Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23616 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-10-10
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 111 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
When the totalitarian planet of Mongo decides on a whim to obliterate Earth, it's up to the quarterback Flash Gordon and his oddball companions to make the universe safe for democracy. Based on the classic (and infinitely more reputable) comic strip and its 1930s screen serialisation, this candy-coloured trash classic deserves immortality for Queen's unforgettably pulsating soundtrack alone. The legendary Max von Sydow appears to be having a blast as the evil Ming the Merciless, while Ornella Muti, as his daughter, is the living embodiment of what attracts adolescent boys to comics in the first place. (She makes Barbarella look mundane.) One of the most shamelessly entertaining movies ever made, this is a knowingly absurd sensory freak-out that'll have the viewer blissfully checking the sky afterward for signs of Hawkmen. --Andrew Wright

Amazon.co.uk Review
When the totalitarian planet of Mongo decides on a whim to obliterate Earth, it's up to the lunk-headed quarterback Flash Gordon and his oddball companions to make the universe safe for democracy. Flash Gordon is based on the classic (and infinitely more reputable) comic strip and its 30s screen serialisation, this cotton-candy-coloured trash classic deserves immortality for Queen's unforgettably pulsating soundtrack alone.

The legendary Max von Sydow appears to be having a blast as the evil Ming the Merciless, while Ornella Muti, as his daughter, is the living embodiment of what attracts adolescent boys to comics in the first place. (She makes Barbarella look mundane.) One of the most shamelessly entertaining movies ever made, this is a knowingly absurd sensory freak-out that'll have the viewer blissfully checking the sky afterward for signs of Hawkmen. --Andrew Wright, Amazon.com

Special Features
Mike Hodges Audio Commentary - Brian Blessed Audio Commentary - Interviews - Trailer - Original Concept Artwork - Photo Slideshow - Dolby Digital 5.1 &DTS - Restored Picture Quality - First Episode Of The Original 1940 Serial

Customer Reviews

A true classic! With a Queen soundtrack!!
You can say what you like about Flash Gordon. You can say it's a camp, over-saturated cheeseball of a movie that rips spectacularly badly from the original Star Wars (even though Star Wars is partly based on the old Flash Gordon serials of the '40s). You can say that Sam Jones couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. But there's no denying how brilliant it is for these reasons!

And what about the unforgettable performances from Brian "Gordon's alive!!" Blessed and Max Von Sydow camping it up big time as Ming the Merciless, not to mention great turns by Topol as Dr. Zarkov and Timothy Dalton as 'that smarmy prince guy'.

But there is one thing that really steals this movie, and that's the soundtrack by Queen! 'Flash! Aaaaah! Saviour of the universe!'. This is a movie that everyone must see in their life at some point.

They don't make 'em like this any more
Earth is under attack by a comic-book villain. Governments refuse to believe Dr Zarkoff, the one scientist who understands what's happening. Who will save us? The all American football star and comic-book hero, Flash Gordon is on the job! He saves the girl, teaches the hopeless, divided and conquered races of Mongo about team-work and, together, they sort out the bad guys of Ming's evil empire. From the time he messed with Flash and tried to molest Flash's girl, the days of Ming the Merciless were numbered.

It's tacky, colourful, fast, loud and a lot of fun. The inside of Ming's palace looks like a combination of a brothel and a bingo hall and Ming (Max Von Sydow) is made up to look like the madam (with more than the usual amount of facial hair for a lady). The costumes are dazzling and extravagant - even when Flash is about to be executed and wearing nothing but a minimal pair of shorts, they're 'mighty' shorts, fit for a hero. Prince Vultan and his hawk men are the best. If only Daedalus and Icarus had made their wings out of papier mâché like the bird men of Mongo, instead of wax and feathers, Icarus might have made it. Brian Blessed plays the role of Vultan and even though he's dressed like a chicken, he reminded me of every other role I've ever seen him play: Augustus in 'I Claudius', Edmund's dad (King Richard IV) in the first 'Black Adder', Spiro in 'My Family and other Animals' - or just being himself, giving an interview whilst tramping up a mountain. I haven't seen the new film: 'Alexander' yet but I bet Leonidas will be easily recognisable in every particular as Brian Blessed - and none the worse for that. The film is still one of my favourites after over 20 years and I hadn't realized until buying the DVD that Peter Wyngarde (that fop from the 70's series 'Jason King') plays the dreaded Klytus.

I've read some scathing reviews of this film - not here, where the reviewers know a good thing when they see it - but elsewhere. The actors are accused of being wooden or overacting and the film of being 'overblown'. It's hard to understand how anyone could fail to see the humour, love the music and generally enjoy this film, but those people do exist. So I recommend this film to people who have a well developed sense of humour and a healthy capacity for enjoyment.

Camp, cheesy, over-the-top brilliance
Gordon's Alive. Of course he is, and Brian Blessed's wearing a nappy and cardboard wings so you'd better take him seriously. Timothy Dalton looks embarrassed to be there, and Flash and Dale are so wooden you could put nails in them. But so what. The music's ace, Ming's really rotten, his daughter's really fit, and Peter Duncan out of Blue Peter gets killed by a tree beast.

Flash, Flash, we love you, but we only have fourteen hours to save the Earth. Buy it. You'll love it.