FIVE AWE-INSPIRING ADVENTURE CDM'S

I saved for last the mythos of adventure. Frye’s schema, probably derived from Theodore Gaster’s formulations of Greek dramatic structure in his book THESPIS, begins with the mythos of the adventure/romance and cycles through tragedy, irony and comedy. But I think it could be interesting to view the adventure/romance as developing from the comedy-mythos rather than being simply the prelude to the tragedy/drama. While no literary mythos is inherently more mythopoeic than any other, historically the adventure-story has been the best source of myth-motifs in popular fiction, since adventure shows the least tendency to compromise with base reality.

FLASH GORDON (1936)—There are a lot of great CDM serials that deserve more recognition, but this translation of the Alex Raymond comic strip works on two levels. On one, it’s a faithful recapitulation of Raymond’s space opera, given a great deal of verve by worthy B-list actors like Buster Crabbe, Charles Middleton and the underrated Priscilla Lawson. On another, even though the FX are frequently primitive, their very sparseness enables one to better enjoy using one’s imagination by “seeing through” the effects.


BATMAN (1989)— The Richard Donner SUPERMAN is a high watermark, but it failed to birth a new paradigm for the superhero adventure-film, and that’s what makes the Tim Burton BATMAN an exemplary film in its subgenre. As STAR WARS succeeded in making the space opera relevant to adult audiences, the Burton BATMAN did the same for the costumed hero, transforming Bat-camp into punk Gothic.


RIKKI-OH (1991)—I haven’t seen the Saruwatari manga on which this live-action flick is based, but RIKKI-OH is a classic of cheesy, extravagant action. The scenario is simple: supreme martial artist Rikki is unjustly consigned to a hard-core prison, where the corrupt warden and guards continually strive to break his spirit with all manner of tortures, only to be regularly defeated by Rikki’s martial mastery. It’s action for the sake of action alone, and even bad special FX contribute to the pulpy pleasures.

THE MYSTERY OF MAMO (1978)— Japanese anime had tremendous influence on the development of the adventure-mythos in the medium of cinema, so it’s tough to pick one CDM that best captures the potential of the anime adventure-film. MAMO was the first of the adaptations of Monkey Punch’s LUPIN III, and unlike the later Miyazaki-directed CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO, MAMO gives its adaptation of Punch’s thief-hero a bit more adult tone. The SF elements are damn cool as well.


SPIDER MAN 2—There are a few missteps in Raimi’s Spider-Man adaptations. For one, he never seem to know how to pace the dramatic scenes, as with his conversations between Peter Parker and Aunt May. But SM2 is exemplary in showing the potential for using the tool of CGI in an imaginative manner, bringing to cinematic life the sort of spectacles that were once confined only to the comics page. The melodramatic elements are better handled than in the first film, and Alfred Molina realizes Doc Ock's raving egotism perfectly, but the film's main accomplishment is to translate, as well as possible, the superb fight-choreography of Steve Ditko to the big screen.