Flash Gordon (film)

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Flash Gordon (film)

Flash Gordon is a 1980

1980 in film

The year 1980 in film involved some significant events....
science fiction film

Science fiction film

Science fiction film is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, science-based depictions of phenomena that aren't necessarily accepted by mainstream science....
, based on the eponym

Eponym

An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, after whom a particular toponym, ethnonym, regnal year, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named....
ous comic strip

Comic strip

A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story.Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a comics artist or cartoonist, and many such strips are published on a recurring basis in newspapers and on the Internet....
character Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon

Steven "Flash" Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, which was first published on January 7, 1934....
(Gordon Ferrao). The film was directed

Film director

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director visualizes the Screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision....
by Mike Hodges

Mike Hodges

Mike Hodges is an England screenwriter and film director who began his career as a current affairs producer for Granada Television's World in Action before moving into feature films....
and produced

Film producer

A film producer is someone who creates the conditions for making film. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors....
by Dino De Laurentiis

Dino De Laurentiis

Agostino De Laurentiis, usually credited as Dino De Laurentiis , is an Academy Award-winning Italy movie producer....
. It stars Sam J. Jones

Sam J. Jones

Melody Anderson

Chaim Topol

Chaim Topol , often billed simply as Topol, is one of the most famous Israeli theater and film performers....
, Max von Sydow

Max von Sydow

, is a Swedish people actor , known in particular for his collaboration with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. He has been nominated for the Academy Award, the Emmy, and the Golden Globe, and has won the Pasinetti Award, the European Film Award, and the Honorary Cannes Award....
, Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton

Timothy Peter Dalton is a Wales actor. He is best known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill and for his roles in William Shakespeare films and plays....
, Brian Blessed

Brian Blessed

Brian Blessed is an England actor, author and adventurer....
and Ornella Muti

Ornella Muti

Ornella Muti is an Italy actor. She was born in Rome as Francesca Romana Rivelli, to a Naples father and Estonians mother. She has an older sister, Claudia ....
. The screenplay

Screenplay

A screenplay or script is a written work especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing works....
was written by Michael Allin (of Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon aka. The Deadly Three, originally titled Blood and Steel is a Hong Kong films of 1973 United States martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse; starring martial artists Bruce Lee and Jim Kelly , as well as actor John Saxon ....
fame) and Lorenzo Semple Jr.

Lorenzo Semple Jr.

Lorenzo Semple Jr. is an United States screenwriter and sometime playwright, best known for his work on the Camp television series Batman and the political/paranoia movie thrillers The Parallax View and Three Days of the Condor ....
It intentionally uses a camp style

Camp (style)

'Camp' is an aesthetic sensibility wherein something is appealling because of its taste and irony value. When the usage appeared, in 1909, it denoted: ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical, effeminate, and homosexual behaviour, and, by the middle of the 1970s, the definition comprised: banality, artifice...
similar to the 1960s TV series Batman (for which Semple had written many episodes) in an attempt to appeal to fans of the original comics

Comic book

A comic book is a magazine or book of narrative artwork and dialog and descriptive prose. The style was introduced in 1934. Despite the term, comic books do not necessarily feature humorous subject-matter; in fact, it is often serious and action-oriented....
and serial films

Serial (film)

|}Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials or Film serials, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film that were related to pulp magazine Serial ....
.

story opens with the voice of Emperor

Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right ....
Ming the Merciless

Ming the Merciless

Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the Flash Gordon comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serial, TV shows and film adaptation....
(Max Von Sydow

Max von Sydow

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Encyclopedia

Flash Gordon is a 1980

1980 in film

The year 1980 in film involved some significant events....
science fiction film

Science fiction film

Science fiction film is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, science-based depictions of phenomena that aren't necessarily accepted by mainstream science....
, based on the eponym

Eponym

An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, after whom a particular toponym, ethnonym, regnal year, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named....
ous comic strip

Comic strip

Flash Gordon

Film director

Mike Hodges

Film producer

Dino De Laurentiis

Agostino De Laurentiis, usually credited as Dino De Laurentiis , is an Academy Award-winning Italy movie producer....
. It stars Sam J. Jones

Sam J. Jones

Melody Anderson

Chaim Topol

Chaim Topol , often billed simply as Topol, is one of the most famous Israeli theater and film performers....
, Max von Sydow

Max von Sydow

Timothy Dalton

Brian Blessed

Brian Blessed is an England actor, author and adventurer....
and Ornella Muti

Ornella Muti

Ornella Muti is an Italy actor. She was born in Rome as Francesca Romana Rivelli, to a Naples father and Estonians mother. She has an older sister, Claudia ....
. The screenplay

Screenplay

Lorenzo Semple Jr.

Camp (style)

Comic book

Serial (film)

Plot summary

The story opens with the voice of Emperor

Emperor

Ming the Merciless

Max von Sydow

Peter Wyngarde

Peter Paul Wyngarde is an Anglo-French actor best known for playing the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist turned sleuth, in two UK television series in the late 1960s and early 1970s: Department S and Jason King ....
), if he has a plaything to offer him. Klytus has an immediate answer: "an obscure body in the S-K system, your majesty. The inhabitants refer to it as the planet Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
". Using his advanced technology, including a hand ring, Ming starts a series of Earthly disasters: tidal wave

Tidal wave

The term tidal wave can refer to:*A tidal bore, a large movement of water formed by the funneling of the incoming tide into a river or narrow bay...
s, earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
s and even “hot hail

Hail

Hail is a form of Precipitation which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice . Hailstones on Earth usually consist mostly of ice and measure between 5 and 150 millimeters in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms....
”. Ming indicates he will destroy Earth, but likes "to play with things a while before annihilation”.

Sometime later, on Earth in a town called Dark Harbor, New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. They are members of the AFC East of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
football star “Flash” Gordon (Sam J. Jones

Sam J. Jones

Sam J. Jones is an United States actor, often credited as Sam Jones. Often cast as a hero in action films, Jones is best remembered for his portrayal of Flash Gordon in the Flash Gordon ....
) is waiting to board a small plane to head home when the “hot hail” begins, but he pays little attention to it. Moments later he meets travel journalist Dale Arden (Melody Anderson

Melody Anderson

Melody Anderson is a Canadian-American social worker and public speaker specializing in the impact of addiction on families. She is more widely known as an actress, with her most high-profile role being Dale Arden in the 1980 in film of Flash Gordon ....
) who is also flying back to New York City. After they take off, the disasters become progressively worse, and the pilots are sucked out of the cockpit. Flash and Dale rush to the cockpit and take control of the plane, and promptly crash land

Crash Landing

"Crash Landing" is the only single by Route 1 . The single features ex-Atomic Kitten member, Jenny Frost. "Crash Landing" is commonly, yet mistakenly, referred to as a single by Jenny Frost featuring Route 1 because the CD cover features only her with her name in a larger font....
in a greenhouse

Greenhouse

A greenhouse is a building where plants are cultivated.A greenhouse is a structure with a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming solar radiation from the sun warms plants, soil, and other things inside the building....
owned by Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol

Chaim Topol

Chaim Topol , often billed simply as Topol, is one of the most famous Israeli theater and film performers....
). According to Dr. Zarkov's research of previous similar occurrences in space, the disasters are being caused by an unknown physical source in space sending the moon out of orbit, as evidenced by moon fragments plummeting to the Earth, causing the hot hail. Zarkov's theories were considered outlandish by his colleagues at NASA, resulting in his resignation and public humiliation. Zarkov had been secretly working on a rocket ship for several years to test his theory, but now intends to go to the coordinates for the source of the attacks. Taking Dale prisoner, as he needs two people to operate the ship, he is attacked by Flash, causing the ship to accidentally launch with all three on board. They make a reluctant peace with each other just before the gravitational forces knock them unconscious, leaving the ship to autopilot to Mongo through a dimensional vortex. Awakening on arrival, the three are promptly taken prisoner.

Mongo comes across as an Imperial
Empire

Empire derives from the Latin word imperium, denoting ?military command? in Roman. Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
police state

Police state

The term police state describes a state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population....
, run along the lines of autocratic

Autocracy

An autocracy is a form of government in which the political power is held by a single, self-appointed ruler. The term autocrat is derived from the Greek language word 'a?t????t?? ....
regimes such as Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the colloquial English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party , which established a Totalitarianism dictatorship that existed from 1933 to 1945....
but with a retro

Retro

Retro is a term used to describe, denote or classify culturally outdated or aged trends, modes, or fashions, from the overall postmodern past, but have since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again....
looking high tech

High tech

High tech is technology that is at the state of the art?the most advanced technology currently available. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology....
aesthetic

Aesthetics

Aesthetics or esthetics is commonly known as the study of senses or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste ....
. Ming and Klytus, the head of the secret police, maintain their hold on power by surreptitiously encouraging conflicts between neighboring moon colonies, especially Arboria (Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
: Arbor translated as tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
i.e. Arboria: land (or planet
Planet

A planet , as 2006 definition of planet by the International Astronomical Union , is a celestial body orbiting a star or Stellar evolution#Stellar remnants that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared the neighbourhood of planetesimals....
) of the trees), a swamp-like moon ruled by Prince Barin (Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton

Brian Blessed

Brian Blessed is an England actor, author and adventurer....
) who rules the Hawkmen in the floating Sky City.

Flash, Dale and Zarkov are brought before Ming. Aiming his power ring at Dale, she goes into a trance and begins a slow, sensual dance. Ming orders her to be removed and prepared for his pleasure, but Flash openly defies Ming and picks a fight with his men, adopting his athletic skills from American football

American football

American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
. Dale comes out from her brief trance and shows her support for Flash, who is on the verge of gaining the upper hand and overwhelming Ming's troops, but he is accidentally knocked out by Zarkov in the ensuing meleé. Ming orders Zarkov into Klytus’ custody for reconditioning and repays Flash’s defiance in kind by ordering his execution. Following Flash's disposal, Princess Aura (Ornella Muti

Ornella Muti

Ornella Muti is an Italy actor. She was born in Rome as Francesca Romana Rivelli, to a Naples father and Estonians mother. She has an older sister, Claudia ....
) and Ming’s Chief Surgeon, one of her numerous lovers, arrive at the temporary mausoleum where they open Flash’s casket and resurrect him. Aura and Flash quickly retreat to Arboria, kingdom of Prince Barin, yet another lover of Aura’s.

En route to Arboria, Flash coerces Aura to teach him to use a telepathic

Telepathy

Telepathy describes the purported transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the Senses#Five classical senses ....
communicator so that he can contact Dale and let her know he is still alive. Relieved, Dale informs Flash she is locked in Ming’s bedchamber. She later escapes and tells a reconditioned Zarkov that Flash is still alive. Dale and Zarkov subsequently escape, and Zarkov tells Dale the "brain drain" he was subject to was all for naught and he was able to retain his memory completely intact, but they are quickly captured by Prince Vultan’s Hawkmen and taken to his kingdom, Sky City.

Klytus informs Ming of Flash’s resurrection and asks Ming’s authority to pursue the investigation; Ming agrees. Aura and Flash arrive at the forest moon Arboria. When Aura leaves, Prince Barin throws Flash into a cage and lowers him into a swamp.

Barin decides to lure Flash into a trap by sending one of his Tree Men into the cage with a key to get out. Flash eventually tricks Barin and escapes into the swamp, and Barin soon follows in pursuit. He catches up with Flash, but before he can kill him, the two are taken prisoner by more of Vultan’s Hawkmen. Aura returns alone to Mingo City only to be taken prisoner and violently interrogated by Klytus and General Kala. They eventually get a full confession.

Flash and Barin are taken to Prince Vultan’s (Brian Blessed

Brian Blessed

Brian Blessed is an England actor, author and adventurer....
) kingdom, where Flash and Dale are briefly reunited. Klytus later arrives to arrest Barin and Zarkov for treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more serious acts of loyalty to one's sovereignty or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife ....
. But Flash and Barin double-team Klytus and kill him. In a panic, Vultan orders all the Hawkmen to evacuate, leaving Barin, Flash, Dale and Zarkov behind. Ming’s ship arrives shortly afterwards. Ming orders that only Barin, Zarkov and Dale are to be taken aboard his ship. He then disembarks to parlay with Flash, offering him a kingdom of Mongo to rule. But when Ming hints the kingdom Flash is to receive is his own planet Earth under Ming’s rule, Flash refuses. Ming returns to his ship and gives the order to destroy Vultan’s kingdom with Flash still on it. But as the bolts of energy tear the place asunder, Flash finds one of the Hawkmen’s rocket cycles, and once again escapes death.

On Mongo, Dale is being prepared for her wedding to Ming in Mingo City. Just as the wedding is about to begin, Flash approaches alone on the rocket cycle. General Kala (Mariangela Melato

Mariangela Melato

Mariangela Melato is an Italian people actress.Melato was born in Milan and studied at the Milan Theatre Academy. A striking, blonde actress, she began her stage career in the early 1960s and rose to fame after delivering powerful performances for a number of notable Italian stage directors such as Dario Fo, Luchino Visconti and Luca Ronco...
), orders weapons to open fire at him. Kala orders Ajax, an Imperial war rocket, to go after Flash and bring back his body. After a huge battle, the Hawkmen, heavily outnumbering Ajax’s crew, seize control of the rocket and, with Flash taking the helm, make their way toward Mingo City. In Mingo City, Princess Aura overpowers her guard and makes her way to the execution chamber, freeing Barin and Zarkov. To disguise her actions, Aura rushes to her father’s wedding while Barin and Zarkov head for the control center, where General Kala orders all weapons to fire upon Ajax as it is out of its proper flight pattern, and also orders Mingo City’s protective lightning field to be charged up.

In Mingo City, Ming and a defiant Dale’s wedding has just begun. Just as Ming places the ring on Dale’s finger, the lightning field deactivates to reveal Ajax plummeting toward the temple. There is a frantic dash for safety as Ajax smashes into the sanctuary, and its lance-like bow impales Ming right through his midsection. The impact throws Flash clear of the rocket, dazed but uninjured. He grabs a dead guard’s sword and gives Ming an ultimatum: call off his attack on Earth or die. Ming aims his power ring at Flash, but it seems to have no effect. With his power fading, he aims his ring at himself and vanishes. Ming's robot servant declares that Flash has saved the Earth. Barin and Vultan and his Hawkmen arrive, Flash is again reunited with Dale, and a huge victory celebration ensues. Vultan announces to the multitude that Barin is the rightful heir to the now-vacant throne. The newly-appointed King Barin shows his gratitude to Flash, appoints Vultan as the new Army General, and decrees that everyone live together in peace.

The last scene focuses on Ming’s empty power ring, and an unidentified hand picking it up as the words “the end” fade onto the screen, followed by a question mark- and Ming’s evil laughter.

Cast List

Flash Gordon	Sam J. Jones Sam J. Jones Sam J. Jones is an United States actor, often credited as Sam Jones. Often cast as a hero in action films, Jones is best remembered for his portrayal of Flash Gordon in the Flash Gordon ....
Dale Arden	Melody Anderson Melody Anderson Melody Anderson is a Canadian-American social worker and public speaker specializing in the impact of addiction on families. She is more widely known as an actress, with her most high-profile role being Dale Arden in the 1980 in film of Flash Gordon ....
The Emperor Ming	Max Von Sydow Max von Sydow , is a Swedish people actor , known in particular for his collaboration with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. He has been nominated for the Academy Award, the Emmy, and the Golden Globe, and has won the Pasinetti Award, the European Film Award, and the Honorary Cannes Award....
Dr Hans Zarkov	Chaim Topol Chaim Topol Chaim Topol , often billed simply as Topol, is one of the most famous Israeli theater and film performers....
Princess Aura	Ornella Muti Ornella Muti Ornella Muti is an Italy actor. She was born in Rome as Francesca Romana Rivelli, to a Naples father and Estonians mother. She has an older sister, Claudia ....
Prince Barin	Timothy Dalton Timothy Dalton Timothy Peter Dalton is a Wales actor. He is best known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill and for his roles in William Shakespeare films and plays....
Prince Vultan	Brian Blessed Brian Blessed Brian Blessed is an England actor, author and adventurer....
Klytus	Peter Wyngarde Peter Wyngarde Peter Paul Wyngarde is an Anglo-French actor best known for playing the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist turned sleuth, in two UK television series in the late 1960s and early 1970s: Department S and Jason King ....
Kala	Mariangela Melato Mariangela Melato Mariangela Melato is an Italian people actress.Melato was born in Milan and studied at the Milan Theatre Academy. A striking, blonde actress, she began her stage career in the early 1960s and rose to fame after delivering powerful performances for a number of notable Italian stage directors such as Dario Fo, Luchino Visconti and Luca Ronco...
Arborian Priest	John Osborne John Osborne John James Osborne was an England playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of The Establishment. The stunning success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
Flco	Richard O'Brien Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English-born, New Zealand-raised writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer....
Luro	John Hallam
Zogi the high priest	Philip Stone
Serving Girl	Suzanne Danielle Suzanne Danielle Suzanne Danielle , is an English actress.Her first film role was in The Wild Geese, but her first credited role was for the last film in the original Carry On films, Carry On Emmannuelle ....
Munson	William Hootkins William Hootkins William Michael Hootkins was an United States actor, most famous for supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Batman and Raiders of the Lost Ark....
Hedonia	Bobbie Brown
Biro	Ted Carrol
Vultan's Daughter	Adrienne Kronenberg
Mongon Doctor	Stanley Lebor
Airline Pilot	John Morton
Airline Co-Pilot	Burnell Tucker
Man at air field	Robbie Coltrane Robbie Coltrane Robbie Coltrane, Order of the British Empire , is a Scottish actor, comedian and author....
Young Treeman	Peter Duncan Peter Duncan (actor) Peter Duncan is a British actor and television presenter, best known as a presenter of Blue Peter and for his later family travel documentaries....
A Treeman	Ken Sicklen
Hawk Woman	Tessa
Hawk Woman	Venetia Spicer
Wounded Hawkman	Francis Mugham
Klytus Observer No.1	Oliver MacGreevy
Klytus Observer No.2	John Hollis
Klytus' Pilot	Paul Bentall
Colonel of Battle Control Room	Leon Greene Leon Greene Leon Greene is an England opera singer and film actor.His films include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum , The Devil Rides Out , The Squeeze , Flash Gordon and several Carry On films comedies....
Battle Room Controller	Graeme Crowther
Ming's Officer	Tony Scannell
Captain of Ming's Air Force	David Neal
Lieutenant of Ming's Air Force	Bogdan Kominowski
Prince of Ardentia	George Harris
King of Frigia	Colin Taylor
Queen of Frigia	Doretta Dunkley
Queen of Azuria	Sally Nicholson
Princess Aura's Pet	Deep Roy Deep Roy Gurdeep Roy , sometimes credited as Roy Deep, Gordeep Roy, or just Deep Roy, is an actor, stuntman and puppeteer.Born Mohinder Purba in Nairobi, Kenya to Indian parents, Roy is a 4 ft 4 in tall dwarfism....

Reception

With its camp style, exaggerated costumes and synthesized

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequency....
music, Flash Gordon had a poor box office

Box office

A box office is a place where Ticket s are sold to the public for admission to a venue. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall, or at a wicket ....
performance, with the notable exception of the United Kingdom, where it is still one of the top 100 films of all time when adjusted for inflation. Max von Sydow (Ming) received a good deal of praise for his performance, despite Jones (Gordon) being nominated for a Golden Raspberry for worst lead actor. According to Empire magazine, Sam J. Jones had troubles of some sort with the director, which resulted in almost all of his dialogue being dubbed by a professional voice actor whose identity is still a mystery.

The film went on to become a cult classic; many of the film's lines are intentionally tongue-in-cheek, and this knowing sense of humor contributes to the collective affection with which the picture is remembered by its fans. Despite its shortcomings, it maintains a 80% fresh rating at RottenTomatoes.com and is ranked #88 on the Rotten Tomatoes Journey Through Sci-Fi List (100 Best-Reviewed Sci-Fi Movies).

A sequel was also considered and according to Brian Blessed on the Region 2 DVD commentary for Flash Gordon - Silver Anniversary Edition, the sequel was going to be set on Mars, as a possible update of the Buster Crabbe

Buster Crabbe

Buster Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular Serial in the 1930s and 1940s....
serials.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack

Flash Gordon (album)

Flash Gordon is a 1980 album by England rock music band Queen . It is the soundtrack album to the science fiction Film Flash Gordon . The track "Flash's Theme" was the only single to be released from the album, under the title "Flash "....
was composed and performed by the rock band Queen

Queen (band)

Queen were an England rock music band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Meddows-Taylor, with bassist John Deacon completing the lineup the following year....
. Flash Gordon was one of the earlier high-budget feature films to use a score primarily composed and performed by a rock band

Rock Band

Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band....
. (Later ones included De Laurentiis's productions of Dune
Dune (film)

Dune is a 1984 in film science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert Dune . The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known United States and European actors in supporting roles, including Sting , Jose Ferrer, Virginia Madsen, Linda Hunt, Patrick Stewart,...
, scored by Toto

Toto (band)

Toto was an United States Rock music Rock band founded in 1977 by some of the most popular and experienced session musicians of the era. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the 1980s, beginning with the band's Toto , released in 1978, which immediately brought the band into the mainstream rock spectrum of the time....
; and Maximum Overdrive
Maximum Overdrive

Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 tongue-in-cheek horror film, written and Film director by horror novelist Stephen King. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story, Trucks , which was included in King's first collection of short stories, Night Shift ....
, scored by AC/DC.) An orchestral score

Film score

A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film, which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film. The term Soundtrack is often confused with film score, though a soundtrack may also include songs featured in the film as well as previously released music by other artists, while the score does...
was also composed by Howard Blake

Howard Blake

Howard Blake is an England composer , particularly noted for his film scores, although he is prolific in several fields of classical and light music....
.

Media

The film was originally released worldwide via Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

This is a partial listing of films produced and/or distributed by Universal Pictures, the main film production company/distribution company arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.List of films...
. Universal has retained the domestic theatrical and home video rights, while the international rights passed on through different companies, eventually landing with StudioCanal

StudioCanal

StudioCanal Image S.A. , is a France-based Film production and Distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world.The company was founded in 1996 by Pierre Lescure....
, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer representing. MGM now also owns the television rights under license from StudioCanal, which explains why the MGM logo appears before television airings of this film.

It was released on VHS

VHS

The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard developed by JVC and launched in Europe and Asia in September 1976, and the United States in June 1977....
and no sooner than 1998 on DVD

DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
in Region 1 via Universal. It was released in Region 2 in 2001 (Japan) and again in 2005 (UK/Europe); with the 2005 release including commentary by Brian Blessed winning the "Commentary Of The Year" award from Hotdog Magazine
Hotdog Magazine

Hotdog Magazine was a film magazine first published in the United Kingdom in 2000. Its publisher, Highbury Entertainment, claimed an average circulation of 17,132 between July and December 2003....
for his humor and enthusiasm. On August 7, 2007, Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a home video company founded in 1978 as MCA DiscoVision. The company is owned NBC Universal, the entertainment division of General Electric and Vivendi....
released a "Saviour of the Universe Edition" DVD in North America to coincide with Sci Fi's

Sci Fi Channel (United States)

Sci Fi Channel, often stylized SCI FI Channel, is an American cable television channel, launched on September 24, 1992, that specializes in science fiction, fantasy, horror film, and paranormal programming....
new television series

Flash Gordon (2007 TV series)

Flash Gordon is a United States science fiction television series that debuted on Sci Fi Channel in the United States on August 10, 2007 and continued airing new episodes through February 8, 2008 It has also appeared on the United Kingdom Sci Fi Channel ....
. This special edition

Special edition

The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including cars, fine wine and other pr...
does not include the cast and crew interviews of the region 2 release.

In October 2007, a high definition transfer of the film premiered on the MGM HD

MGM HD

MGM HD is a high-definition television television channel available via DIRECTV and Dish Network in the United States and N satellite service in Poland....
cable/satellite channel.

In November 2007, Sam J. Jones

Sam J. Jones

Melody Anderson

Melody Anderson is a Canadian-American social worker and public speaker specializing in the impact of addiction on families. She is more widely known as an actress, with her most high-profile role being Dale Arden in the 1980 in film of Flash Gordon ....
together created a new commentary track for the international (non-USA) DVD edition of the film.

Awards

In 1981, the film got Saturn Award

Saturn Award

The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and Horror fiction in film, television, and home video....
nominations in the categories: Best Costumes, Best Science Fiction Film and Best Supporting Actor (Max von Sydow). In the same year it was also nominated in 3 categories for the BAFTA

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation....
Film Awards: Best Costume Design (Danilo Donati

Danilo Donati

Danilo Donati was an Italians costume designer and production designer. He won the Academy Award for Costume Design twice: the first time for his work in Romeo and Juliet , the second time for his work in Fellini's Casanova ....
), Best Original Film Music (Queen

Queen (band)

Queen were an England rock music band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Meddows-Taylor, with bassist John Deacon completing the lineup the following year....
) and Best Production Design/Art Direction (Danilo Donati

Danilo Donati

Golden Raspberry Awards

The Golden Raspberry Awards, frequently called the Razzies, were created by John Wilson in 1980 , intended to counterpoint the Academy Awards by dishonoring the worst acting, screenwriting, songwriting, directing, and films that the film industry had to offer....
for worst actor in 1981.

Flash Gordon (film)

Plot summary

Cast List

Reception

Soundtrack

Media

Awards

See also

Footnotes

External links