So what we’re really saying here is… Gordon’s Alive?
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That’s easily explained: The button had never said “Earth Quake” before. The buttons probably change labels to fit current conditions. For instance, if Ming had been looking at Mars, the button would have changed to say “Mars Quake,” and if he had been looking at Alderaan, it would have said “Alderaan Quake,” and so on.
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Oh, come now. Surely you jest. The 1980 Flash Gordon?!! A pale imitation of the original. Take off the blinders and have a taste of the real thing.
Not to be picky, but Star Smashers was more precisely a spoof of EE Doc Smith’s Skylark series (pretty well the original source for space opera).
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I’m old enough to have seen it in the theater, but I didn’t. In retrospect, I’m surprised no one took me to see it. There was no shortage of film buffs or Queen fans in my family, and they took me and my sister to see pretty much every other sci-fi film.
Loved the music, sorta hated the movie. Plus, isn’t anyone bothered that Ming the Merciless is just a tiny bit racist?
Came here to say the same thing. Saw in the now-gone Westmount theatre (back in day…) with my girlfriend. It’s a real hoot!
The close-up of the Volkswagen key starting Flesh Gordon’s spaceship did me in.
One commenter is right, the 1980’s version of Flash Gordon is not the best but the originals.
The intention of the 80’s version was a good idea (to get back the nostalgia of the theatrical serials) but not very well executed. See, if you want to do something like that look what Spielberg and Lucas did with Indiana Jones, that’s how you bring back nostalgia. Flash Gordon was a fantastic movie on everything from the cast to the Ming character, the superb music by Queen and the oh! so much stunning Ornella Muti (yeah, I was old enough to notice that) except it’s production design, just because it was supposed to be campy doesn’t mean that it has to be bad or look cheap and choppy, maybe because , yes, I saw it in a movie theater and I was old enough to realize that it could have been done better. I’m not going to say that I don’t enjoy the movie, it’s just that I feel that they wasted the opportunity to create a classic.
They were one letter away from ambiguously horror/erotic Flesh Garden.
After watching this movie, my reaction was: “Trash! Aah-aah!”
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In collitch (88-92) we’d take a break from finals cramming by cramming in another showing of this in the library (videotape, individual TVs, and jacks for 4 headphones). It must have helped us focus – we graduated!
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Saw this in the theater. My Big Brother had a strict ‘G rated movies only’ rule for films he would take me to. Of course there are deeply twisted sexual under-currents to this film, sadism, exhibitionism, bondage - its actually pretty perverse under the glittery cartoonish surface. Plus I think the extras for the most recent DVD revealed most of the female extras were Italian Penthouse models. I’m sure more than a few kids got launched into puberty when they saw it.
Yes its campy, yes its 64 slices of American cheese (translated through an Italian sensibility) yes, though the character actors are uniformly excellent, the star himself is a block of God’s own wood - who found out when he went to the movie in the theaters that someone else’s voice had been dubbed over him for the entire film - but I still dearly love this film and always will.
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Our local arthouse is showing this in November:
Wednesday Night Pitcher Show:
Flash Gordon
11/6/13
Grab a beer (or two) and some munchies at Eden Bar and enjoy a FREE outdoor movie on the lawn at the Enzian. Come thirsty for Jell-o shot movie trivia during the show – answer a question correctly and you get to pop back a shot! Also featuring a special evening happy hour from 7PM -11PM, this night of great drinks and fun flicks is best enjoyed under the stars with your buddies by your side.
Other films do that. Tron Legacy and Daft Punk come to mind, but I’m sure there’s quite a few other examples (also Highlander and Queen again, but that’s old).
It’s always been fairly rare because few pop acts have the musical chops necessary to score an entire feature, but it’s still being done.
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I was 14 and there was a scantily-clad Ornella Muti.
Of course it was interesting.
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they’ve been showing them on TV where I live. I like them, but the strength of the 30s one is the same as the 80s: the sets, props and costumes. but the 80s one had a better budget and was in color, so it wins on that count. plus the advances in cameras and tracking, not to mention again the differences in budget allowed for far better camera work than the totally static shots of the 30s. what Queen did for the soundtrack is leaps-and-bounds more invested in the spirit of the thing than anything the RKO house band could crank out. but when they come on, I still watch them, but i’m usually browsing BB as my main focus 
Glad to hear they are still being broadcast and that someone is watching. FYU, the serials came from Universal, not RKO. And there was no house band. The music was totally lifted from other Universal soundtracks, including Bride of Frankenstein by Franz Waxman. The theme for Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe was actually a piece of classical music, Les Preludes, by Franz Lizst. Cheers.
Heh, I meant FYI.
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For Your Understanding?
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If you haven’t seen it, the movie “Ted” has incredible homages to the 1980 Flash Gordon in it. I can’t say more without ruining the big surprise, but if you loved that movie, you really need to see Ted. Immediately.
