dr.
Zarkov, strapped to a table with
a formidable looking apparatus
looming overhead, asks Ming
what they're going to do
They’re going to empty his
mind, Ming explains simply, and
Zarkov protests earnestly that
he just spent his whole life trying
to fill it up.
In another serio-comic scene,
Dale Arden is forced to marry
Ming, having successfully
avoided him as an imperial con
cubine. In the serials they called
it a fate worse than death. Ming
recites vows to the effect that he
will use and abuse her until he
sees fit. Outside, spaceships fly
by trailing banners reading "All
creatures will make merry —
Under punishment of death.”
As usual in films like this, the
most basely evil character is the
most interesting, and Max Von
Sydow as Ming seems to savor
his role. His voice is marvelously
controlled, and his lower lip has
an ever-so-slight twitch that
makes him seem always on the
verge of a rage.
In contrast, Flash is dull. Sam
Jones has the expression range
of a rock. He has some fun fight
scenes, though. A team of Ming
lackeys get the best of him in his
first battle until Zarkov throws
him a football-sized melon.
Quarterback instincts take over
as he hikes the fruit and barrels
into the bad guys while Dale
cheers from the sidelines.
The film is full of corny charm
brought from straight lines like
“I have to rescue my friends and
save the earth,” or “Keeping
our word is one the things that
rr
LP’S WANTED!!
WE BUY, SELL AND RENT
QUALITY RECORDINGS.
PLAY IT AGAIN, Eugene's largest used record and tape stores, will pay
cash for your used records and tapes. We buy all types of music: rock,
jazz, classical — you name it! New releases or oldies; bring in one
record or as many as you can carry. We are interested in personal
collections, estate collections, record store demos, radio station
copies or reviewer’s overstock. For collections of over 200 LP's we'll
even come to your home for an appraisal
PLAY IT AGAIN
featuring
Quality Used Recordings
565 WILLAMETTE
EUGENE, OR 97401
343-1922
762 E. 13th
EUGENE, OR 97401
342-2088
J
make us better than you,” as
Dale sweetly assures Ming's
daughter Aura.
Flash Gordon appeals to the
kid in everyone and succeeds in
its appeal. It's like a Bismarck
sweet roll: you know what the
surprise is, but it's still fun to bite
into it. Likewise with a comic
book: enjoyment is gleaned with
every re-reading.
By Richard Laliberta
Coming Events
Continued from Page 4B
• Dance Works sponsors an
original theater performance by
David Schein, Improvisation
and the State of the Heart on
Friday, Jan. 30 at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets are $3. Schein will also
conduct a workshop in
improvisational acting: call
344-9817 or 686-8578 for
further information.
• Holly Near arrives in the EMU
Ballroom on campus with
Adrienne Torf Friday, Jan. 30 at
8 p.m. Tickets are $6.50 and are
available at Book & Tea, Mother
Kali’s, House of Records, Lane
Community College Women’s
Center and the University
Women’s Studies office. The
performance is wheelchair ac
cessible and is American Sign
Language interpreted.
If you are not staying in the
lovely Willamette Valley in the
next two weeks, but are bound
for Portland in the near feature,
there are a few musical and
dance-oriented shows coming
to the area you may want to
check into. The Portland Civic
Auditorium houses them all.
• Sunday, Feb. 1 brings Chris
topher Parkening, America’s
leading virtuoso of the classical
guitar at 8 p.m. Tickets are on
sale at the Ticket Place at
Frederick and Nelson in Port
land, or try calling the Eugene
store at Valley River Center
(485-8011) and ask to be con
nected with the Portland store;
tickets are also available at all
G.l Joes stores in Portland.
• Bob Fosse’s hit Broadway
musical Dancin' opens Tues
day, Feb. 3. at 8:15 p.m. The
musical, which is on a 5-month,
55-city national tour, is made up
from classical ballet to modern
dance to every form of show
business and disco dancing.
The show runs through Satur
day, Feb. 7. Sponsored by
Celebrity Attractions, tickets are
available at the office, 1010
S.W. Morrison Street, Portland;
call 226-4372 for additional in
formation.
• Abbey Simon, one of the
most distinguished concert
pianists of international reput
makes his debut performance in
Portland under the auspices of
Celebrity Attractions on Friday,
Jan. 30 at 8:15. Tickets are
available at Celebrity Attactions.
--:-—s
February 14th is...
Special gifts for Special People!
• VALENTINES CARDS WITH PINK
CONDOM
• GIFT CERTIFICATES
• POSTERS. BOARDS, T-SHIRTS
FOR MORE INFORMA TION WRITE:
ZPG-SEATTLE /
LOVE
CAREFULLY
DAY
v.
LCD
DEPT. MO
4426 Burk* N
SEATTLE. WA 96103