Flash Gordon
1980 Directed by Mike Hodges
Synopsis
He'll save every one of us!
A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyrant, Ming the Merciless, to save Earth.
Cast
Studio
Genres
Popular reviews
More-
Klytus, I'm bored. What play thing can you offer me today?
-The Emperor MingThe opening title sequence with Queen's Flash Theme is worth at least a full star rating on it's own. At a time when people were still amazed by the realistic special effects from the likes of Star Wars and Alien, two very serious sci-fi films, Dino De Laurentis decided to bring us the campy sci-fi space rock opera Flash Gordon.
The film isn't ridiculous by accident, it was meant to be camp before the first word of the script was typed. It's an updated version of a 1930s comic strip. The plot features the quarterback of the New York Jets trying to save the Earth from…
-
Five stars? For Flash Gordon? Are you insane?
Yes. Yes. And quite possibly yes. But no film has ever made me grin like the Cheshire Cat than Flash Gordon. Whether its Queens soundtrack, Max von Sydow and Peter Wyngarde moustache twirling with the best of them, Sam Jones perfectly coiffured hair, Timothy Dalton calling the enemy "Yer bloody bastards!", the hotness of Princess Aura or the mere presence of the force of nature that is Brian Blessed, there is plenty to love. So much so that I can easily overlook the flaws.
And the dialogue. Wow. Just wow. Here are a few of the gems offered up by the film:
Vultan, "GORDON'S ALIVE?!"Dale Arden,"Keeping our word is one of…
-
In the land of epically awesome films this is definitely one of the most epic and awesome.
-
Thank you to everyone who wrote great reviews of this film - I don't think I'd have watched it otherwise. Brilliant fun as an American footballer tries to stop Emperor Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow) from destroying the earth, all accompanied by a soundtrack from Queen. And whoever cast Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan is a genius!
-
No, Flash, no!
No, Flash, no!
Fer FUCK'S sake. -
He saved every one of us.
Recent reviews
More-
I've loved this film from seeing it as a child, and never have gotten bored of it. Years pass and suddenly my interest is peaked again with recent debate about ouor favourite non-Bond Timothy Dalton film, and this is mine of his as the hard-as-nails Prince Barin, loyal subject of Ming The Merciless, but turns hero towards the final rebellion!
Filled with hammy performances from all involved which clearly shows a production full of passion, humour and enjoyment, including Sam J Jones, Topol, Brian Blessed, Max von Sydow, Melody Anderson and Richard O'Brian to name a few, this is a film full of outrageous costumes, over-the-top acting, cheap sets, obvious minature work, loud pomp rock music and a wonderfully easy…
-
I cant even finish it
Good god, this was awful
-
This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
-
One of the ultimate guilty pleasures. A fittingly gaudy tribute to thirties serials with all involved having the time of their lives, though no-one seems to have told grim-faced Tim Dalton - which makes it all the more fun.
GO FLASH GO! GORDON'S ALIVE! DIIIIIIVE! etc, etc.
-
I always have a problem with rating films that are so bad that they are good. This is one of those.
Let's start with racism. The hero looks like a poster boy for the Aryan race while the evil people look Chinese or speak with a Russian accent. Even the hero alien race is winged vikings! One could almost believe that Hitler and McCarthy wrote the script together.
Flash looks like he showers every hour and is polished in some mystery wax. Max von Sydow, who plays the evil Ming is in a film of his own. Probably thought this was a Shakespeare play. And you have unbelievable lines like:
Kala: We're going to empty your memory as we might…
-
Classic film from my childhood...go flash go!
-
I'd wondered if this would still hold up from my childhood memories so I watched it again. So colorfully stupid and cheesy and loaded with forgotten (or simply not understood at the time) eroticism and moments of such ridiculousness that as soon as it ended I started it right over. Sam Jones is the SHIT.
-
A bit too long at almost 2 hours running time, but absolutely insane.
-
Unbelievably bad. It plays on the HD movie channels all the time because it's so cheap. I have to admit, it has some frighteningly bright colors. I only mention it because I find it incredibly disturbing that Ming the Merciless is played by Max von Sydow!!!