Flash Gordon [Blu-ray]

DVD in great shape

I saw one reviewer saying they bought their copy of Flash Gordon for a special ‘Bad Movie Night’, concluding their three star review by stating that it was great for this purpose, but they couldn’t finish it because ‘it was too bad!’Ugh… now there is one party full of miserable losers I am glad I never got invited to.I presume these snooty intellectuals couldn’t stand to be out in the open for so long, finally submitting to their desire to retreat into their own backsides where they could talk about their favorite method of roasting artisanal coffee beans or whatever in peace. I despise these people.Flash Gordon is a simply fantastic piece of movie-making. No qualification needed.My original copy of Flash Gordon was recorded (badly) off the TV onto a VHS tape, adverts and all. As a kid, I must have watched this movie a million times.I didn’t see it as ‘camp’, or ‘tacky’, or ‘so bad it’s good’. I just thought it was awesome. Aliens, rocket cycles with lasers, fights to the death… I loved this movie.- I love the sequence when they fly the rocket into space- I love the part with the football game before Ming- I love the bit in the swamp with that thing that bites people- I love the bit where Flash battles Barin before he saves his life. Then they kill the metal dude and (spoiler alert) his eyes ooze out. Amazing.- I love the part where they can’t strip the scientist dude’s memory because humans are so awesome.- I especially love the part where Flash rides in on the rocket cycle and they turn on all the laser cannons and that one stupid woman in the black is like ‘don’t be alarmed’ but you know it’s about to hit the pan because WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER!- I love the effects, the noise Ming’s ring makes.- The soundtrack is easily the best soundtrack to any movie ever made.- I love how the main dude that plays Flash Gordon selflessly didn’t make any other big movies after this one, even though I’m sure he could have been huge after putting in such a timeless performance, purely so that he is rightly only remembered for this pinnacle of movie making.My kid is now five, and the time has come to introduce him to the best movie of all time and so I ordered my copy. I have already prepared the adoption papers on the off-chance that he doesn’t like it, but I am pretty sure he will because come on now, this is Flash Gordon we are talking about here.

I witnessed this amazing movie for the first time last night and let me tell you that this is one of the best films to ever be made. I love it. It showcases the true love for cinema and the effects are perfect for the movie- I don’t need CGI and stuff to be happy. This movie gets a 9.5 out of 10.

Just as the seller described, came on time plays well. I will buy from these people again

I am a huge fan of the original movie serials of the 1930’s and 40’s, starring Buster Crabbe. These were true masterpieces (especially the first serial). Nonetheless—for thirty years—I have been resistant towards watching this early 80’s take on Flash Gordon. This was primarily because the few clips I had seen of this movie (i.e. Flash riding the sky cycle, and hawkmen flying with their stiff plastic wings) invoked an image of a movie that was so cheap, it looked arguably cheesier and campier than the orginal 1936 serial. The 1936 serial had an excuse for looking cheesy—it was 1936! Furthermore, for the time, the old serials were not particularly cheesy or cheap. Although these were not big budget extravaganzas a la “The Wizard of Oz” or “Bride of Frankenstein,” Republic Pictures still poured a fair amount of money and care into them, relatively speaking, producing some revolutionary visuals that would inspire sci-fi filmmakers for decades to come—including George Lucas. And believe me, had the 1936 Flash Gordon HAD an enormous “Wizard of Oz”-level budget, it would have been amazing (never underestimate the filmmakers of that era).Thus, that brings us to the late 70’s, early 80’s—and Universal decides to do a modern reboot. I noticed one reviewer here on Amazon mentioned (paraphrasing) that this version of Flash represented about what he expected visually from this era. On the contrary, one must remember this was the era of “The Empire Strikes Back” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “The Wrath of Khan”—not to mention “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.” There’s every reason to expect a big 1980’s sci-fi release from a major studio (Universal) to be on that same kind of visual level. Instead, the visual sophistication of this version of Flash is more on par with the 1936 serial than “Star Wars” or “E.T.” (And when I say “sophistication,” I’m not referring to style (i.e. the 1930’s art deco retro-future this film tries to emulate—I’m totally for that) I mean the difference between a movie that looks amazing and one that looks laughably cheep.). So what do we have here?...Well, now that I’ve matured (shut up), I’m at a point that I can look back at this film with a greater appreciation of what was done than I would have at 10 years old, 20 years old, or even 30 years old—when I would have expected much more from a “modern” film of the 1980’s. What I can say is...it’s not that bad. It’s actually enjoyable—and it looks much better on blu-ray than the clips I had seen might have previously indicated. While, yes, it does look cheap compared to other sci-fi films of the era, it gets away with it specifically because it doesn’t take itself seriously.Quite conscious of the fact that they obviously had a very limited budget, the filmmakers fully embraced that—and crafted a beautifully colorful comedy spoof of the original 1930’s serial—creating a 1930’s style visual homage that’s actually quite well done; it's just short of a shot-for-shot remake that’s very lovingly crafted, only with tongue planted firmly in cheek. It’s laughably cheesy—and they did it on purpose!The script could have been better, less nonsensical while still being humorous—and it’s too bad that they didn’t have a better budget. I would have loved to have seen a full blown 30’s retro-future done with a more modern Star Wars-like sophistication, but they did well with what they had—and I appreciate how they so lovingly honored the source material (both the original comic strip and the original serial).And also—Queen!!! Who can ask for better in terms of music? By the way, there’s a reviewer who was angered that the bulk of the Queen soundtrack had been “removed.” Untrue. The entire Queen soundtrack remains in its full glory. Be aware, if you’re expecting Queen to sing multiple songs throughout, that never happens. There’s never been more than two songs in the soundtrack with lyrics. The rest is all instrumental combining elements of heavy metal and classical/orchestral—but it’s all composed by Queen. And it’s fantastic.

I received the movie from the AMAZON system on the 2nd of March 2024 in perfect condition! The restoration in the blu ray format is so astounding to see this movie and hear! To began with the music by QUEEN is very evident to hear with such clarity!! Then the video is very rich in the many hues of color from the rainbow!! This disc has been preserved quite well!! The acting such as Max Von Sydow as MING, Sam J. Jones as Flash Gordon, Topol and all of the other actors did such a FANTASTIC job in their protral of the characters that made up this a CLASSIC!! For a movie made in 1980 I believe this will be a long sought movie such as myself, a movie buff to enjoy!!Thank you AMAZON for listing this CLASSIC movie in your inventory!! NKUDOS!!

Delivered on time and with no problems. Disc was in perfect condition and the case was not damaged. The movie itself was fantastic. Just as I remembered it. The movie may have been a little bit corny but overall a great movie. Loved it! I would recommend it to any collector of hard to find movies like myself for they're collection.

If you grew up watching this movie might as well get it on disk so you can watch it when you want. Not always available on streaming and costs as much to rent it to watch it once as is it to just buy it.