{"id":207,"date":"2011-04-17T06:36:51","date_gmt":"2011-04-17T14:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/?p=207"},"modified":"2023-03-09T07:17:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T15:17:30","slug":"duranalysis-arcadia-flame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/morganrichter.net\/blog\/duranalysis-arcadia-flame\/","title":{"rendered":"Duranalysis: Arcadia’s The Flame"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s The Nick and Simon Show, with a surprise appearance by John!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brief spurt of backstory here, for those who aren\u2019t hip to this whole Arcadia business: In 1984-1985, at the peak of their wild success, the Duran Duran boys briefly split apart into two separate side projects: John and Andy teamed up with Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson to form The Power Station, while Simon, Nick and Roger banded together as Arcadia (Roger, ever the neutral party, also performed on some Power Station tracks). The differences between the two groups are most eloquently summed up in this excellent interview<\/a> with the boys, in which it\u2019s established that Arcadia produced \u201cthe most pretentious album ever made,\u201d whereas Power Station produced \u201cthe most cocainey album ever made.\u201d As I\u2019ve always been far more pretentious than cocainey, I\u2019m partial to Arcadia. Also, their videos were better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roger didn\u2019t appear in any of Arcadia\u2019s videos; in fact, by the time the video for \u201cThe Flame\u201d was shot in 1986, Roger had already left Duran Duran, with Andy following him out the door shortly thereafter. \u201cThe Flame\u201d was directed by Russell Mulcahy, the man responsible for Duran Duran\u2019s huge, awesome, epic monstrosities (\u201cWild Boys<\/a>\u201d) as well as some of their lesser-known gems (\u201cNight Boat<\/a>\u201d). This falls into the latter category. It\u2019s a fun, fluffy trifle of a video\u2014it\u2019s a little Rocky Horror Picture Show, a little Agatha Christie, and a whole lot of Nick and Simon being hammy and adorable. Damn good song, too. Let\u2019s get to it:

Ooo, opening titles! Fancy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On a dark and foggy night, Simon and his girlfriend approach a mansion. A sign reading \u201cBEWARE\u201d hangs on the gate; Simon checks a slip of paper to confirm they\u2019re in the right place. Simon is in full-tilt geek mode: glasses, curly hair, sweater vest, bow tie. His date, while cute as a button, is a far cry from the sultry, sophisticated minxes who typically slink about in Duran Duran videos. For starters, she\u2019s wearing an orange tie-dyed sundress. It\u2019s as awful as it sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

They bumble their way inside the mansion, bumping into doors and tripping over their own feet while gawking at their opulent surroundings. Established: They\u2019re dorks. The lavish dining room is populated with the usual assortment of grim-visaged servants, crusty old gentlemen, dowagers in funny hats, and glamorous blondes. First and foremost amongst the glamorous blondes is the extra-pretty, extra-petite lord of the manor. Hi, Nick!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, this is worth seeing: After spending most of the previous year hanging out on the super-girly side of the androgyny spectrum, Nick has undergone yet another metamorphosis. He\u2019s chopped off the luxurious mane of jet-black hair he sported for much of his Arcadia phase and peroxided the bejesus out of it, and it looks fantastic.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Nick<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Quick comparison study: This was Nick\u2019s starting point. When Nick gives himself a makeover, he doesn\u2019t muck about.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

While Nick\u2019s guests regard the newcomers with disdain, Simon and his date fumble around the dining room and act like rubes. A dowager hands Simon a glass of wine (note how he\u2019s interrupted every time he tries to take a sip). When his date drops her handkerchief, Simon bends down to pick it up\u2026 just as an archer pops in through a window and riddles the wall with arrows right where he\u2019d been standing.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Simon seems mildly affronted by this blatant attempt on his life, but mostly takes it in stride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still marveling at the posh surroundings, Simon\u2019s date stumbles against the wall, which swivels open and sucks her into darkness. Simon looks vaguely confused by her vanishing act, but before he can investigate, he\u2019s distracted by the pair of gorgeous blondes\u2014Nick and his elegant female companion\u2014who are now reclining in armchairs in the library attached to the dining room.Forgetting all about his date, he heads off to join them. The creepy servants watch him and whisper amongst themselves; the glowing eyes of a painted portrait follow him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, Simon will continue to forget about and\/or ignore his date for the rest of the damn video. Simon is a terrible boyfriend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the library, Simon loiters by the fireplace and tries to look casual. Nick and his companion seem amused by his attempts to fit in with the cool kids. When Nick yanks a lever beside his chair, the entire mantle swivels around, and Simon disappears, just as his date vanished earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He finds himself on a moving train. Being a plucky sort, Simon is unfazed. He hands his still-untouched drink off to a random lady and bops his way through the train car. I envy Simon\u2019s ability to dance around while walking without looking like a complete jackass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick, disguised in a trench coat and hat, hastily slinks into a compartment and scrunches down to avoid being spotted by Simon.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u2026You know, it\u2019s very difficult to suss out the whole Nick-Simon dynamic in this video. Do they know each other? Nick has been doing a bang-up job of snubbing Simon up to this point, but now he\u2019s secretly following him? Odd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to the dining room, where everyone, Nick and his blonde companion included, is now seated around the table. The dowager who handed Simon her wine at the beginning furtively passes a small bottle to one of the servants. While it\u2019s not completely clear, I think we\u2019re meant to assume she poisoned Simon\u2019s drink earlier. For reasons unknown, everyone\u2019s trying to murder Simon. Except for Nick, who doesn\u2019t seem to care overmuch whether Simon lives or dies.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Simon emerges onto the balcony running around the dining room and, while Nick and his glamorous blonde look on and snicker, swings down from a rope conveniently dangling from the ceiling. Any old loser could take the stairs, but that\u2019s not the Simon Le Bon way.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Simon overshoots the dining room and crashes through the patio doors. Very calmly, Nick rises from the table, flings open the doors, and releases the hounds on Simon. All of this seems very natural, actually. Hell, at this stage in his career, Nick was probably releasing the hounds on overzealous fans who trespassed on his property on at least a weekly basis.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

While the hounds chase Simon about the courtyard, Nick opens up a closet. Out pops the lovely John Taylor, who is brandishing a contract.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Apparently (i.e. \u201caccording to Wikipedia\u201d) John\u2019s contract is a reference to the legal wrangling the band went through with Andy to get him to fulfill his obligation to work on the Notorious album. I have no idea whether this is true (Wikipedia, you know), but I love the idea of the boys throwing a quick \u201csuck eggs, Andy!\u201d moment into this video.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Anyway, a somewhat mauled and bedraggled Simon climbs onto the roof of the mansion to escape the hounds. He crashes through the ceiling, where he lands on top of a woman in a bathtub, which then crashes through the floor and lands in the dining room.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Simon brushes himself off and plops down at the table beside Nick\u2019s blonde. A blowpipe extends from a wall-mounted tiger\u2019s head and fires a dart at him; Nick calmly reaches over and smashes Simon\u2019s face into his bowl of soup to save him. The dart strikes the butler hovering behind Simon.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Having thus saved Simon\u2019s life (and doomed his butler in the process), an unruffled and implacable Nick sips champagne. This is probably the best video ever for exploiting Nick\u2019s strange, contradictory aura of benevolent malice (malicious benevolence?). I have no idea what\u2019s going on in this video, or who\u2019s trying to murder Simon, or whether Nick is a force of good or evil, and you know what? I don\u2019t care. I\u2019m just enjoying the show.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Blinded by the soup, Simon stumbles around the dining room. Nick twists a dial, which opens a trapdoor. Nick\u2019s mansion is awesome<\/em>. Simon tumbles through it and lands in the basement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick, ever inscrutable, whips out a blindfold and ties it onto his glamorous blonde. Hmm. Nick and blindfolds go pretty well together.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If you watch a bunch of Duran Duran videos, it\u2019s only natural to start idly speculating about Nick\u2019s sexual habits (\u2026that\u2019s not just me, right?). Luckily, Nick\u2019s former longtime girlfriend Madeleine Farley helpfully weighed in on that very topic in an interview: \u201cI had a pair of couture fangs surreptitiously made for him\u2014the dentist and I were in cahoots. He\u2019d always wear them in bed, and I\u2019d have on my six-inch Manolos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couture fangs, people. Couture fangs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the basement, Simon staggers past a fuse box and gets zapped by bolts of electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This shorts out the lights upstairs. Everyone from the dinner party arranges their chairs into a circle and sits in the dark while a freak storm blows open the patio doors and send the curtains billowing.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Simon rejoins the party. Simon\u2019s date, you\u2019ll be glad to hear, is amongst the assembled guests, so she didn\u2019t meet some kind of unspeakable fate at the start of the video. No, Simon doesn\u2019t pay her a lick of attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick and Simon and the blonde stand in the center of the circle of chairs. Everyone in the room simultaneously collapses into a lifeless heap; only Simon and Nick and the blonde get back up on their feet. It\u2019s deeply strange, but for all I know, this might be a typical evening\u2019s entertainment at Casa Rhodes. Look, everything I\u2019ve ever heard about Nick suggests he\u2019s both glamorous and weird, and that\u2019s how I prefer it. If it turns out he spends most of his evenings playing computer solitaire and microwaving Lean Cuisine entrees, I don\u2019t ever want to hear about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon, Nick and the blonde tromp out of the mansion hand in hand, having apparently formed some kind of weird, fabulous, sexy m\u00e9nage \u00e0 trois.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Arcadia<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The video ends on a \u201cTo be continued..?\u201d title card, which, sadly, is nothing but a tease. Following this, Nick and Simon joined back up with John and continued on as Duran Duran, and the strange world of Arcadia and this video was abandoned forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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