Flash Gordon

Rating:
Summary: Cheesy, bad effects but EXCELLENT!
Review: You love this film or you hate it. It's that simple. For me, it's one of those movies that defined my earlier years. The colors are bright, the music cannot be beaten, the acting is lousy, but there's a "feel good" tone to the movie that makes it all work out some how.

Rating:
Summary: An Homage for All Time
Review: Flying blind on a rocket cycle? If only Byron could have written such poetry. I believe that Flash Gordon is the standard to which campy science fiction/ fantasy movies are judged upon today. With the awful special effects, mundane plot, the junior high drama club costumes, this movie is an example of what happens when a movie studio writes a blank check to a director and says go ahead. This is usually the formula for disaster, but not in this movie's case. When Queen came on board with the soundtrack that made soundtracks popular again, this movie jumped from another Barbarella or Plan 9 from Outer Space to movie excellence. The costumes! The plot! The outragous chase scene in Ming's chamber with the "football" and rousing musical sequence makes me want to go out and buy this movie! I will! So should you!

Rating:
Summary: Strange Gem of a Movie
Review: I have no idea why this is one of my favorite movies. I think it is the fact that this is truly a live-action cartoon. Bright colors combine with action antics and quasi-futuristic costumes. Ming the Merciless even has a plot to take over the universe, that only an Earth football hero can prevent. It helps that the characters take themselves seriously without a hint of intended camp.

And of course, the Queen soundtrack. Queen adds a bit of integrity to this strange gem of a movie, along with Topol (Fiddler on the Roof) who is the perfect Dr. Zarkov. Actually, all of the characters are well cast.

Or maybe it's just the Hawkmen. Diiiiive!

Rating:
Summary: I like to play with things awhile...BEFORE...ANNIHILATION
Review: How can anyone possibly not like this movie? I say this because there are those of my friends that don't. I still don't understand this. My friend, for example, said it was basically a rip-off of STAR WARS. He obviously didn't realize that STAR WARS was a rip-off of the original FLASH GORDON, with some pretentious HIDDEN FORTRESS characters and Joseph Campbell philosophy thrown in (I love Joe, but there's a limit). This movie, of course, is more cheerful and easy-going than Star Wars. From Flash's hopeless (or so I thought) pickup lines delivered with the most hilarious straight face I've ever seen, to the Hawkmen's flying-in- formation spelling, to every scene Klytus is in... this movie is why prehistoric human tribes started entertaining each other around the fire in the first place. More intriguing are those questions that never get answered, leaving us all to ponder them at odd moments in our lives when we need guidance: "WHY the New York Jets?", "Why was the graffiti there when Barin and Zarkov were chained up in Ming's dungeon?", "But really, how crappy IS Arborean security?", and, of course, "Where is the 'Galaxy of Pleasure' and how exactly do I get there?" While this movie answers none of them (except the third), it certainly sets you on the right path. ROCK ON, FLASH!

Rating:
Summary: Hawk men....Diiiiiiiiive!
Review: After seeing this movie in a cramped, panned and scanned version for years, I was happy to finally see it in all its gaudy, wide-screen glory. It was as if I had never seen the complete movie before. For example, when the pilots are killed at the beginning of the film, I had always thought that the plane was hit by a meteor. In wide-screen, it is revealed that it is a giant, disembodied Ming head that hits the plane. Cool! I couldn't believe that I missed a detail like that on VHS. While seeing the movie on DVD was a kick, I must admit that the disk could have been much better. First of all, there are lots of dings and scratches that take a degree of enjoyment away from the film. This is surprising since the movie is only 20 years old. It is too bad that TPTB did didn't care enough to clean it up to make it reference quality. Secondly, other that a chapter list, there are no extra material. Imagine a special edition with directors commentary and insights from the cast. I would love to hear what Von Sydow, Topol and Blessed have to say about this film today. Deleted scenes would be fun and a still file of promotional materials would be great. Any type of behind the scenes footage would be facinating. Oh well, it's a nice to dream, but lets face it, it's never going to happen. In any event, if you love this film, The DVD is the way to go. If you have never seen this flick, get your toothbrush or whatever and prepare yourself for a wild ride!

Rating:
Summary: A true classic for Generation X to remember!
Review: This was one of my first sci-fi movies and it caused me to love the entire genre. A couple years ago I saw the VHS in K-mart and had to have it! Watching it again brought back so many memories.

Ok so it wasn't a real blockbuster but man did it stick out and become a cult film. The screenwriting aside there was some spectacular sets and costumes designed for this film, not to mention the actors chosen. Hmmm, never heard of Sam Jones before, heard he used to do commercials but he did a good job being a jock/space hero. Melody Anderson as Dale was satisfactory to pull off the role. Topol as Zarkov made things more interesting, good choice.

The real shiners were the supporting cast who seem to really be having fun. Brian Blessed as a jovial Hawkman leader, and the debonair Timothy Dalton as Prince Baron, the suave hero-like Arborian leader.

The bad guys were even better! Peter Wyngarde giving the comic-looking Kyltus an evil edge, and I love Max Von Sydow as emperor Ming. That is probably the best casting choice in the entire movie. He just fills the role with every ounce of evil as the comic character, great performance! My mom wouldn't let me watch Flash Gordon as a kid when she saw Ornella Muti as Princess Aura in her dazzling array of sexy ensembles and relentless teasing. Now that I'm moved out I can drool all I want. Yummy!

If you remember the 80s with any nostalgia at all this movie is for you. This pokes fun at sci-fi bringing some humor back into it after Alien (1979) shocked and scared everyone. I recommend this movie for anyone looking to just watch something fun. Great for parties, fun to laugh at, hard to forget, the immortal Flash Gordon.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Movie, Bad DVD transfer
Review: Flash Gordon is a wonderfully campy, visually inventive and playful film. Fun for kids and adults alike. Max Von Sidow is terrific as Ming. The DVD transfer is lousy. One of the worst I've seen. Taken off of a bad master no doubt. Full of scratches and quite grainy at times. Audio is fairly decent stereo. Queen soundtrack is just as campy as the film. Color is good. Really no DVD extras. Too bad. 4 star movie gets 3 stars for poor DVD quality.

Rating:
Summary: C'mon, live a little, huh?
Review: The one-liners in this movies come at you a mile a minute. Not to forget the bore-worms, pleasure slaves and those hunky Hawk-Men.

Rating:
Summary: fun
Review: This is one of the stupidest films you'll ever see...and one of the funnest!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful fun
Review: it cost $22 million dollars to make and every penny was well spent on fantastic sets, a super-camp script and some ridiculously over the top acting. FANTASTIC STUFF!