CITATION(L @ 17 6 2008 - 12:03)

Quant à Queen, ils n'ont jamais été utilisé autrement que comme un outil promotionnel, et leurs chansons étaient incrustées à coups de burin dans les films. Sinon, ils n'ont pas composé de score. Celui de Flash Gordon, c'est Howard Blake (symphonique). Celui de Highlander, c'est Michael Kamen (symphonique)
Pas faux sur le principe de base, mais ce qui est dommage, c’est que ta démonstration fait passer à coté de la réelle substance de l’œuvre.
Rien que pour
Flash Gordon, Howard Blake n’est ’’que’’ l’arrangeur des portions orchestrales additionnelles. Tous les morceaux ont été composés et enregistrés par Queen (qui alors expérimentait à fond l’usage du synthétiseur après 10 ans de dogme ’’No-Synthés’’).
La musique du film -qui remplit parfaitement son rôle- ne se limite pas à un simple produit d’appel promotionnel. L’album qui en a été tiré exploite sincèrement et totalement le concept de Bande Originale de Film (je ne sais pas si c’était novateur, mais c’est une véritable perfection dans son jusqu’au boutisme, et je soupçonne Tarantino de s’y référer lorsqu’il supervise la structure de ses propres B.O. pour l'incorporation des dialogues).
Pour preuve, passé ce coup de maître, lors de
Highlander 6 ans plus tard, il y aura bien sûr l’album A Kind Of Magic mais pas d’album de musique du film proprement dit, car Mercury n’aimait pas répéter les mêmes choses.
Mais tout cela est donc permis par la musique elle-même, qui fournit la matière à cette exploitation. A ce sujet, je conseille à tous les cyniques condescendants qui ne voient dans
Flash Gordon et sa musique que boursouflure kitsch éventuellement amusante de lire le bout de texte ci-après. Je reconnais que c’est extrait du sujet du texte complet donc cela ne trouve sa signification totale (et faites-moi confiance, terriblement passionnante) qu’avec le reste, mais cela me semble néanmoins assez intéressant pour comprendre la musique de Queen à sa juste valeur.
C’est tiré d’un ’’Freddie Mercury Happening’’ d’environ 400 pages (fans de
Matrix, vous devriez adorer) intitulé The Real Story Of Freddie Mercury, que j’ai découvert il y a environ 4 ans, et qui m’a bouleversé, moi qui croyait déjà tout savoir sur ce très grand homme.
Le lien :
http://allofqueen.on.ufanet.ru/book.html (NB : le sommaire linkant aux chapitres est peut être invisible, faites le apparaitre en sélectionnant le contenu de la page, avec votre souris par exemple)
Le texte complet revient à d’autres moments sur
Flash Gordon, et bien sûr également sur
Highlander, mettant notamment en parallèle la symbolique du film de Mulcahy avec la religion Zoroastre de Freddie Mercury. Bonne lecture aux anglophones motivés.
In 1980, Queen wrote music for an American sci-fi movie, Flash Gordon. In the same year, the soundtrack album Flash Gordon was released. It’s the most unusual Queen album. It has only two songs – in the beginning and in the finale. Other stuff is instrumental, plus some short dialogues from the movie. Critics attacked it, naming it mediocre, pompous, eventless, corny, many people thought that Queen shouldn’t have released the soundtrack as an album. Since then, it was considered Queen’s failure. But, actually, it’s one of the most beautiful albums in group’s history. It wasn’t Queen’s mistake to release it separately. While in the movie music was often lost and melted, in the album all compositions, taken together, made a distinctive fairy rock symphony.
The album begins from the dialogue between the evil space emperor Ming and his counselor Ports. The danger of death has come upon the entire Earth – it’s going to be destroyed. And only one man can save our planet – a simple man, Flash. The grand song starts, praising the hero – Flash Theme (May):
Flash, aah! Saviour of the Universe!
Flash, aah! He saves everyone of us!
Flash, aah! He’s a miracle!
Flash, aah! King of the impossible!
He’s for everyone of us, stands for everyone of us,
He’ll save with a mighty hand every man, every woman, every child –
He’s a mighty Flash!
Just a man with a man’s courage,
Nothing but a man, but he can never fail.
No-one but the pure in heart
May find the Golden Grail.
From the first sight, it’s just a song dedicated to Flash, the comic hero, who’s going to fight the space emperor and save all people. But the solemn text “He saves everyone of us…” is rather going out of the borders of the song about a hero. The hero’s name and the word “flash” (lightning) are played upon. After the film was out, the brand T-shirt was released, on front of which there was written “Flash”, and on the back, the lightning was drawn. The lightning also appeared on the cover of Flash Gordon album and in the Flash video, and it’s a divine symbol.
The last verse hints on the well-known medieval legend about the Holy Grail. Grail is a golden cup, in which, according to the legend, Christ’s Blood is stored. Erstwhile, the Grail was brought to England and hidden in the magic castle. According to the prophecy, only a brave warrior, with pure and innocent thoughts, will see it.
The best knights of King Arthur went to search for the Holy Grail, but they all failed. Each one of them was tempted by the things that were most important for them: gluttony, power, beautiful women, endless treasures. And, the moment the knight was convinced by the temptation, everything was gone, and nothing was left for him. Only the innocent knight Galahad overcame all the temptations, found the Grail and was taken to Heaven with it. In the another version of the legend, Galahad was found dead, but his face was shining, like angel’s. Saint Joseph took the cup, saying that nobody is worth to see the Holy Grail after Galahad. The legend is symbolising the man’s search for God and Kingdom. On this way, many temptations wait for him, but all those earthly benefits are void if the man doesn’t save his soul and find God. All that is dross, vain, everything will moulder, and the way to God can be lost if you’d spend your life for nothing.
Since then, in the European culture, the spiritual search and all the noble intentions are called “the quest for the Holy Grail”, and Galahad became the symbol of holiness, purity and innocence. On the medieval English and French miniatures, the beautiful Galahad with a halo around his head and the Holy Grail in his hands is often pictured. That is hinted in this simple-looking text. The song’s hero is associated with Galahad himself. He, like a real knight, must fight alone and way outnumbered against the evil forces – and find his Grail. And he will do that – it’s said: he’s just a man, but he’s brave and doesn’t give up. He’s a Real Man.
After this introduction, the great music follows for almost half an hour, which was called eventless by the critics. There’s no such thing – in this symphony, there’s more than 10 musical themes, which don’t repeat themselves. The music of Flash Gordon is so figurative, that even if you can’t see the movie, it’s not hard to understand what one theme or the other one is about. And it’s easy to understand that the entire symphony is a fairytale about the fight between good and evil, in which good is victorious. Listening to it, sometimes you feel yourself like a young kid, and anxiously wait: what’s next?
The heroes entered Ming’s domain – his musical theme tells not to expect any good. Then, Dale, Flash’s girlfriend, is captured. Flash fights with the Emperor’s soldiers, who outnumber him, he’s captured, then escapes, runs, overcomes the horrible dangers and tests for his love, then he’s almost killed, then saved again, finally, he with the loyal armies hurries to Ming’s domain to save the captured Dale. Then, the forces of good and evil started a big fight – the solemn Battle Theme is sounding. Ming’s cheerless pipes and Flash’s cheerful fanfares can be heard. While the battle rages on, in Ming’s palace the emperor is preparing to marry Dale. The culmination moment of the album – while Flash is outfighting at the palace, inside, along the sounds of a cheerless wedding march (a funny parody on Mendehlson), the wedding ceremony is going on. Dale screams “no”, but nobody asks if she agrees. The listener again swoons like a child – will the knight Flash save his princess? Of course he will – the music and screams announce that Flash broke into the palace. Some seconds of silence, the constrained screams and clanging of the weapons can be heard – Flash started to fight Ming himself. The jubilant screams and cheerful music show that the good, represented by Flash, is victorious. Somewhere far away, the song can be heard: “No-one but the pure in heart may find the Golden Grail”, the fanfares sound, and with the reprise of Flash Theme, everything turns to the jubilant song of victorious good.
But the album isn’t ended with that. Somewhere far away, the clang of the swords and Ming’s evil laughter can be heard, reminding that evil is defeated only in the fairytale – in the real life, it still exists, and the world is waiting for its knights to fight it. Along with the fierce introduction music, the final song, The Hero (May), sounds:
So you feel that you ain’t nobody?
Always needed to be somebody?
Put your feet on the ground,
Put your hand on your heart,
Lift your head to the stars,
And the world’s for your taking.
So you feel it’s the end of the story?
Find it all pretty satisfactory?
Well, I tell you, my friend,
This might seem like the end,
But the continuation is yours for the making.
Yes, you’re a Hero!
It’s an appeal to the teenagers – the main auditory of both movie and album. The author appeals to the ones who don’t want to be nobody, who’s got the intention to do something important, not to waste their lifetime for nothing. And he says: everything you need is to put your feet on the ground, believe in God and have the desire to save the world – the fate of the world is depending on everyone of us. And, if you’d want – you will. The Flash’s story isn’t ended, and its continuation is dependent on everyone – any man with a pure heart and noble intentions can become the new Flash and save the world, and the most inner feelings of a young man are touched with it.
Who of us, closing a book or watching the end of the film in childhood, didn’t feel the pity that we aren’t with the hero, that the times of knights and good wizards are gone, and only the grey life is ahead? The author says: no, boy, didn’t you understand? It’s you who’s Flash, you are a Hero! Is the evil defeated? No, Ming is alive, and we see him and the ones who’s like him everyday. And everyone of you can fight the evil and become a hero of a new story. Go, friend, and save the world – the world waits for his hero, and you can be him!
In the finale, the music that symbolises the fight between good and evil is sounding – two musical themes are fighting, in the proper sense, the swords are clanging – and again, the joyful song of the victorious good sounds. And again, the first verse of Flash theme is repeated, but this time it’s more like a prayer: “He’s for everyone us, stands for everyone of us…” The choir sings “Flash!” for the last time, the music fades out, and the thunder roll and rain is sounding – again, there’s a hint on the Divine thunderstorm.
The director Michael Hodges filmed an excellent teenage sci-fi movie about the space adventures of a comic hero, hundreds of which are filmed yearly. Queen created one of the most cheerful and serious albums in rock’s history.