Flash Gordon, 1980 Movie Review
Until “Infra-Man,” no film had begun with a more foreboding development than “Flash Gordon’s” opening scene. Earth scientists, on the other hand, are keeping their cool. A representative for NASA denies that an unexpected, complete solar eclipse is uncommon in any way. unusual? Due to the fact that the moon has strayed from its normal path, a crazy scientist like Dr. Hans Zarkov realizes that the Earth is under assault and hurries to save it on his own spaceship, with Flash Gordon and Dale Arden as reluctant passengers. Dino De Laurentiis’s latest Flash Gordon film, even if it’s not, is faithful to the comic strip’s pop-culture roots as well as the Buster Crabbe series. Flash Gordon is happy to seem as fake as it is at a time when “Star Wars” and its spin-offs have spurred special effects experts to work themselves to death to make their intergalactic adventures look genuine.
That’s not meant to be a negative statement on my part. A city may be made to seem as if it’s floating in the clouds (as in “The Empire Strikes Back”), but the “Flash Gordon” metropolis is entertaining since it appears to be a big model floating in phony clouds. A tube of model aircraft glue in the bottom left-hand corner would not have bothered me as much as the spacecraft lumbering by on the screen.
It’s prudent to play “Flash Gordon” for laughs. As a result, the curse of being founded on stuff that was ancient before it was created has been lifted. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Hugo Gernsback, and other individuals with boundless imaginations but severely constrained abilities created the genre of space opera, which we know and love today. As long as you don’t use the pseudo-meaningful apparatuses of the Force and Trekkie Power, it’s amusing to watch.
This is a simple story: The Emperor Ming (Max von Sydow), weary of exploring the cosmos, makes a rash decision to settle on Earth as his new home. A few storms and earthquakes serve as a warm-up before he sends the moon hurtling into the planet’s surface. Sam J. Jones (who played Bo Derek’s husband in “10”) and Dale (Melody Anderson) crash land in Ming’s imperial space metropolis, while Zarkov, Flash, and Dale are rescued by Ming’s soldiers. Dale has a crush on Ming and plans to marry her, while Flash is forced to battle for his life against a gladiator.
“Capes and ludicrous boots and headdresses” is how Mike Hodges, the British filmmaker commissioned by De Laurentiis, depicts the characters on the command decks of opulent space ships in this humorous space opera. When it’s suitable, the imperial court will raise a cheer or a boo.
When the Hawk Men, who resemble the flying angels from De Laurentiis’ production of “Barbarella” (1968), engage the crew of a space ship in hand-to-hand combat (you know something is wrong with the Ming technology when the commander of the rocket ship shouts “Stand by to repel invaders!”), the tension mounts. Isn’t all of this a waste of time? It’s a no-brainer. It’s possible. It’s a fact.
Flash Gordon 1980 Movie Cast and Crew
- Flash Gordon is played by Sam J. Jones.
- Melody Anderson as Dale Arden.
- Max von Sydow as Emperor Ming the Merciless.
- Hans Zarkov is played by Topol.
- Princess Aura is played by Ornella Muti.
- Timothy Dalton as Prince Barin
- Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan.
- Peter Wyngarde as General Klytus.
- Mariangela Melato as General Kala
- Richard O’Brien as Fico
- John Osborne as Arborian Priest
- Philip Stone as Zogi the High Priest
- John Hallam as General Luro.
- Suzanne Danielle in the role of Serving Girl
- John Morton as an airline pilot
- William Hootkins as Munson, Dr. Zarkov’s assistant
- Robbie Coltrane in the role of Man at Airfield
- Peter Duncan as the Young Treeman
- John Hollis as Klytus Observer No. 2
- Leon Greene as Colonel of the Battle Control Room
- Ming’s officer was Tony Scannell.
- Ming’s Air Force Lieutenant Bogdan Kominowski as a lieutenant
- George Harris as Prince Thun.
- Deep Roy as Fellini, Princess Aura’s pet
- Bob Goody as “Azurian Man”
- Kenny Baker as “Dwarf”
- Malcolm Dixon as “Dwarf”
