Sunday, September 12, 2010

Flesh Gordon (1974)




Directors: Michael Benveniste & Howard Ziehm

Starring: Jason Williams, Suzanne Fields, Joseph Hudgins, William Dennis Hunt and Candy "Tits" Samples

More info: IMDB

Tagline: Not to be confused with the original "Flash Gordon"

Plot: Emperor Wang (the Perverted) is leader of the planet Porno and sends his mighty "Sex Ray" towards Earth, turning everyone into sex-mad fiends. Only one man can save the Earth, hockey player Flesh Gordon. Along with his girlfriend Dale Ardent and Professor Flexi-Jerkoff, they set off towards the source of the Sex Ray, unaware of the perils that face them!



My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? I could be persuaded but it's not likely.

#37 on Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

#13 on SCI-FI TRAILERS VOLUME 9 & 10 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)


NOTE: For some reason my computer video player stops at a certain point therefore I was unable to get the screenies I wanted. I had to be content with pulling images and lobby cards off the net.


As a fan of the 1930s Flash Gordon serials, there's a lot to like here as this borrows heavily from some of the scenes and situations as well as the models, ships, etc. The only thing missing from this one are the giant lizard monsters. The only thing missing from the 30s serials is copious amounts of nudity. It's a misnomer out there that this is a XXX film. It is not. A boatload of boobs does not a porno make. I'm not sayin' that it wouldn't have hurt it to have included a little bit of sum'im sum'im...



There are some truly great laughs thrown in and it's clear that the cast and crew are having fun, just as you or I would on the set of a boob-laded sex spoof of Flash Gordon. Prince Precious takes the comedy cake. He's fucking priceless. 70s porn icon, Candy Samples, chews it up by seemingly channeling Peter Sellers' titular character from DR. STRANGELOVE (1964). Classic.


But what I dug the most were the scenes of stop motion creatures. As a fan of that technique, it's a huge plus in my book, and that the giant monster at the end that sounds like Vincent Price on ludes is icing.


It's been a number of years since I watched it and last night makes it my second and possibly final viewing. Why? It drags. There aren't enough jokes to sustain it. I don't mind the silliness of it all - quite the contrary. It makes the picture what it is and it's highly enjoyable at times. It just feels like it goes on too long but if you loaded it up with some more gags and tightened the pacing up a bit it'd be a solid 8 or 9. As it stands, most people should just watch the trailer. If you're still really curious, then check it out. There's a commentary on the DVD that I just might have to listen to someday and there's that 1989 sequel that is begging to be seen...(not to be confused with the original Flash Gordon!)

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