Flash Gordon

PG

Released Dec 5, 1980

1 hr. 50 min.

Sci-Fi

List

83%

53 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Although NASA scientists are claiming the unexpected eclipse and strange "hot hail" are nothing to worry about, Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol) knows better, and takes football star Flash Gordon (Sam Jones) and travel agent Dale Arden (Melody Anderson) with him into space to rectify things. They land on planet Mongo, where the despot Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow) is attacking Earth out of pure boredom. With the help of a race of Hawkmen, Flash and the gang struggle to save their home planet.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Jan 03

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent Flash Gordon on Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

Campy charm and a knowing sense of humor help to overcome a silly plot involving a spacefaring ex-football player, his adoring bevy of groupies, and a supervillain named Ming the Merciless.

Read Critics Reviews

Devil C

Never seen but FLASH AHHHHHHH

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/22/24

Full Review

Jay H

Even the songs by Queen can't save this dreck.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/16/24

Full Review

Kayce W

It's a wild adventure, saturated with color and camp, and all to a Queen sound track. If you don't like this movie, I posit that you are, in fact, the problem.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/02/24

Full Review

David W

As camp as a row of tents but it's got a knowing twinkle in its eye and the cast look like they're having a great time. As do I everytime I watch it. Special effects are either not that great or are paying homage to the original RKO series, you decide which... Sets wobble, outfits look like an ABBA tribute night, the acting varies wildly and yet it's whole massively outweighs the sum of its parts, somehow its all hugely entertaining. The cast are all great in their own way and there are some performances which have gone down in cult lore to become iconic. The music is fantastic as well, Queen really got the feel of the movie and it wouldn't have been the same without the soundtrack. It's a cult movie for a reason and most of all it's a fantastically entertaining watch. As the great Brian Blessed's Voltan is oft quoted, 'Gordon's alive'.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/24

Full Review

Jens B

It's honestly better than STAR WARS.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/24

Full Review

Leaburn O

Much to my surprise, this is actually quite funny. A ridiculous romp into space with an American footballer who saves earth surrounded by space honeys. Watched on DVD.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/02/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Mike Hodges

Director

Sam Jones

Flash Gordon

Melody Anderson

Dale Arden

Max von Sydow

The Emperor Ming

Topol

Dr. Hans Zarkov

Ornella Muti

Princess Aura

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

92%

68%

Fantastic Voyage

41%

45%

The Black Hole

5%

14%

Meteor

78%

64%

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

TRAILER

for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

14%

46%

Yor, the Hunter From the Future

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Beyond Barbarella: Celebrating 50 Years of Sexy Sci-Fi

Vote on 10 Classic Superhero TV Shows

Travis Knight’s Five Favorite Films

View more photos

Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

Basically, whether laughing with this film, or at it, you'll have a blast.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 10, 2020

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Perhaps, like many a superhero film, this one flags just a little in the final battle sequences, but Von Sydow is always there to keep things bizarre, playing it absolutely straight.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 31, 2020

Full Review

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

a mid-air skirmish of corny old-fashioned retrofuturism and knowing postmodernism, even as its veneer of homespun innocence keeps being subverted by the corrupting powers of kink.

Jul 31, 2020

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

...a deserved cult-classic with the widest of appeal. It’s camp, it’s silly, it’s funny and it manages to update the Boys Own charm of the original serials...

Rated: 5/5

Nov 30, 2023

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

The movie itself is pure fun, and its status has only benefitted from the resurgence of interest in Queen, who wrote and performed the original score.

Sep 7, 2022

Full Review

Alan Jones

Starburst

If the character of Flash Gordon reminds you of Buster Crabbe's exploits in vintage 1930s serials, then this new version of Flash Gordon is definitely for you.

Jul 26, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Although NASA scientists are claiming the unexpected eclipse and strange "hot hail" are nothing to worry about, Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol) knows better, and takes football star Flash Gordon (Sam Jones) and travel agent Dale Arden (Melody Anderson) with him into space to rectify things. They land on planet Mongo, where the despot Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow) is attacking Earth out of pure boredom. With the help of a race of Hawkmen, Flash and the gang struggle to save their home planet.

Director: Mike Hodges
Executive Producer: Bernard Williams
Screenwriter: Alex Raymond, Michael Allin, Lorenzo Semple Jr.
Distributor: Video Classics, Cinema Classics, Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 5, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2012
Sound Mix: Dolby, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Surround
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now