Talk:Flash Gordon (film)

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Contents 1 War Rocket Ajax... 2 Disappearance (Devolution) of the spoiler section 2.1 Third Opinion 2.2 Plot sections 3 Other Noteable cast Members 4 To-do 5 Terrorism archetype? 6 Region 2 DVD

[edit] War Rocket Ajax...

Not sure if this is the sort of thing a reliable source can be found for, but I've always wondered whether it was a coincidence that Flash and Ajax were the names of rival brands of household cleaner? Given the number of tongue-in-cheek lines in the film, it wouldn't surprise me if this was deliberate. --YFB ¿ 14:15, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Disappearance (Devolution) of the spoiler section

Just so it doesn't get buried in history, this article used to have a healthy spoiler section as in here.

Then it got organised as in here.

Then someone thought it was too long as in here.

Then they changed their mind and altogether removed it as in here.

As a rule such drastic surgery should normally be announced in the talk page. Dr.K. 09:23, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

---

I don't understand why the spoiler section simply wasn't edited. Why did it have to be totally removed? 24.58.169.119 12:52, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Excellent question. I will try to see what I can do. Dr.K. 19:07, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Because it wasn't salvageable. See WP:NOT and WP:ENC. I'm not surprised though that it got put back, the fiction articles tend to be controlled by people who want fanlisting style pages and not encyclopedia articles. Looks like one editor and an IP address that showed up later put it back without looking into how things are supposed to be done. DreamGuy (talk) 19:58, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

There are better ways to edit problem sections. Tagging, copyediting, cleaning up. Wikipedia is full of such sections. Making sections disappear makes copyediting rather difficult. To put it in other terms you cannot copyedit what you cannot see. Dr.K. (talk) 23:04, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Third Opinion

There is a request for a 3rd opinion on the editing of this section. But it appears that the section has been restored, so there is no dispute here. If people feel there is a dispute, please leave a message at my talk page. I'm delisting the request. SilkTork *SilkyTalk 22:04, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Plot sections

I don't see this particular incident as being serious. Both editors have been talking together in a civil manner, and neither have engaged, as far as I can see, in an edit war. Also, I see value in the views of both editors. However, I've been asked to make clear the situation regarding plot sections in articles. The consensus across the 'pedia is that plot sections are acceptable subject to some conventions. The Film Project have come up with this guideline which says in the first paragraph: "The plot section is made self-contained (and is a totally separate section designated by ==Plot==), so plot details and actor names already mentioned in the lead section, and/or mentioned in a cast section, are repeated here. Plot summaries should be between 400 and 700 words (about 600 words), but should not exceed 900 words unless there is a specific reason such as a complicated plot." The MoS, which is widely regarded as a reliable guideline says this. WP:NOT, which is official policy, says this. These guidelines are best consulted and carefully considered when writing up plot sections. There is a tendency in some articles for the plot section to dominate, and I do sympathise with a desire to clear away plot trot in favour of critical examination. However, trimming and shaping is considered a better approach than simple deletion. Also, Wiki policy and a general principle which has wide consensus among the Wiki community, is that disputes are best handled via discussions on the talkpage. While an edit summary can inform other editors of the basic intention behind an edit, they are not designed to handle dispute discussions. A dispute is not necessarily a bad thing - most articles grow stronger through active and committed editors discussing the best way forward for an article. If your edit is challenged, take that as an opportunity to discuss and test your ideas with an editor who shares a similar interest. Keep well! SilkTork *SilkyTalk 14:50, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Other Noteable cast Members

:  I've put these in as all three are household names in the uk.

Craig T. Nelson - Voice of the monster (uncredited)

Dosen't belong here should be in FLESH GORDON

[edit] To-do

Just some suggestions I'd like to implement in the future:

• Inclusion of the soundtrack in the "media" section
• Citations
• Looking over the summary, possibly some trimming (e.g. explanation of Arboria's title - haven't read the summary yet but that stuck out)
• Possibly a comparison with other versions if appropriately cited sources can be used to avoid original research
• Explore details like the hawkmen scene and its origin
• Some details from the special features if I get around to buying the film or someone else has a copy and some free time

I'd like to do the film justice so if anyone would like to help feel free. Probably won't get around to doing most of the stuff myself for a while anyway. Luatha 09:33, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

Great points all. Except for the Arboria bit, why would a little Latin scholarship meet such a fate? Dr.K. 04:03, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Terrorism archetype?

To me, this film was notable for introducing the idea of crashing an airplane into a target, and so for example at the time I thought of the Frank Eugene Corder attack and each of the 9/11 attacks as a "Flash Gordon". For example:

• Flash crashes a small plane into Zarkov's greenhouse
• Flash's rocket is electronically hijacked by Ming and crashed into the ground
• Flash threatens to crash Ora's spaceship into Frigia unless she allows him to use the thought amplifier
• Zarkov and Dale on the rocket cycle are intercepted/hijacked by hawkmen
• Flash sets off a bomb and uses grenades to capture War Rocket Ajax.
• The original plan for War Rocket Ajax is that "with all the fuel in it... Boom!" it will take down the lightning field. Flash accepts this as a suicide mission.
• Finally Flash crashes War Rocket Ajax into Ming's palace (indeed, directly into Ming)

Of course, this leads me to wonder - could fiction have contributed inspiration to the Corder attack and the later more serious attacks? Of course, this isn't the only potential source, e.g. Stephen King's novel The Running Man involved such an attack, though the film timidly avoided it - but this is the earlier reference. Of course, I'm not suggesting any additions without sources, but it seems interesting. 70.15.116.59 (talk) 06:22, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Region 2 DVD

The DVD with the commentary was NOT the only one available. At one time a 'barebones' edition disc was available, you're talking about a typical early R2 DVD, film and little else. I know because I did own it at one point. Douglasnicol (talk) 21:49, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

I agree about the barebone dvd, I had it also. It was a straight lift from video with a stereo only soundtrack. Brucie76 (talk) 14:47, 15 March 2008 (UTC)