disc rating:
company: Universal Pictures
year: 1980
runtime: 111′
director: Mike Hodges
cast: Sam Jones, Melody Anderson,
Topol, Max Von Sydow,
Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed,
Omella Muti, Peter Wyngarde
writers: Lorenzo Semple Jr.
and Michael Allin
cinematography: Gilbert Taylor
music: Queen
and Howard Blake (orchestral)
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Plot: Football superstar Flash Gordon (Sam Jones) and journalist Dale Arden (Melody Anderson) are swept to the world of Mongo by overzealous scientist Dr. Zarkov (Topol) to stop evil Emperor Ming’s (Max von Sydow) fiendish plot to smash the Earth to atoms.
Based on the eponymous comic by Alex Raymond and owing a considerable debt to the 1936 serial starring Buster Crabbe, this big budget flop from producer Dino De Laurentiis is a picture with a bit of an identity crisis. Earnestly directed by Mike Hodges from a knowingly camp screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr. (Batman: The Movie), Flash Gordon never quite makes up its mind as to which it would prefer to be, though that doesn’t keep it from being a lot of fun along the way. Bolstered by outlandish art deco-inspired production design by Danilo Donati (Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom) and a raucous rock score by Queen, the film has become something of a cult classic in the thirty years since its original release and remains an extravagantly ludicrous experience unto itself.
