Flash Gordon (1980)

If there’s another sci-fi movie with a title song that beats the opening notes of Freddie Mercury and Queen’s electro-operatic ‘Flash’, I’ve yet to hear it. As wacky as the movie it heralded, it’s still a classic that bangs the drums and cranks the bass to the max. And the same can be said for this 1980s ode to the black-and-white ‘Flash Gordon’ serials of the 1930s (and the comic strips that in turn inspired them). The story is familiar to a legion of sci-fi fans from the grainy black-and-white television episodes of the serialized show that were a staple of Saturday morning television in Ireland, Britain, the United States, and pretty much everywhere else in the ’70s and ’80s. An American football star, Flash Gordon (played by celebrity B-movie actor Sam J. Jones), is involved in a plane crash along with journalist Dale Arden (played by charming Melody Anderson) during a mysterious storm. Seeking refuge in a nearby house, they encounter a controversial scientist named Dr. Hans Zarkov (Israeli actor Chaim Topol gives a wonderfully maniacal performance), who informs them that Earth is under attack by an alien power and the Moon is being attacked. deviated from its orbit. At gunpoint, Zarkov forces the duo to join him in his homemade spaceship on a journey to the mysterious planet (Mongo) to discover the source of the assault on Earth and put an end to it. What follows is an absolutely rolling adventure as they explore the world of Emperor Ming the Merciless (played by famed Swedish actor Max von Sydow in a role he clearly enjoyed), and the many kingdoms and peoples of Mongo he rules, as they struggle to create an alliance to overthrow the tyrannical Ming government. Despite the clichés and plot nonsense, the story still manages to attract and hold attention and comes to a suitably satisfying ending, albeit an open-ended one with a hint of a sequel that will sadly never come to pass.

‘Flash Gordon’ was and still is beautiful to look at, containing some of the most colorful sets and designs to be found in sci-fi movies, with retro-futuristic costumes to match. The special effects are similar to the 1980s, but good and still holding up (Mongo’s skies are still amazing to look at). The movie knows itself for what it is: energetic, tongue-in-cheek, to be enjoyed in the realm of science fiction, and it’s all the better for it. He never really takes himself too seriously, and in doing so has created one of the best sci-fi movies of the 1980s. The supporting cast is wonderful, with the incredibly sexy model-turned-actress Ornella Muti. playing Ming’s dangerously obsessive daughter, Princess Aura, British actor. and future ‘James Bond’ Timothy Dalton playing Prince Barin (Aura’s on-again-off-again lover), and a truly fantastic and outrageously maniacal Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan, Styrofoam wings, rubber hammer and all. In the United States, the film did poorly at the box office and was generally disliked by critics, while in Europe and elsewhere it quickly achieved the status of a must-see cult classic, a status that only it has grown over time. . ‘Flash Gordon’ remains a silly and light-hearted sci-fi romp that enjoys the deep affection of its many fans, and is deservedly available in various quality DVD and Blu-ray editions. And seriously, who doesn’t know that Queen song?

‘Flash a-ah

Savior of the Universe…!’