Flash Gordon
58
metacriticBased on 13 Critics
72
Based on 33 Users

Release Date: 1980

DVD Release Date: May 1st, 1998

PG |1 hr 50 min

Plot Summary

Although NASA scientists are claiming the unexpected eclipse and strange "hot hail" are nothing to worry about, Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol) knows better, and takes football star Flash Gordon (Sam Jones) and travel agent Dale Arden (Melody Anderson) with him into space to rectify things. They land on planet Mongo, where the despot Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow) is attacking Earth out of pure boredom. With the help of a race of Hawkmen, Flash and the gang struggle to save their home planet.

Cast: Sam Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol , Ornella Muti, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Peter Wyngarde

Director: Mike Hodges

Genres: Science fiction

Production Co: 20th Century Fox

Keywords: Love, Underdog

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Ratings & Reviews

  • 75
    Roger EbertChicago Sun-Times

    Flash Gordon is played for laughs, and wisely so. It is no more sophisticated than the comic strip it's based on, and that takes the curse off of material that was old before it was born. Is all of this ridiculous? Of course. Is it fun? Yeah, sort of, it is. show more

  • 50
    Gene SiskelChicago Tribune

    A dumb and purposefully cheesy version of the comic strip space hero. Although the film has a few early moments of put-on humor, the story has nowhere to go. Sam Jones is not very bright as Flash. Only Max von Sydow as Ming the Merciless brings any style to the adventure. Only for the juvenile set. [19 Dec 1980, p.10]

  • 63
    Jay ScottThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)

    The frantic pleasures of this film add up to what used to be considered good fun; good Saturday morning fun; good Saturday morning fun to eat pancakes and pour maple syrup by; good fun that, once the day begins, is good fun soon forgotten. It's a pity Flash Gordon can't be screened at the breakfast table. [6 Dec 1980, p.E7]

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Awards

Nominated Original Music
British Academy of Film & Television Arts (1980)
Nominated Costume Design
British Academy of Film & Television Arts (1980)
Nominated Production Design
British Academy of Film & Television Arts (1980)