Flash Gordon

American football star Flash Gordon (Sam Jones), scientist Hans Zarkov (Topol), and pretty estate agent Dale Arden (Melody Anderson) are blasted to the farthest reaches of space to fight Ming the Merciless (Max Von Sydow), the tyrannical ruler of Mongo, who has been subjecting The Earth to a series of violent attacks in the form of freak weather conditions and terrible catastrophes.

Featuring blond pretty boy Sam Jones in the title role, some of the most garish costumes in the history of cinema, cheesy dialogue galore, a catchy pop/rock soundtrack by Queen, poorly constructed props (and a few rather suggestive looking ones), marvellously hammy performances from a fine collection of cult character actors (including Department S's Richard Wyngarde, Rocky Horror's Richard O'Brien and good old Brian Blessed), and spectacularly ropey special effects (all wires clearly visible), Flash Gordon is quite possibly the most gleefully daft, over-the-top, knowingly tacky, and outrageously flamboyant sci-fi film ever made.

Don't be put off by the fact that the film is perfect for a themed night at the local gay bar, though—Flash Gordon might be camper than a row of tents, as the saying goes, but there really is something for everyone but the most joyless of movie pedants: we get fantastical floating worlds that predate those in Avatar by three decades, there's pet dwarfs, crazy laser battles, a whip-wielding dominatrix, assorted sexy bints in skimpy outfits, and even a little 'gore' (both Ming and his henchman Klytus meet nasty fates)—PLUS for every shot of our hero in a tight T-shirt or leather hot-pants, we get several of the gorgeous Ornella Muti (as Ming's sultry daughter Princess Aura) in her figure hugging red catsuit, easily rivalling Buck Rogers' Erin Gray in the sexy Spandex stakes. Melody Anderson as Dale isn't exactly ugly either, and also gets to wear some very revealing get-ups.

Hell, even Blue Peter fans are catered for, with '80s presenter Peter Duncan appearing as a tree dweller whose hand is attacked by a slimy vacuum cleaner bag with a poisonous sting in its tail. Now that's what I call entertainment!

Geez, I think my title summed up everything that needs to be said. "Flash Gordon" has all the sci-fi and action as "Star Wars" but blended with an unapologetic campiness and comic bookishness like the iconic 60s Batman series. Throw into the mix, um, QUEEN doing the soundtrack, and you've got yourself an experience that will never happen again.

You might be thinking the blend I just described is as ill-advised as putting pineapple on pizza (seriously does anyone really like that?), but actually the blend is perfect if we take a quick look at the decade that this film wraps up, the 70s. The 70s was the decade of the rock opera: The Who's "Tommy", the doo-wopper "Grease", Motown's "The Wiz", the punkish "Rocky Horror" and bunches of others that swept the box office. While "Flash Gordon" isn't a musical, as defined by characters breaking out into song & dance, the vibe of the movie spells rock opera with a capital Rock. In plain terms this means a very tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top, theatrical and colorful spectacle that is not to be taken as a straightforward drama. If you can grasp that concept, I guarantee you'll love this flick.

The plot? Who cares. Something about saving the universe, I'm sure. But it doesn't matter because, like a good roller coaster ride, or like a good adventurous vacation, we don't care how it's mapped out. We just get a thrill out of each individual twist & turn, each scene, each surprise, and all the while we're taking mental notes of all the horribly awesome lines we can quote to our friends and annoy them for months afterwards.

A serious note about the acting. This production drew the talents of some of the finest actors of stage & screen, and for them to be able to play such campy characters is a testament to their true expertise. I'm talking dramatic & Shakespearean legends like Brian Blessed, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, not to mention the incomparable personality of Topol (Fiddler on the Roof) and the show-stealing, sexually repressed Ornella Muti as the Emperor's daughter--whose mere presence would've kicked the MPAA rating from PG to PG-13 if that designation had existed back then. Even if you don't recognize any of these people, you'll find each one of them to be unforgettable.

"Flash Gordon" is a film that has no equal. You could say it's a distant cousin to 1968's "Barbarella" (another wtf experience that shouldn't be missed), but really it's beyond compare. So hurry up and see this movie ...you only have 14 hours to save the earth!

Some childhood obsessions stay with you for life, and Flash would have to be one of them. In fact, Flash Gordon, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica began a lifelong obsession with science fiction and fantasy in all of its good (and especially) bad forms. The above summary isn't really accurate; 20 years don't make a difference to how much I like this film, but they have changed my reasons for liking it. With hindsight, I've discovered exactly who Lorenzo Semple Jr. is, and now, fully understanding the camp elements of this film, I can still enjoy it, but on a completely new level. As for complaints about the acting of Sam Jones (who did much worse in the abysmal firefighter series Code Red) and Melody Anderson, you hire actors for what they can do, not what they can't. This is why Keanu Reeves was perfect for The Matrix, and why Arnold Schwarzenegger was perfect for The Terminator. Jones and Anderson serve the same purpose for Semple as Adam West and Burt Ward did in the Batman series; who better than someone sadly lacking in acting skills to deliver a completely ludicrous line with a straight face? Unless your name is Charlton Heston, experienced actors have a difficult time with it. Anyways, I digress. The things that first attracted me to this film still do it for me, and that would be the production values and special effects, not to mention the great soundtrack by Queen (I actually had a friend consider using Brian May's arrangement of the Wedding March at his wedding; his mother, of course, ixnayed it). This is still a great looking movie, even by today's standards, which makes me wonder if DeLaurentiis was in on the joke the whole time. All in all, a lot of fun, unless you get offended by less than faithful revisions, in which case I have to wonder about your upbringing.

Yes, the plot is silly, yes the dialogue is cheesy and yes, some of the special effects are badly done, but nonetheless it is great fun. Like Rocky Horror Picture Show, Congo and Jingle All the Way, Flash Gordon is a sort of guilty pleasure of mine. The costumes are quite extravagant and the sets are exotic. Then you have an irresistibly killer soundtrack from Queen, who also brought us the classics We Will Rock You and Bohemian Rhapsody. The direction is pretty good and the acting is surprisingly great. Sam J Jones is bad with his cheesiness but he was fun besides, thank goodness he wasn't bland like Justin Whalin from Dungeons and Dungeons, and Melody Anderson is charming and alluring as Dale. Brian Blessed is very hammy as Vultran but he is great fun regardless and Topol, who was so superb in Fiddler on the Roof, is memorable as Dr Hans Zarkov. And while Ornella Muti is a wonderfully witty and sexy Princess Aura, it is Max Von Sydow who walks away with the picture, pantomime of course but sinister as well and I appreciated that. Overall, not perfect and camp personified, but very enjoyable. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A football player is tricked to travel the planet Mongo and finds himself forging friendships while fighting a tyrant, Ming the Merciless, to save Earth.

Lacking the production values and execution of the comparable Star Wars, Flash Gordon retains its comic-strip and Saturday morning matinée serial feel, possibly thanks to a troubled production and Lorenzo Semple Jr. screenplay.

Peter Wyngarde plays masked villain Klytus elegantly creepy (possibly and inspiration for He-Man's Skeletor) and with Mariangela Melato Kala's (oddly He-Man borrows another character this time Evil-Lynn) leads the assault while The Emperor Ming played subtly by  Max von Sydow takes a back seat. It's this distance between the protagonist and antagonist that hampers the film but on the other hand it's works to its credit allowing an array of colourful characters to line the screen including Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan who's delivers a barrage of classic lines while Timothy Dalton to graces the screen as dashing Errol Flynn alike Prince Barin.

Flash's love interest Dale Arden is played by Melody Anderson Dale is the perfect 1950's style every day New Yorker. Flash lacks Charisma, history may have been different should Kurt Russell had committed.  Either way Sam J. Jones Flash Gordon does the job. There's tones of familiar faces including UK's Richard O'Brien, Robbie Coltrane and Blue Peter's Peter Duncan. Sultry Ornella Muti is perfect as Ming's daughter Princess Aura nevertheless there's no doubt Topol steals every scene as unhinged science 'genius'  Dr. Hans Zarkov.

While characters arcs change pacer than Queen's memorable pumping and notable soundtrack amongst themes of forging friendships, suicide, death, sacrifice and resurrection to name a few there's spaceships, poisonous creatures, red-clad guards and enough sequins to start a cabaret show all the things you'd expect from a science fiction.  Beneath the bright and lustre costumes there's a dark and rebel subtext. 

Director Mike Hodges gives us many stand out scenes including a battle to the death on a remote control tilting platform with retractable spikes, an American football inspired fight, a space shuttle assault, gooey spider-monster and girls cat fight. There's also some nice touches during Zarkov and prince escape that stay in the mind.  The effects are a mixed bag with projection and composites heavy utilised, again it gives it's that hammy serial feel but hampers Flash's longevity as a rounded work of art. Even so it packs in so many memorable characters, lines and moments that it retains a must seem charm.

Flash Gordon is flawed as much as the actor title role, it never fully explores the characters, yet, it's well defined and still is a lot of fun. Gordon's alive!