An over the top, campy kitsch cult classic that plays like a wildly fun rock opera, Flash Gordon (1980), directed by Mike Hodges, and based on the Alex Raymond comic strip first published in 1934, is perhaps most intriguing for attracting the rock band Queen to compose and perform the theme song and score with the help of orchestral scorer Howard Blake (though much of his work was cut in favour of Brian May).
Produced by the famed Dino De Laurentiis, this would be his third and final creation of a former comic strip, with the first two being Barbarella and Danger: Diabolik, both released in 1968 (and both reviewed here on Filmizon.com), in a weird way, this final effort making an unofficial trilogy. . . and there are some really similar vibes between the three. Rather intriguingly, after the producer had a falling out with Nicholas Roeg (Don’t Look Now) over different visions, he brought on the man who birthed the crime gem Get Carter (1971), starring Michael Caine, to life – even though he thought he was the wrong man for the job (though he leaned into the tomfoolery the producer was looking for).
Following the titular Flash Gordon (Sam J. Jones), who is a “We Will Rock You” type and the quarterback of the New York Jets, he finds himself on the same flight as travel agent Dale Arden (Melody Anderson). . . they unluckily find themselves in a weather storm created by the “I Want It All” greed of The Emperor Ming (Max von Sydow) of the planet Mongo – who has sadly decided that Earth is his new plaything to destroy and has no sympathy for the place that will soon be his next “Another One Bites the Dust” conquest.
Crash landing in a scientist’s kooky workshop, Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol), tricks them into his space craft so that they can go save the planet – something they didn’t sign up for. Almost immediately taken into custody by the Emperor’s many guards, Flash goes for a “I Want to Break Free” strategy by using football to his advantage. . . though soon he himself is desired by a “Killer Queen” of sorts, Ming’s daughter Princess Aura (Ornella Muti); while the Emperor wants to add Dale as a short term wife, also sending the doctor for memory erasure so that he can be added to his minion of minds. . . dare I say, they’re all “Under Pressure”.
Despite ruling with an iron fist, there is much frustration amongst the royalty on the planet, coming from both the overripe hawk-like Prince Vultan (Brian Blessed) and the much more posh Prince Barin (Timothy Dalton) – who has an on again off again dalliance with the Princess. With the disgruntled nature of many on the planet, this gives the heroic Flash a chance to use a divide and conquer sort of strategy, pinning some of the Emperor’s enemies against him.
As Flash starts to rally the troops, is this the type of situation where he’ll be able to get on a “Don’t Stop Me Now” type of roll and save the day? Might his friends be able to avoid the thought police and the “Somebody to Love” marriage plot? Will Flash fall for the seductress princess or the damsel in distress? Or could Ming win the so-called “Bicycle Race” of universal domination?
If you fall for the silly, crazy fun found in this Queen heavy review, then Flash Gordon might be for you. With influences coming from the original 1930s comic and serials, the then recently released Star Wars, ancient mythology, the quirky 1960s Batman tv series, and even classic Hollywood horror, it really is a unique pastiche making for an abstract piece of art. Also chock full of rocking sounds, bright colours, caricatured performances, stylized sets/costumes, and otherworldly 80s effects, it also holds a treat for James Bond fans. . . for it is not everyday that you see a former 007, a pistachio chomping major ally, and a menacing Blofeld in charge of SPECTRE in Dalton, Topol, and von Sydow in the same movie together – there are actually thirteen Bond actors placed throughout the film if you want to look them all up. . . for instance, keep an eye out for a then unknown Robbie Coltrane (again, a key James Bond player in the Brosnan era, plus Hagrid) as the luggage man who closes the door to the plane at the beginning of the movie. Lastly, it’s quite clear that the goal was “The Show Must Go On” and a sequel was expected to follow, but after simply breaking even at the box office, it wasn’t profitable enough to move forward with a follow-up. So, scream ‘YEAH’ watching this quirky little gem, and discover if “We Are the Champions” after all.