FLASH GORDON
Ready, set, Mongo!
Just a man, with a man’s courage. And a load of shiny Blu-ray extras.
RELEASED OUT NOW!
1980 | 15 | Blu-ray (4K/standard) Director Mike Hodges
Cast Sam J Jones, Melody Anderson, Topol, Max Von Sydow
“Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!” Sampled for Queen’s soundtrack single – along with the truly meme-worthy “Gordon’s alive!” – it’s a line that nails the very essence of 1980’s Flash Gordon. It’s all there in those 14 breathless words: the incorruptible innocence of its heroes, the life and death stakes, the eternal wink that hovers over the action but never punctures the fantasy.
Newly restored for the film’s 40th anniversary, this impressive 4K upgrade enables you to truly savour Danilo Donati’s stunning production design.
Mongo may be studio-bound but that’s a plus: all swirling, paint-inwater skies and glittering exotica, it’s one of cinema’s most airtight and immersive fantasy worlds. And there’s a defiantly retro vibe that’s aged well. Post-Star Wars, the film chooses to honour the visual aesthetic of Alex Raymond’s ’30s comic strip, right down to the finned, needle-nosed rocketships.
Powered as much by leathergloved perviness as square-jawed derring-do, Flash Gordon remains a delivery system for pure audience feelgood, a cosmic panto forever on the brink of Brian Blessed lobbing sweets into the front row. Hail, Ming!
Extras There’s a frank, engaging commentary by director Mike Hodges and a fond, unexpectedly subdued commentary by Brian Blessed. “Lost In Space” (27 minutes) offers a fascinating look at original director Nicolas Roeg’s plans for a dystopian “Biblical epic”, complete with some fantastic concept art. A 1980 featurette (14 minutes) delivers authentic behind-the-scenes footage, while a 2002 interview with Hodges is mainly Flash-centric but also touches on his career as a whole. Also included are all-too-brief interview snippets with Jones, Anderson, Blessed, poster artist Renato Casaro and (covering the soundtrack) Brian May and Howard Blake. The film’s 35th anniversary screening in London is celebrated with a cast and crew reunion, both backstage (eight minutes) and on-stage (six minutes). There’s also a brief featurette on recent merchandise, and a look at deleted and alternate scenes – no actual footage, though. The two-disc set also throws in an episode of 1979’s Flash Gordon cartoon (24 minutes) along with photo and storyboard galleries and the still outrageously exciting original trailer. Add a star for the five-disc Collector’s Edition, which packages a UHD version alongside Life After Flash, 2017’s revealing, sympathetic documentary about the life and travails of Sam J Jones. Also included in that: the glorious Queen soundtrack CD; 32-page booklet; a 16-page taster for Titan’s forthcoming making-of book; a reproduction of the original comic strip; poster, four art cards; a sew-on Flash patch. Nick Setchfield
When Nicolas Roeg was attached as director, he had Keith Carradine in mind as Ming, and Debbie Harry as Princess Aura.
A delivery system for audience feelgood