Flash Gordon

"Pathetic earthlings...who can save you now?"

1980 1h 51m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

83%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 1,145🍅83%Rotten Tomatoes●58Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 67,154

Science FictionAdventureActionFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A football player and his mates travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.

“Pathetic earthlings...who can save you now?”

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Cast

Sam J. Jones
Flash Gordon
Melody Anderson
Dale Arden
Max von Sydow
The Emperor Ming
Chaim Topol
Dr. Hans Zarkov
Ornella Muti
Princess Aura
Timothy Dalton
Prince Barin
Brian Blessed
Prince Vultan
Peter Wyngarde
Klytus

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mike Hodges
Writers: Lorenzo Semple Jr.
Languages: English
Countries: Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 77% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

46 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mike Hodges, shot by Gilbert Taylor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Howard Blake. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Malcolm Cooke shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sam J. Jones and Melody Anderson and Max von Sydow carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Pathetic earthlings...who can save you now?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mike Hodges directs. Gilbert Taylor behind the camera. Howard Blake scores. Malcolm Cooke cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 77% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
246 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 4 countries: Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Mike Hodges, shot by Gilbert Taylor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Howard Blake. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Malcolm Cooke shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Sam J. Jones and Melody Anderson and Max von Sydow carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Pathetic earthlings...who can save you now?".
9IMDB entry: tt0080745 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 17 themes, including "fighter", "emperor", "solar eclipse", "prince".

The technical file

Cinematography: Gilbert Taylor
Original score: Howard Blake
Editing: Malcolm Cooke
Costume design: Danilo Donati
Makeup / hair: Giusy Bovino
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $27,100,000
Return: 77% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Flash Gordon (1980)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 58/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 67,154 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards. 2 wins & 14 nominations total

Also by

Mike Hodges

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb272194542019-08-02
★ 8/10
One of the least appreciated movies made in my lifetime. Done right after the glory that was The Empire Strikes Back and released to a public that had forgotten who Flash Gordon was or what the 1930's serials with Larry "Buster" Crabbe represented. Although the public was drooling desire for more high tech special effects and serious Space Opera, Flash went in the opposite direction and brought Campy back with a style all his own. This movie PERFECTLY recreated everything that those early B&W serials threw at those screaming kids sitting up in the movie theater balcony. Not to mention that the actor recreations were done as if the drawn characters came to life and leaped out of the funny papers to star on the silver screen. Max von Sydow IS Emperor Ming. Brian Blessed IS Prince Vultan. Sam Jones and Melody Anderson came in as the unknowns they needed to be and stole the show. The ONLY downfall to this movie was the fact that it did so poorly at the box office and never received the sequel it hinted at in its ending.
JPV8522020-09-21
★ 7/10
Campy and fun science fiction fantasy-adventure flick has some cheesy but colorful and good production designs and the performances for the most part were fine, with Max Von Sydow lending prestige to a goofy character and Sam J. Jones was okay in the lead, but he's really not asked to do a whole lot (both in acting and fighting) while Melody Anderson was alright though the "romance" between her and Flash Gordon was a bit forced. And for its time, I thought the special/visual effects were adequate, superior to the likes of Superman 3 & 4 released years later (1983/1987). Enjoyable time waster and would probably revisit again. 4.0/5
CinemaSerf2022-03-27
★ 7/10
Now then, anyone who thinks that Max von Sydov's best film was "the Seventh Seal" (1957) really does need to get their priorities right: forget Ingmar Bergman - it has to be this marvellously camp effort from Mike Hodges and Dino de Laurentiis that allows him to act the megalomanic whilst dressing up like the best panto villain you're ever likely to encounter. Sam J. Jones is the eponymous hero who, alongside the rather hapless Melody Anderson ("Dale") and Topol's slightly demented scientist ("Zarkov"), falls prey to the mischievous games of "Ming the Merciless" as he toys with the Earth. Once the intrepid trio arrive on "Mongo" they must fight for their very survival. In the case of "Flash", the poor fellow - who spends much of the film like a startled rabbit in the headlights - has to defend his virtue from the positively predatory "Princess Aura" (Ornella Muti) who's supposed to be betrothed to "Barin" (Timothy Dalton) who is, himself, constantly sparring with Brian Blessed's "Vultan" - king of the hawk-men. Add in the wonderfully creepy Peter Wyngarde as "Klytus" and Margiangela Melato as his villainous deputy "Kala" and we have the perfect ingredients for almost two hours of classic comic book action in the best tradition of "thwack" and "pow". The thing is 40 years old now - hence it's re-release on the big screen - and it doesn't look like any efforts have been made to improve on the original. The effects are therefore pretty ropey, the CGI as obvious as the delightfully cheap and cheerful costumes of the lizard-men and the munchkins who are dressed much like the playing cards from "Alice in Wonderland". Freddie Mercury and Queen provide a bit of added "glamour" to the proceedings with their title song and the eagle-eyed amongst us might just spot a 30 year old Robbie Coltrane in there too. Escapist nonsense? Sure - but it is still all good, uncomplicated, fun with it's tongue in it's cheek and just about everything else in leather, lycra and/or tights!