Glorious. Flash Gordon is now available on Netflix streaming. Just this Friday, I introduced my 4-year old son (I call him “The Boy”) to this wonderful, cheesey film. He really loved it – the movie was bright, colorful, and action packed enough for him, though he thought it went a little too long.
It goes without saying that Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan is possibly the greatest part of the movie. Wheather he’s nonchalantly clobbering Ming’s goons with his mace or yelling for the second wave to DIVE!!! He elevates the movie with his huge presence (no need to show me the TVTropes page on him, I’ve seen it plenty).
Some of the best lines:
“Flash Gordon. Quarterback. New York Jets.”
“Go Flash, Go Flash, go!”
“Flash, Flash, I love you, but we only have fourteen hours to save the Earth!”
And of course…
“Do you want to live forever. Hawkmen… DIIIIIIVVE!”
That is a great model. I love the retro style of the design as well. The rockets do look sturdier and more realistic that they’re counterparts from the older serials, but not by a whole lot.
I can name the date I first saw this movie. It was 12/6/1980. I’d been depressed all day because of a stupid thing I’d done(too long to explain). I went to the movies that night to distract myself, and Flash Gordon sent me home cheerful!
Some of my favorite lines:
Dale to Aura: “We keep our word. That’s what makes us better than you.”
Prince Barin: “Tell me more about this man Houdini”
I thought Timothy Dalton was at the peak of his hotness in that movie, but I adored Brian Blessed even more.
Priest: Do you, Ming the Merciless, Ruler of the Universe, take this Earthling Dale Arden, to be your Empress of the Hour?
Ming: Of the hour, yes.
Priest: Do you promise to use her as you will?
Ming: Certainly!
Priest: Not to blast her into space?..
…Uh, until such time as you grow weary of her.
The Emperor Ming: I do.
Dale Arden: I DO NOT!
I was 9 years old when FG came out and I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for it ever since (Sam Jones hanging shirtless in the dungeon made me feel all funny), but I had NO IDEA that Topol played Zarkov.
Yeah, those hawkmen pretty much had their collective arses handed to them in that battle. But you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few hawkman eggs, I suppose.
I’m starting to think that I need to get me one of these. I was in fourth grade when the movie came out and I remember reading the novel more than once. I read the novel long before I ever saw the movie, even. I even made my own shirt by ironing Flash on the front and a lightning bolt on the back.
