Flash Gordon gets warning for 'potentially offensive' Ming the Merciless

The BBFC said Ming the Merciless was "coded as an East Asian character due to his hair and make-up"

More old movies could have warnings added about racism and stereotypes, after UK film censors said Ming the Merciless in 1980's Flash Gordon was "dubious if not outright offensive".

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) added a warning about "discriminatory stereotypes" for the film's recent re-release.

Ming was of East Asian appearance and was played by Sweden's Max Von Sydow.

Next year, the BBFC will examine how to handle stereotypes in other old films.

The organisation gave Flash Gordon a 12A rating for its reissue - more strict than the A rating it was given on its original release, which is roughly equivalent to a PG today.

BBFC senior policy officer Matt Tindall said that was because the outdated portrayal of Flash Gordon's nemesis, as well as some violence and bad language.

He said: "Ming the Merciless is coded as an East Asian character due to his hair and make-up, but he's played by a Swedish actor in the film, he's played by Max Von Sydow, which I don't think is something that would happen if this were a modern production, and is something that we're also aware that viewers may find dubious if not outright offensive.

"The character of Ming of course comes from the Flash Gordon comic strips from the 1930s and the serials, and let's just say attitudes towards the acceptability of discriminatory racial stereotypes have moved on considerably since then, and rightly so of course."

'Not acceptable to modern audiences'

Earlier this year, Gone With The Wind had a warning added on US streaming service HBO Max saying the 1939 film "denies the horrors of slavery".

And the BBFC upgraded 1936 musical Show Boat from a U to a PG for "stereotypes, language and behaviour that are not appropriate at U under our current guidelines".

Speaking on a BBFC podcast, Mr Tindall said: "This is something that we have to bear in mind often when we see older films coming in for reclassification - films that might contain discriminatory depictions or stereotypes that are not acceptable to modern audiences, including films where discrimination wasn't the work's intent, just a reflection of the period in which it was made.

"This is an issue that we're currently planning to explore more through research next year, speaking to the public to check that they're happy with the way we're classifying such films and the way we classify issues of discrimination more generally."

Last year, it was reported that Flash Gordon is being remade as an animation, with Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi involved.