Royal Flash
by Richard Lester
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Actor: Alan Bates, Florinda Bolkan, Malcolm McDowell, Oliver Reed, Tom BellDirector: Richard Lester
Brand: Fox
Cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth
Editor: John Victor-Smith
Writer: George MacDonald Fraser
Writer: Thomas Hughes
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-04-03
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Shocking Videos
DVD Reviews of Royal Flash
DVD Review: Good Adaptation of One of Fraser's Lesser Books
Summary: 4 Stars
I guess I am one of the few Flashman readers who liked this film. I agree that Royal Flash is one of Fraser's weaker novels (probably my least favorite of the series), but I think Lester, with Fraser doing the screenplay did a good job. The two had collaborated to even greater effect with their classic adaptation of The Three Musketeers a few years earlier, and must have jumped at the chance to work again. It is too bad they did not start with the first novel, but I imagine it would have required a huge budget, whereas Royal Flash is mainly about personalities.
I thought Malcolm McDowell made a splendid Flashman. I think he looked the right proper Victorian gentleman/soldier, and he excelled at depicting Flashy as the craven poltroon he was. His opening monologue, as he tells the students to do their duty, while flashbacks show what a coward he was, perfectly depicts the character. I think McDowell even resembles some of the original cover illustrations for some of the paperbacks, and I sort of imagine his voice when I read the novels. I know Fraser imagined Errol Flynn in the role, but Flynn died in 1959, and his like has really not been seen in films since his death. Malcolm McDowell in his youth really specialized in playing smirking anti-heroes who seemed to have some depth underneath but really, they didn't.
I also liked the use of the Wagner music. The film is set (more or less) during the time Wagner composed in Bavaria, and I thought his heroic music was a good counterpoint to Flashy's cowardice. The supporting cast is a dream, with Oliver Reed (as Bismarck), Florinda Bolkan (as Lola Montes), Britt Eklund and Alan Bates. It is beautifully shot in Bavaria with authentic castles making it a sumptuous production.
What is wrong with the film? As many said, the plot is scarcely more than a rewrite of the classic novel The Prisoner of Zenda. So, there are few surprises here (though this treatment is decidedly bawdier). Also, Lester cannot resist"one joke too many" in all the scenes, putting in as many sight gags and sotto voce mutterings as he can. What worked in A Hard Day's Night and The Three Musketeers seems like overkill in this film. The material was already witty and clever enough and did not need so much "help" from Lester.
As to the DVD itself: there is nice little feature that gives an overview of the character of Flashman, and how Fraser researched and wrote the novels, etc. There is a feature on adapting Flashman to the screen, and you can listen to the music score on an isolated track. I thought the picture looked a bit "soft", but that could be the way it was shot in the 70's, or else, they could not find better print material. However, it is more than acceptable.
Description of Royal Flash
Based on the popular series of Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser, Royal Flash tells the epic tale of the cowardly Captain Harry Flashman (famous for bullying Tom Brown in Tom Brown?s Schooldays) a would-be playboy and socialite, except he doesn?t have the money or the breeding. Seeing a short cut to the society crowd, Flashman agrees to Otto Von Bismarck?s scheme to impersonate a Prussian prince and marry a duchess. But when the scheme goes awry, Flashman finds himself escaping via the European wars, in which his cowardliness gets mistaken for military bravery.Bestsellers in DVD
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