 | | |
| Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars | 
 enlarge | Directors: Ford Beebe, Robert F. Hill, Frederick Stephani
Actors: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon, Beatrice Roberts
Studio: Image Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.99
Buy New: $23.82
You Save: $16.17 (40%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $14.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  (20 reviews)
Sales Rank: 82013
Format: Black & White, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 299 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 6305773904
UPC: 014381896220
EAN: 9786305773900
ASIN: 6305773904
Release Date: March 28, 2000
Theatrical Release Date: March 21, 1938
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Description
Complete and uncut: 15 episodes starring "Buster" Crabbe. Life on Earth is about to be destroyed! A mysterious beam of light emanating from Mars is sucking the nitrogen from the planet's atmosphere, and only Flash Gordon ("Buster" Crabbe) can stop it. Blasting off with Dale Arden (Jean Rogers) and Dr. Hans Zarkov (Frank Shannon), Flash and his intrepid band of adventurers quickly learn that Queen Azura (Beatrice Roberts), ruler of Mars, is stealing Earth's nitrogen to aid in her ongoing war with the Clay People, Martians whom Azura magically turned into living mud. A bigger surprise, however, is yet to come; working closely with the Queen is Flash's mortal enemy, Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton), who--while posing as Azura's ally--is secretly plotting to overthrow the Queen and seize Mars for himself! Can Flash save the Earth, rescue the Clay People, bring Azura to her senses, and stop Ming's heinous scheme? The answers lie in "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars"--15 thrilling episodes of sci-fi adventure at its very best.
Amazon.com
It's easy to point and guffaw at the Flash Gordon serials. In fact, in this day and age it's hard to believe that audiences of any era were ever expected to accept bulbous rocket ships that flatulently trail sparks and smoke; preposterous, shambling space creatures; and spaceship interiors that look as though they were assembled from a plumbing warehouse. Despite the primitive sets and effects, Flash Gordon serials are as much a part of the roots of modern sci-fi as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, or Ray Bradbury. This collection from Image Entertainment finds Flash battling a fiendish plot staged by Queen Azura of Mars, stealing the Earth's nitrogen to aid in the ongoing war against the Clay People. Flash soon discovers that Azura is in line with his mortal enemy, Ming the Merciless, who secretly is plotting to overthrow her and take over Mars himself. As usual, the hapless Professor Zarkov gets in predicaments from which Flash must rescue him, and Dale Arden is by Flash's side through all of it. Loaded with fisticuffs, sputtering, wobbly rocket ships, lasers, and, of course, the remarkable Clay People (Martians turned into animated mud), this is fast-paced sci-fi entertainment that was state of the art for 1938. The energy and raw enthusiasm of these serials are what make them so fun to watch, not to mention providing a downright quaint time-capsule look at what Depression-era audiences thought of as the future. --Jerry Renshaw
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 OF MING AND MAGIC February 17, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Of the three Flash Gordon serials, the Trip to Mars is my favorite. Ming, for unexplained reasons has escaped death on Mongo and landed on Mars [which bears an uncanny resemblence to planet Mongo]. He is nasty as ever. I really, really hate that Ming!
I have a confession, however. I am really, really in love with Azura, Queen of Magic! [I don't want that to get around]!
For some reason, she presented me with my first prepubertal sexual awakening. I was eight. It may have been her glacial beauty, her imperious disdain or her ability to turn grown men to clay and vanish on the spot. I don't know.
She died in chapter 13. It's an ignominious death in a tacky suburb of Mars. Even worse, it was at the hands of her own guards. I only know, had I been there, it would have turned out differently!
The computer has presented me with magic beyond her dreams. I could obtain this DVD and perform a search for my Queen.
Queen Azura was played by Beatrice Roberts. The actress was born in Manhattan in 1905. As a young woman she entered several beauty contests including Miss America. She had a short term marriage to Robert Ripley [Believe It or Not], and a long term dalliance with Louis B. Mayer [MGM]. She appeared in a string of grade B [maybe C] movies, often uncredited.
I still bear a torch for her. In truth she would be as old as my grandmother. On the screen, however, she retains a regal appeal.
Beatrice Roberts vanished finally into obscurity and apparently is buried in Plymouth, Massachusetts near my hometown. If I ever find her grave I'll stop and plant some violets.
 Flash vs. Ming: Round Two February 5, 2008
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
Though an entertaining serial, "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars" suffers from obvious padding (due to its 15-chapter length), erratic pacing and unnecessary comic relief. Luckily, Buster Crabbe and Charles Middleton resume their intergalactic battle in classic Saturday Matinee tradition - highlighted by the memorable presence of the Clay People. The action-packed finale has a rousing vitality not evident in the previous chapters. Worth seeing, but definitely the weakest of Universal's Flash Gordon trilogy.
Episodes listing February 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
1. New Worlds To Conquer
2. The Living Dead
3. Queen Of Magic
4. Ancient Enemies
5. The Boomerang
6. Tree-Men Of Mars
7. The Prisoner Of Mongo
8. The Black Sapphire Of Kalu
9. Symbol Of Death
10 Incense Of Forgetfullness
11 Human Bait
12 Ming The Merciless
13 The Miracle of Magic
14 A Beast At Bay
15 An Eye For An Eye
A Historic Sci-Fi Film October 25, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was truly the for runner for Star Wars and Star Trek. The special effects look very simple by todays standards. But I am still amazed by how the Clay People come to life out of the walls in the caves. It has great villains in Ming and the Tree People. I can only imagine how great this Serial looked in 1938 when fans went to the movies on Saturdays to see the next 20 minute chapter.
Space silliness November 15, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
These fifteen episodes, twenty minutes each, add up to a five-hour marathon of popcorn-worthy swashbuckling. It's based on Alex Raymond's comic strip from that pre-WWII era that now looks like such an Eden of innocence. It wasn't, of course, but they didn't know it back then.
Queen Azura of Mars has waged war on the clay people, who seem condemned to live their shambling lives away from the sun, in prison uniforms and itchy-looking rubber masks. Evil Ming the Merciless falsely befriends her, to take advantage of her mystic command of the White Opal. It is a gem that grants her magical powers and looks pretty good on with her perpetual evening gown. Somewhere along the line the good guy's gal, Dale Arden, also doffs her lab coat and spends the rest of the flick running through forests and caves in an evening gown of her own - more sparkly, and more dramatic about the bodice. Then there's Prince Barin, standing proud in his armored chestplate and shortie bloomers. And Ming, with a little arrow pasted onto his skullcap.
Well, ignore the costumes (and the plot, if you can). Instead, drink in the tubby little strato-sleds as they soar through the air, flatulent with drooping sparks and drifting wreaths of smoke. Or the wonderful labs, generally bare except for a few ominous Erlenmeyers and a Jacob's ladder or two, or more. Or the ray guns that look mostly like little cookie presses with the handle bent sideways.
It's great stuff. My childhood was, I admit, as close to the series's 1938 date as to this writing, or closer. It was wonderful, stirring adventure back then. It still is, if you can see it with innocent-enough eyes. If not, it's the epitome of camp, only better for being so un-self-conscious. And people don't have bloody fights and do keep their clothes on, so tender sensibilities need not worry.
//wiredweird
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| | |