Life After Flash Blu Ray Review (Cleopatra Entertainment)
Life After Flash is a 2017 documentary film written, produced, & directed by Lisa Downs (Life After the Navigator & Just Ate). It explores the life of Sam J Jones (Ted 1/2, 1st & Ten, Code Red, Jungle Heat, My Chauffeur, One Man Force, L.A. Takedown, & Hollywood Safari) since his iconic performance as “Flash Gordon” in the 1980 classic of the same name. It also covers the aftermath of the young stars’ clash with one of Hollywood’s biggest legends producer Dino De Laurentiis (Maximum Overdrive, Hannibal, Red Dragon, Cat’s Eye, Army of Darkness, Year of the Dragon, & King Kong). It celebrates what makes that Mike Hodges (Get Carter, Croupier, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, A Prayer for the Dying, & Black Rainbow) enduring classic so iconic with audiences to this day & looks at the real man behind the heroic mask. It’s a rough journey that shows his successes, his battles, & his ultimate struggle for redemption.
Life After Flash features interviews with Melody Anderson (Flash Gordon, Dead & Buried, & Firewalker), Brian Blessed (Flash Gordon & Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace), Topol (Flash Gordon & Fiddler on the Roof), Peter Wyngarde (Flash Gordon & Burn, Witch, Burn), Richard O’Brien (Flash Gordon, Dark City, & Shock Treatment), Deep Roy (Flash Gordon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, & Star Trek franchise), Brian May (Flash Gordon, Queen, & Highlander), Peter Duncan (Flash Gordon & Survivors), Howard Blake (Flash Gordon, Amityville 3-D, & The Changeling), Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show & Spin City), Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon franchise & Superman franchise), Lou Ferrigno (Hercules 1/2 & The Incredible Hulk), Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise & Tromeo and Juliet), Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite & Blades of Glory), Stan Lee (Marvel comics creator), Jason Mewes (Clerks & Mallrats), Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore & Quiz Show), Robert Rodriguez (Sin City 1/2, From Dusk Till Dawn, & Grindhouse), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, The Walking Dead, & Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), Patrick Warburton (The Tick & Seinfeld), & many others!!!!
Life After Flash is a very entertaining retrospective on Flash Gordon & it’s star Sam J Jones. It has all kinds of cameos from so many familiar faces. You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about the film in this honest documentary about the wild production. It goes from how Sam was discovered for it, the rest of the cast, the legendary music for it, promotion for the superhero flick, & a detailed look at the poster artwork for the feature. You hear stories from the cast & crew that were really never discussed in public. They bring up when Sam J Jones tried to blackmail & hold the entire Flash Gordon crew hostage due to his huge ego at the time. Going against super producer Dino De Laurentiis like that basically ruined his career & he had him blacklisted for everything major in Hollywood for a long time. They had multiple Flash Gordon sequels planned & it was going to be a huge franchise until all that happened. Sam J Jones chats about learning from that situation & struggling to find his place in cinema after that. His friends & family all defend the actor, they all praise the person that he has become during his redemption. He talks about getting another chance with the Ted movies & how it made Flash Gordon relevant again. It’s a realistic view on never taking anything for granted because it can go away within a flash of your eyes, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Cleopatra Entertainment! This 1080p (1.90:1) transfer is solid for being a documentary that interviews a variety of people at several different locations so the quality changes a little depending on who’s on the screen at the time. It only has the English: Dolby Digital 2.0 track for the audio option. This is lots of talking so I am happy to report everything is crystal clear here. When the music is featured & the big discussion on here, lossless would have been a nice option. The action scenes & highlights would have also benefited from it. It has a decent amount of extras on the disc but most of them are very short, they are fun. “Brian Blessed on Hawkman Filming” is almost 4 minutes. The actor tells a hilarious story of a problematic day on the set. “Extended Comic Con Sequence” is a little over 13 minutes. It has interviews with a variety of people. It’s some of the same material that’s in the final cut with additional comments & moments from the guests at the con. “Deep Roy Ambition Rap” is a little over a minute. The actor does a quick spoken word rap for the camera. “Melody Anderson on Improvisation” is almost 2minutes. The actress chats about adding stuff last minute while filming Flash Gordon & how some lines became really famous that weren’t even in the original script. “Sam J Jones on His Move Into Acting” is a little over 9 minutes. It’s a extended interview with Sam J Jones about performing. It’s some of the same material that’s in the final cut with additional comments, stories, & moments. “Tell Me More About This Man Houdini” is a little over a minute. Two fans debate over the scene from the film. “Sam J Jones Prayer Walk In Full” is a little over 2 minutes. It’s the full version of the prayer from Sam J Jones. “Excerpt from Chattanooga Film Festival’s SCRIPTS GONE WILD Script Read with Sam J Jones as Flash Gordon” is a little over 5 minutes. It’s a very fun environment with the actor repeating some of his lines from Flash with some fans. It has the “Official Trailer” & the almost 2 minute “Slideshow”. It’s available everywhere right now. This is one of the realest documentaries ever made about Hollywood, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
