- Directed by Mike Hodges
- December 5, 1980 (US) / December 11, 1980 (UK)
- Based on the King Features comic strip Flash Gordon created by Alex Raymond
A star quarterback and his allies must bring together the warring factions of a star empire against its ruler who is trying to destroy Earth.
Flash Gordon is a treasured cinematic memory from my child. I remember sitting in the theater with my mother watching this movie and just being pushed into the back of my seat by the opening credits. The music by the legendary Queen and the comic art montage opening hit like visual adrenaline and promised something amazing to my five-year-old self. The older I get the more I realize that this along others from that time hold a magic that briefly faded but has come back stronger.
I fluctuate a little of this movie. On the one hand, I wish George Lucas had been allowed to direct his version of Flash Gordon. Though we wouldn’t have been blessed with Star Wars, we instead would have received something more serious than what we get here. On the other hand Flash Gordon 1980 is a great movie that works best when you have a desire for something, well, like what it is. If you watch it when you have the wrong feeling it just won’t work as well.
That opening scene in the Grand Hall of Emperor Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow) with the tributes offered by the assorted kingdoms sets the tone for the entire movie. It establishes Ming as cold and ruthless and though he is in control, that control is tenuous and just needs the one person who can unite the factions which he has managed to keep pitted against each other rather than focused on him.
Max von Sydow cuts quite the figure as Ming. Not only does he look like he was ripped from the pages of the comics, but he took the part seriously which helped to emphasize the villainy of the character. There was no attempt to be comedic or chew the scenery. What we got was an evil guy doing evil things because he was evil.
Ming’s eternal nemesis is Flash Gordon (Sam J. Jones). Having played football in the Marines, Jones had the right build and with his hair dyed the appropriate blonde he looked the part. Rating/discussing the totality of his performance is tough since Jones departed before the completion of post-production. What I can say is that the final product is the kind of hero we all want: good, honest, true, and always capable. You cheer for him no matter how many times he barely escapes some predicament which is a credit to both director Mike Hodges and Jones along with the able assistance of voice actor Peter Marinker.
Dale Arden (Melody Anderson) waffles between damsel in distress and mild action heroin. She fires blasters and in one scene did a cart wheel to avoid getting shot which doesn’t make too much sense. The character was also easily subdued and taken in by Ming. What does she do when she has a chance to kill Ming? She decides to keep her word to be a good wife. Kill the most evil man in the galaxy! I give credit to giving some depth to a character that could have been little more than a screaming nuisance. Dale is not vapid but mostly the intellectual equal of those around her.
Rounding out the central heroic trio is the great Topol as the mildly crazed Dr. Hans Zarkov who got kicked out of NASA for, in hindsight, being right though how never gets explained. Fiddler on the Roof, For Your Eyes Only, and Flash Gordon. That alone is a wild résumé. Zarkov is equal parts loyal friend and mad scientist desperate to prove himself correct. The character is portrayed like a kid living a fantasy occasionally being pulled back to his absurd reality
The only scene with Zarkov I did not like was the memory wipe scene and I think I know why now. It’s a whole flashback to his life and some tragedies in it. There is a scene where he’s clearly running from the Nazis and it just looks like the cast was moving around in a very tiny area pulling a cart. I’m talking walking in a very tight circle while the camera is ahead of them.
There is never much said about the character of General Klytus (Peter Wyngarde). Understandable in a movie featuring an iconic performance by von Sydow and so much else that has stuck with viewers. Klytus is a manipulator who relishes his duties and looks down at all while also loyal serving Ming. A gold mask and black cloak is a simple costume but he looks so threatening.
As all good villains do Ming has a daughter he gives free reign to named Princess Aura (Ornella Muti). Aura wantonly uses her sexuality to undermine her own father which he seems quite aware of but indulges like a doting dad. She sleeps around quite liberally to the point of having the Royal Surgeon (Stanley Lebor) so controlled because of her good lovin’ that the promise of a future rendezvous is enough to risk death. She is a petulant child given to chasing the next shiny thing but by herself is not much of a threat like all the characters are until Flash comes along.
Aura’s most consistent lover is Prince Barin (Timothy Dalton). This was my first encounter with the Dalton and I’ve been a fan since. There is a twinkle in his eye while on screen as he plays the character that would end the story as Flash’s best friend. There is a swashbuckling flare to it all. A trademark often with Dalton even when he is a villain that just hooks you.
Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan is perhaps one of the most fondly recalled characters in the movie. Vultan is bold and brash. He chews the scenery but manages a level of being understated too. He is enthusiastic and comes off as an outsized, larger than life personality which if you read about the actor could be just a reflection of himself. Blessed delivered a child in a park and cut the umbilical with his own teeth. Do with that what you will.
Flash Gordon is pure fun space opera with over-the-top villains and heroes doing impossible or mildly comedic feats like playing a game of football with imperial guards that look like they’re wearing space football outfits. It rushes into the story pretty quickly. Once Flash makes his first escape from certain death it’s moving almost wildly from one moment to the next. It’s flinging as much stupidity and nonsense at the audience to not give them a time to realize just how silly what they are watching is.
This is a movie that brings out the kid in you and just gets you jazzed. It’s adventure and excitement. I could see some people today complaining about the use of miniatures. I’m a fan of older special effects to a certain degree and when done right and this did it right. It honored the visual era which came before while also maintaining the aesthetic of the comics.
The costumes are an excellent translation of page to screen. It’s my understanding the sets used in this are sets originally used in the old film serials. A nice homage but one that can be painfully noticeable in high definition. Multiple coats of paint for their upkeep can be obvious but they were based on the strips making them something that just cannot be passed up.
The 1980 film Flash Gordon deserves its cult classic status. It’s fun and silly and just purely entertaining. A fine example of space opera and page to screen transition.
Warren Watched A Movie 