Royal Flash (1975)

Why so harsh?

I'm glad that some viewers like it. I did too, and after finally seeing it after so many years of trying, I am surprised at the terrible rap the movie has acquired. What's really missing, something that lends weight to the novels, I think, is the voice of the older, wiser, brutally honest Harry. Otherwise, what's to criticize? Sexy women, swordfights, scenery, costumes. And there is one really great turn: Oliver Reed as Bismarck. He deserved his own miniseries. July 31, 2008

Good Adaptation of One of Fraser's Lesser Books

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. March 20, 2008

Fun With History

Royal Flash is more than just a slapstick romp with plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes. It is that--but it's also a well-crafted and humorous look at history which can be taken at face value or viewed as a rather cynical commentary on the nature of power and fame. It's a clever depiction of the possible (if improbable) backstory for Otto von Bismarck's rise to power by way of a sly retake on Anthony Hope's books, The Prisoner of Zenda and Rupert of Hentzau. Instead of a True Blue Victorian Hero, you get an ignoble Victorian anti-hero. Unlike many comedies filmed in the '70's, such as Altman's M.A.S.H., Royal Flash wears well and still has the power to make one laugh without being embarrassing. It also still has the power to make a person think about the nature of politics and power without being unduly heavy-handed about the whole thing. The film stands on its own. You don't have to be a fan of George MacDonald Fraser's wonderful Flashman books to enjoy this film, but it's likely you'll want to read a few of them afterwards. December 29, 2007

Good books, crummy movie

I am forced to cast my vote with those who regard this movie as a failure.

To me, the film fails on two counts. The first failure relates to the general approach. How in heaven's name did G. M. Fraser, the author of the wonderfully amusing black comedy novels about that magnificent anti-hero of anti-heroes, General Sir Harry Flashman, come to write such a feeble, would-be action comedy and lowly farcical screen adaptation for this movie?

The other failure, and vastly the worse of the two, is the utterly appalling miscasting of Malcolm McDowell as Harry Flashman. The Flashman of the books, a man who cheerfully admits to no virtues whatsoever, is widely admired as a staunch and true hero of Little Vickie's Empire entirely because he looks just like a hero ought to look. Malcolm McDowell most emphatically does not. He looks like ... well, Malcolm McDowell.

First-rate books, third-rate movie. Too bad and two stars. November 23, 2007

Sorry to say that I'd give it only 2 and half stars, if I could

Simply put, this was not a very good film adaptation of the novel, even though author George MacDonald Fraser wrote the screenplay. Too, casting Malcolm McDowell (light colored hair/blue-eyes, 5' 8" tall, and weighing 140lbs dripping wet) as the bluff rogue Flashman (black hair and black moustache/dark brown-eyes, 6' tall, and weighing in at 13 stone = 180lbs) was totally wrong. GMF said he thought Flashy should be played by someone like the late Errol Flynn "...with his impudent swagger, athletic grace, and matchless style." (Fraser's THE HOLLYWOOD HISTORY OF THE WORLD p.54) Perhaps Liam Neeson.

I was surprised that this was more of a Benny Hill type of slapstick and sightgag film, which accounts for it being a box office flop, than a swashbuckling comic rework of the old Anthony Hope PRISONER OF ZENDA story. So many good actors gone to waste, except for Oliver Reed's performance as Otto von Bismark which was super. Perhaps I expected too much, especially after viewing GMF's splendid screenplay adaptations of THE THREE MUSKETEERS/THE FOUR MUSKETEERS.

I understand that the folks who filmed the SHARPE TV series are interested in doing a FLASHMAN series for British TV. I can only hope they do; hopefully, as polished as the BBC/HBO ROME TV series. How they'll get away with it right under the noses of the PC Police is beyond me. Anyway, don't waste your time viewing "Royal Flash." Read the novel instead. October 31, 2007

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