Flesh Gordon (1974)

Flesh Gordon delivers the fun a softcore comedy should deliver! It is a legendary softcore flick that was released a few times in the 1970's & 1980's, & I feel lucky to have been able to have seen it on the big screen. I've learned Flesh Gordon started out as a hardcore porno film, but somewhere along the line it was decided to make it a softcore romp. I'm glad they changed the script to softcore, because I find most hardcore films to be hardly memorable or collectable. Flesh Gordon's characters are colorful & lively, & the comedy is anywhere from silly sight gags to sophisticated humor. The plot of the movie is about Flesh Gordon's attempts to save the world from a sex ray that has been putting the earth in carnal chaos. Flesh learns the sex ray is being sent from the planet Porno, & he rockets off with girlfriend Dale & a scientist to save the earth. On the planet Porno he encounters the evil Emperor Wang. Wang is the one who has been sending the sex ray to earth. Planet Porno's Prince Precious helps Flesh in the attempt to stop Wang & his sex ray. Chief Nelly (played by Candy Samples)& her girls of the lesbian underground kidnap Dale. Flesh must try to rescue Dale, & then does battle with a well animated (stop-animation) metal creature. Other creatures are encountered along the way; including Wang's rapist robots, & the penis-looking monsters encountered in a cave. A giant creature that has some humorous lines (voice by Craig T. Nelson of the T.V. show "Coach"!) also gets ahold of Dale, & in a King Kong style climbs with Dale in its hand to the top of Wang's palace. Adventure abound in this sex comedy! The special effects in this movie are very good for a 1972, low-budget feature! The acting is fine, & all actors seem to achieve what is desired from their parts. The sex is not erotic, and seems to fit more for the storyline. Surprisingly there is a shot or two during the palace orgies that are graphic sexually, but the action is difficult to find if you are not looking all over the screen. I say "surprisingly," because "Flesh Gordon" was advertised in many newspapers as being R-rated when it played at theaters & drive-ins. There is a lot of nudity in the movie; including frontal nudity. The action, adventures, and jokes in the movie roll along nicely, and everyone I have shown this movie to has laughed and enjoyed it!