Flash Gordon

I confess: I loved watching Flash Gordon on the big screen in 1980, with its on-the-nose dialogue (“Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!”), gorgeous primary color palette (coupled with notably cheesy special effects—this is a Dino De Laurentiis production), and rocking soundtrack by Queen. Today, Mike Hodges' camp classic pales a bit, but Lorenzo Semple Jr.'s screenplay still has its moments (in a bonus featurette, Semple admits—somewhat defensively—that the “script could have used some criticism”), and the casting is virtually flawless. Sam Jones is the perfect bland/blond beefcake hero, teaming up with Dale Arden (played by Melody Anderson) and Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol) for a rocketship ride to the Planet Mungo, where the trio try to prevent Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow) from destroying Earth (the film also boasts fine supporting turns from Ornella Muti as Ming's sexy daughter, and Timothy Dalton and Brian Blessed as disgruntled minions). But the real star here is Danilo Donati, whose gorgeous art direction and costume design—while hardly faithful to the spirit of the original Saturday movie matinee serial—give the film its visual punch. Presented with a decent newly restored transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, DVD extras include the aforementioned Semple interview, a forgettable featurette about comic artist Alex Ross (who was inspired by this film), and the 1936 b&w first episode of Flash Gordon. A strong optional purchase. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—June 8, 2010—Universal, 112 min., PG, $26.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1980's Flash Gordon features a good transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include the first episode of the 1936 Flash Gordon serial (21 min.), an interview with renowned comic artist Alex Ross (14 min.), an interview with screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr. (9 min.), trailers, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a minor cult classic looks good in Blu.]