Rating: 
Summary: Save your money!!
Review: The first and the third Flash Gordon serials represented, to me, the very best serials made. This one is the third. There are quite a few cast changes between the original and this serial. Notable switches are Carol Hughes replacing Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, Shirley Deane replacing Priscilla Lawson as Princess Aura, and Roland Drew replacing Richard Alexander as Prince Baran. This last change is really noticeable because Drew gives the character a definite Errol Flynn twist. This was made two years after Flynn's ROBIN HOOD, and it shows. Carol Hughes portrays Dale Arden as a much more self sufficient woman than Jean Rogers did. The character of Flash, himself, is a bit mellower maybe. In the first chapter, he's often restrained by Zarkov from impetuous action, and there's less of that this time around. And Emporer Ming while still intent on destroying the Earth seems to, when things are going his way, be much more interested in watching his favorite dancing girl perform than in anything else. Unfortunately for him, our hero Flash keeps distracting him from his fun. Another key figure this time around is Sonja, the ice princess, and is she ever the ultimate ice princess! Also notable is the use of Liszt's "Les Preludes" as background music. Combined with the noisy rocketships, the music adds immeasurably to the enjoyment of the action. The Flash Gordon serials are absolute fun to watch, and better watched one chapter at a time.
Rating: 
Summary: The REAL Flash Gordon
Review: The first and the third Flash Gordon serials represented, to me, the very best serials made. This one is the third. There are quite a few cast changes between the original and this serial. Notable switches are Carol Hughes replacing Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, Shirley Deane replacing Priscilla Lawson as Princess Aura, and Roland Drew replacing Richard Alexander as Prince Baran. This last change is really noticeable because Drew gives the character a definite Errol Flynn twist. This was made two years after Flynn's ROBIN HOOD, and it shows. Carol Hughes portrays Dale Arden as a much more self sufficient woman than Jean Rogers did. The character of Flash, himself, is a bit mellower maybe. In the first chapter, he's often restrained by Zarkov from impetuous action, and there's less of that this time around. And Emporer Ming while still intent on destroying the Earth seems to, when things are going his way, be much more interested in watching his favorite dancing girl perform than in anything else. Unfortunately for him, our hero Flash keeps distracting him from his fun. Another key figure this time around is Sonja, the ice princess, and is she ever the ultimate ice princess! Also notable is the use of Liszt's "Les Preludes" as background music. Combined with the noisy rocketships, the music adds immeasurably to the enjoyment of the action. The Flash Gordon serials are absolute fun to watch, and better watched one chapter at a time.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice for the Price
Review: This DVD is great for the price. The video and audio are comparable to other copies that I've seen (for over double the price). It's, also, nice to see all 12 episodes on one disc.
Rating:
Summary: Nice for the Price
Review: This DVD is nice for the price. The description says Region 1, but its region 0. The video and audio are about the same as others on the market, but the menus are well designed (very retro!) All 12 chapters are on one dual layered disc and the layer change doesn't interfere with the movie. There are no extras, but hey for the price, what do you expect?
Rating:
Summary: 1930s science fiction with funny hats
Review: This has to be some kind of archetype - the master plan from which generations of cheesy science fiction movies were drawn. It dates to the era when short-wave radio was gee-whiz technology, when heroes were handsome and Nordic looking, when women were for screaming and for being saved, and when special effects for ray-guns were scratched directly on the black&white film with a pin.
It has everything: ray-guns that look like oilcans, arrows and swords, women on every mission (for the required ineffectual girlfight, since men couldn't hit women), and wobbly spaceships sputtering sparks. Almost everyone except the daring Flash wears a funny hat. Dale Arden, the lovely but useless heroine, has a pert cap with a meter-long plume, cemented to her head at a jaunty angle. Evil Emperor Ming alternates between jagged skullcap and a chapeau titled "Death of Ostriches." His minions, the witless ones seemingly outnumbered by the traitors, wear claustrophobic visors good for hiding the features of any would-be infiltrator. Heck, even the shovels have big fancy fins on them.
Our heroes are brilliant strategists. When captured by the Rock Men, they escape using the clever tactic of running away, something their guards seem never to have anticipated.
Perhaps it was meant more or less seriously at the time, but this can only be enjoyed for its campiness today. So be it - this is the finest, campiest sample of cheesy effects, gratuitous cliff-hangers, and bumbling fights you will ever see. Wait for a rainy Saturday, pop some extra popcorn, and sit back. This is goofy, black-and-white nostalgia at its finest.
//wiredweird
Rating:
Summary: Flash Gordon Comments on Society Would Be a Better Name!
Review: This is one of the America's great documents of the Great Depression! Although at first it appears to be merely an adventure serial from the 30's, the film has much more to offer. Flash Gordon gives one of celluloid's deepest, most complex characterizations, and the evil emporer Ming (a symbol of the government at the time) may seem to be a ruthless and colhearted villain, but deep down he's really just a fun-loving guy! The ending is triumphant and frightening, showing what could have happened as a result of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This is a perfectly realized indictment of nuclear warfare and a beautiful but sad look at political corruption!!!
Rating:
Summary: IT COMPARES WITH THE ORIGNIAL SERIAL; 4.5 STARS
Review: THIS TIME AROUND, FLASH GORDON, PROFESSOR ZARKOFF, AND DALE ARDEN GO BACK TO MONGO TO ONCE AGAIN TAKE ON EMPEROR MING, WHO THIS TIME HAS SENT A PLAGUE TO EARTH THAT IS KILLING OFF ITS POPULATION. DESPITE MANY CAST CHANGES, THIS MANAGED TO NOT ONLY TOP THE TRIP TO MARS, BUT IS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE ORIGINAL SERIAL! ALL 12 CHAPTERS ARE HIGHLY ENTERTAINING AND NEVER BORING. ANOTHER TIMELESS GEM.
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