Synopsis
A football player and his mates travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.
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Cast
- Sam J. JonesFlash Gordon
- Melody AndersonDale Arden
- Max von SydowThe Emperor Ming
- TopolDr. Hans Zarkov
- Ornella MutiPrincess Aura
- Timothy DaltonPrince Barin
- Brian BlessedPrince Vultan
- Peter WyngardeKlytus
- Mariangela MelatoKala
- John OsborneArborian Priest
Recommendations
- 80
Empire
This campy extravaganza has it all - heroes, villains, beautiful women and high stakes. Laughably bad and fantastically good all at once, this is a guilty pleasure that everyone can enjoy. - 75
Chicago 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. - 70
Chicago Reader
Better than it might have been, given the limitations of this kind of brand-name filmmaking. Hodges doesn't shirk his duties, and though the film lapses too often into easy facetiousness, much of it feels surprisingly substantial. The action moves smoothly and logically, finding a rhythm that engages your attention despite the patent lack of inspiration and genuine commitment. - 70
Film Threat
Max von Sydow is flawless as Ming, playing him with the perfect blend of malevolence and evil glee. - 70
Time Out London
The narrative is a little plodding, but adult punters will soon slip back into reverie for the lost visions of Saturday morning cinema, and their kids can get off on the extraordinary undercurrent of febrile sexuality. Acting honours go to von Sydow as Ming the Merciless and Mariangela Melato as his dark-eyed henchperson. - 63
The 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] - 60
Variety
The expensive new version of Flash Gordon is a lot more gaudy, and just as dumb, as the original series starring Buster Crabbe. Sam J. Jones in the title role has even less thespic range than Crabbe, but the badness of his performance is part of the fun of the film. Jones, a former Playgirl nude centerfold whose only previous film role was the husband of Bo Derek in 10, lumbers vacantly through the part of Flash Gordon with the naivete, fearlessness, and dopey line readings familiar from the 1930s serials. Film benefits greatly from the adroit performance of Max von Sydow as Emperor Ming. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
The only good thing about this would-be camp version of the classic 1936 serial is the impressive production design by Danilo Donati.
