Flash Gordon (1980)

Director:

Mike Hodges

Writers:

Alex Raymond (characters)
Michael Allin (adaptation)

Release Date:

5 December 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

He'll save every one of us!

Plot:

A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyrant, Ming the Merciless, to save Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Prince | Flash Gordon | Emperor | Scientist

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Sam J. Jones	...	Flash Gordon
Melody Anderson	...	Dale Arden
Max von Sydow	...	The Emperor Ming / Ming's Floating Servant (as Max Von Sydow)
Topol	...	Dr. Hans Zarkov
Ornella Muti	...	Princess Aura
Timothy Dalton	...	Prince Barin
Brian Blessed	...	Prince Vultan
Peter Wyngarde	...	Klytus
Mariangela Melato	...	Kala
John Osborne	...	Arborian Priest
Richard O'Brien	...	Fico
John Hallam	...	Luro
Philip Stone	...	Zogi, the High Priest
Suzanne Danielle	...	Serving Girl
William Hootkins	...	Munson

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:A (theatrical rating) | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Airstrip, Breakish, Skye, Highland, Scotland, UK

Company:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Trivia:

Ming's symbol (which Klytus also wears on his gauntlets) is borrowed from the Freemason's square and compass. Ming also makes a Masonic gesture during the course of the movie.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Flash and his friends first appear before Ming, the tributes are done first. Ming states "and now the tributes, from Ardentia". However, in the very next sentence, the representative from that country states "We, the people of Ardencia" with a "denc" pronunciation rather than the "dent" stated by Ming.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Emperor Ming: Klytus, I'm bored. What play thing can you offer me today?
Klytus: An obscure body in the S-K System, your majesty. The inhabitants refer to it as the planet Earth.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strongbad_email.exe: Disc Five (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Flash

A 1930's Comic Strip Brought Perfectly To Life

Flash Gordon is one of the most perfectly realized films De Laurentiis made, and it is disappointing that so few have recognized it for what it is; a 1930's comic strip brought perfectly to life. The fact that it is so accurate a realization of America's hopes and fears during the 1930's may help to explain why it has been dismissed so readily as, at best, mere camp, and at worst, a vulgar cinematic catastrophe: Today's audiences are too removed from that decade to catch the references. A classic example of America's view of Asia during the 1930's can be found in Dale Arden's confrontation with Princess Aura just prior to her wedding to Ming. Aura is trying to convince Dale to slip a poison into Ming's "Power Potion" but Dale tells Aura she can't because she's given Ming her word to "try to be a good wife if [Ming] would spare Zarkov and Baron. He vowed he would." Aura, shocked at her naiveté, shouts, "My father has never kept a vow in his life!" To which Dale responds, "I can't help that Aura. Keeping our word is one of the things that make us better than you." Flash Gordon is filled with this type of wonderful 1930's fun, and this fun is only enhanced by the decision to use bad actors in roles that would only benefit from the lack of skill, as well as Oscar-caliber actors in the most demanding roles. Max Von Sydow is an obvious example of the latter, but the hidden gems come in the form of Mariangela Melato, Brian Blessed, and Ornella Muti. Melato does an outstanding job as Klytus's reptilian, but beautiful, second in command when she flawlessly delivers lines like, "Confess, and we won't hurt you anymore.

We don't like doing this at all!" And Ornella Muti is simply unbelievable as Ming's gorgeous but deadly daughter. Replying to Flash's query as to whether he can use the telepathy machine to contact Dale with a perfectly candid, "If I showed you how. But I'm not going to." Add to these amazing actors the costumes and sets that are obvious homages to the original comic's drawings and you have a movie that is as surprising as it is delightful. Enjoy!