Flash Gordon is an American football hero who is skyjacked aboard Dr. Hans Zarkov's rocketship along with his beautiful girlfriend Dale Arden. The threesome are drawn into the influence of the planet Mongo, ruled by Emperor Ming the Merciless. The evil Ming has been testing Earth with unnatural disasters, and deeming our world a threat to his rule. He also intends to take Dale as his concubine, attempts to execute Flash and intends to destroy Earth. Flash must avoid the amorous attentions of Ming's daughter, and unite the warring kingdoms of Mongo to rescue Dale and save our world.Written by
David Thiel <d-thiel@uiuc.edu>
The music that plays when Vultan's men begin their attack was later used in the arcade video game Vanguard. See more »
Goofs
Princess Aura is apparently Ming's daughter but when she is whipped it's clear that she is red-blooded but when Ming is speared at the end of the film he has green blood. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
The Emperor Ming:
Klytus, I'm bored. What plaything 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".
The Emperor Ming:
How peaceful it looks.
[He activates a console, and watches as earthquakes, floods, etc. start to occur. They both get a good laugh out of it]
Klytus:
Most effective, Your Majesty! Will you destroy this, er, Earth?
The Emperor Ming:
Later. I like to play with thing a while... before annihilation.
[laughs evilly]
See more »
Crazy Credits
When the ending title appears, a hand picks up Ming's ring and Ming is heard laughing. A "?" appears, making it "THE END?" See more »
Alternate Versions
The 1993 Universal Laser Disc is complete with all deleted scenes listed in the other comments present on that disc, as well as the trailer being added at the end of the film. Reports from people who saw the film's preview in early 1980 indicate that there were several additional scenes of Flash on Arboria with Prince Barin. See more »
In the 80s, De Laurentis made vibrant, adventurous movies.
Despite a "B Movie" feel, the production values are high throughout 111 minutes of retro-driven, sci-fi packed entertainment, complimented by a rocking soundtrack delivered by chart-topping superband: Queen.
You can either dismiss Flash as juvenile eye-candy, or marvel in its over-the-top glory. Revisiting the movie, I tend towards the latter. The costumes look gorgeous, the settings have a dream-like atmosphere. The production team go that extra mile to emulate the colorful, original comic books, too.
Often criticized for hammy acting: I'll mention Topol, Timothy Dalton and ravishing Ornella Muti who do their best to transform Flash into a classy, trashy tour de force. I think they succeed.
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In the 80s, De Laurentis made vibrant, adventurous movies.
Despite a "B Movie" feel, the production values are high throughout 111 minutes of retro-driven, sci-fi packed entertainment, complimented by a rocking soundtrack delivered by chart-topping superband: Queen.
You can either dismiss Flash as juvenile eye-candy, or marvel in its over-the-top glory. Revisiting the movie, I tend towards the latter. The costumes look gorgeous, the settings have a dream-like atmosphere. The production team go that extra mile to emulate the colorful, original comic books, too.
Often criticized for hammy acting: I'll mention Topol, Timothy Dalton and ravishing Ornella Muti who do their best to transform Flash into a classy, trashy tour de force. I think they succeed.