This week, we were doing a cleanout of the house and my zone was the attic. I’d never actually been in the attic before, and I had no idea what to expect. Armed with a flashlight, I lit up every chasm, picking up scraps of paper and plastic. In one corner I saw a glimmer. As I stumbled closer, I saw the glimmer was from the plastic case of a VHS. ‘Flash Gordon and Barbarella Vs the Galaxy’, I’d never heard of it. I’ve seen both films and consider them masterpieces, but as far as I (and the internet) was aware, there was never a sequel to either. All the production information seemed to check out, the actor’s names were spelt properly. It was surreal, like a somehow authentic bootleg film. My first thought was that it would surely end up as scenes sorted from both films to resemble a sequel, but as I further examined the screenshots on the back cover, there could be no doubt: This was a lost crossover. It took a few hundred dollars to get my hands on the equipment, and I even splurged for a CRT monitor, but I was finally able to watch it. Untouched and unplayed for decades, a lost film was finally found.
This film was a masterpiece, from the massive set pieces to the costumes to the banging soundtrack, it’s the very definition of campy sci-fi. Jane Fonda hadn’t played ‘Barbarella’ in 15 years but she barely looks to have suffered a wrinkle. Rather than Mike Hodges or Roger Vadim who helmed ‘Flash’ and ‘Barbarella’ respectively, the directing credit, according to the film’s opening, went to Dino De Laurentis who did an amazing job blending the two films. Why this crossover isn’t well-known or the precursor to future films astounds me. One could only fantasize about a second team-up film alongside Buck Rogers!
In the final shot of ‘Flash’ an unknown person picks up the ring of Emperor Ming as we hear his sinister laugh. ‘Vs the Galaxy’ opens to reveal that ring-bearer to be none other than the Black Queen of Sogo, Barbarella’s arch-enemy. As Flash returns from his honeymoon, the Black Queen approaches Prince Barin and with the ring’s power, usurps his throne. Meanwhile, Barbarella pilots her ship to the city of Mongo to beg for help stopping her. When word reaches Mongo of Barin’s assassination, Flash volunteers and teams up to stop the Black Queen and restore peace to the galaxy.
Jane Fonda is back as Barbarella and is as seductive as ever. There would have always been a risk of turning ‘Flash Gordon’ into the softcore porno her film could have turned into, but thankfully she assumes a more serious and dramatic tone. Gone are her ways of seducing men to accomplish her goals, now she’s all guns blazing and not afraid to break a few bones. Sam Jones returns as Flash and he’s just as sweet and innocently naive as ever. There are the odd few scenes where Jones turns the charm on to flirt with Fonda, but luckily not enough to make his character sex-crazed. His acting during Barin’s memorial scene is a sight to behold, he could have, with the right moves, ended up in Paul Thomas Anderson or Lynch films. Anita Pallenberg is back as the Black Queen, this time undubbed. Her physicality and voice after all these years really shows the descent into madness and evil since her defeat all those years ago. Pallenberg effortlessly paints a portrait of an unsatisfied ego and passioned vengeance. She may be pitiful at first, but you’ll despise how she relishes every ounce of pain she deals out.
Thankfully each of the character’s theme songs return, however, they made the interesting choice of switching bands, i.e. Queen composed a hard rock version of ‘Barbarella’ and The Bob Crewe Generation Orchestra composed a funky, jazz-inspired version of ‘Flash’. Both songs hit so hard, with the striking guitar work of Brian May psyching the audience up as Barbarella dogfights over Mongo’s palace. The two themes clashing line-for-line during the title sequence cements the soundtrack as the greatest of the genre.
I don’t know how many VHS tapes were made of the film or where in the world they would be, but if you, by chance, have a copy of ‘Flash Gordon and Barbarella Vs The Galaxy’, grab some popcorn, get your friends around and see it!
Mason’s Top 3 Reasons to Watch ‘Flash Gordon and Barbarella Vs The Galaxy’
- The long-awaited sequel to both films finally achieving relieving closure
- A fantastic team-up fight sequence with Flash and Barb
- A tantalising blend of ‘James Bond’ and ‘Star Wars’
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