Oh my friends where to begin.
This movie is packed with more sci-fi cheesiness than one can bargain for and it is an entertaining ride of campy psychedelic visuals and rock music that mere words can’t really describe. My only gripe is kind of the same for most of the sci-fi adventures we endure, there’s always a slowdown somewhere in the middle of the film where random dialog takes over and kills the flow of the movie. I will admit I have no clue what was happening for most of the plot because I zoned out during this lull but thankfully things pick up just in time for one of the more satisfying final battle scenes I’ve ever experienced.
The film is chock full of great characters, beginning with Flash Gordon himself. A stud of a man who plays quarterback for the New York Jets, a team that can only be made cool in a movie script, and is so macho that he gets women to fall for him with only a smile and fool-proof pick up line of “I want to have kids with you”.
I mean seriously he’s got Princesses on other planets clamoring for the D.
You’ve got Emperor Ming the Merciless wreaking havoc on planet Earth and making women jizz in their pants using the Schwartz from his magic ring. And who can forget Prince Vultan and the Hawkmen, the winged inhabitants of Sky City.
Overall solid pick Chris, I’m glad I finally watched the movie.
I’ll probably revisit it sometime and pay more attention to see if I like it even more. I probably missed some of the humor by zoning out in the middle of the movie but I had a great time anyway so no complaints. This week is Charlie’s pick so chances are we’ll be watching something themed around tomatoes.
FLASH!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!
everyone
See you all tonight.
Random Stats & Info:·
- This movie had a budget of $20 million. It made $27 million at the North American box office.
- George Lucas attempted to make a Flash Gordon film but couldn’t acquire the rights from the producer so he decided to create Star Wars instead.
- Sam J. Jones, Flash Gordon, appeared in full frontal nude under the alias Andrew Cooper III as the centerfold for a photo-spread in the June 1975 issue of Playgirl magazine. After the release of Flash Gordon, Playgirl ran this photo-spread in January 1981 using his real name.
- Flash Gordon was a planned trilogy but Sam J. Jones and the producers had a falling out.
-Qaadir
Flash Gordon is a 1980 space opera film directed by Mike Hodges, based on the King Features comic strip of the same name created by Alex Raymond. The film stars Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Ornella Muti, Max von Sydow and Topol, with Timothy Dalton, Mariangela Melato, Brian Blessed and Peter Wyngarde in supporting roles. The film follows star quarterback Flash Gordon (Jones) and his allies Dale Arden (Anderson) and Hans Zarkov (Topol) as they unite the warring factions of the planet Mongo against the oppression of Ming the Merciless (von Sydow), who is intent on destroying Earth.
Producer Dino De Laurentiis, who had previously overseen two other comic book adaptations, Danger: Diabolik and Barbarella (both 1968), had held an interest in making a Flash Gordon film since the 1960s.[6] After a directorial offer from George Lucas was declined (resulting in the creation of Star Wars) and a version that was to be directed by Federico Fellini did not enter production, De Laurentiis hired director Nicolas Roeg and Enter the Dragon writer Michael Allin to lead development on the film in 1977, but replaced them with Hodges and Lorenzo Semple Jr., who had scripted De Laurentiis' remake of King Kong, due to his dissatisfaction with Roeg's vision for the film.
Flash Gordon was primarily filmed in England, including on several soundstages at Elstree and Shepperton Studios, and uses a camp style similar to the 1960s TV series Batman (which Semple developed).[7] Due to a dispute with De Laurentiis, Jones left the film prior to the end of principal photography, resulting in much of his dialogue being dubbed by actor Peter Marinker;[8] the circumstances of Jones' departure from the project and his career in the aftermath of its release serve as the key subjects of the documentary Life After Flash.[9] The film is notable for its musical score by the rock band Queen, featuring orchestral sections by Howard Blake.
Although a box office success in the United Kingdom and Italy, Flash Gordon performed poorly in other markets.[10] Critical reception during and since the film's initial release has been generally favorable,[7] and it has since gained a significant cult following.[10] Several attempts at sequels and reboots have been made, but none have entered production.
source: wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_Gordon_(film)
