Zarkov's assistant was in Star Wars: A New Hope as rebel pilot Porkins. And in Raiders of the Lost Ark as one of the government agents recruiting Indy. Voltan is Brian Blessed and he's Robin Hood's dad in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Princess Aura is also in the Stallone comedy, Oscar. After Ming supposedly died, he was reincarnated in Earth's past as the king that hires Conan, Valeria and Sobatai to bring back his daughter.
"Imagine Queen doing the soundtrack for a Marvel movie," made me think of one of the few times that Marvel matched up with the level of Flash Gordon music/film goodness... when Thor comes jumping into the battle at the end of Thor: Ragnarok and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" is playing. Probably one of the closest match-ups to the battle against war rocket Ajax in the third act as Queen starts rocking it when the Hawkmen attack.
It started out as a comic strip created by Alex Raymond…the TV series was actually a serial that was shown theatrically in chapters before feature length movies. Visually, the movie is very true to both the comic strip and serial, but played much more campily. It wasn’t a hit in the US but was much more successful overseas.
My introduction to Flash Gordon was the Filmation cartoons around 1980. The clunky "animation" was on the level of He-Man cartoons (which came years later), but the storytelling was relatively faithful to the original series. (Plus the design for Princess Aura was definitely aimed for the young male viewers.)
The Flash Gordon comic strip was created because negotiations to secure the rights to make a John Carter od Mars comic strip fell through. So King Features Syndicate tasked Raymond to come up with a scifi-themed strip of their own.
I’m watching this while looking at my framed, autographed still of Vultan and Flash Gordon. Yes, I have Brian Blessed and Sam Jones’ signature up on my wall while they were on war rocket Ajax. I am the coolest man alive!!!! Flash! ⚡️Ahhaaaaa! Savior of the universe! ⚡️ (I know I’m a crazy middle age guy but bear with me lol) Good to see you again Jonathan. 👍
Well, I've never seen THIS movie as being similar to SW. I've always had no difficulty taking it on it's OWN. Besides, I get sick of numbskulls comparing just ANYTHING to freaking SW just because it happens to feature ohhhh a laser, or an alien, or a spaceship, or a robot, or has anything to do with space.
Might be aprochrophal, but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Star Wars resulted, in part, from Lucas being unable to get the rights to make a Flash Gordon film.
For the record, Star Wars actually had nothing, or very little at any rate, to do with why THIS movie was made. THIS movie was actually made because the makers were previously doing an early movie version of Dune during the mid to late 70s, but THAT was canceled so they made THIS movie instead, which incorporates and recycles a lot of stuff from THAT aborted project.
Just to clear it up, Star Wars actually had nothing, or very little at any rate, to do with why THIS movie was made. THIS movie was actually made because the makers were previously doing an early movie version of Dune during the mid to late 70s, but THAT was canceled so they made THIS movie instead, which incorporates and recycles a lot of stuff from THAT aborted project. See a documentary film called Alexander Jodorowsky's Dune - it's all talked about in THAT.
"Older movies with long intro credits" Because if the movie starts at 7:00PM people will be showing up at 7:05PM. Intro credits let people get to their seats without missing anything or disrupting the movie for anyone else.
They were still required by the guilds at the time or the production would be fined by them. Look up how Lucas dealt with it for Empire: he just paid the fines.
I always loved how Timothy Dalton’s accent slips and goes Northern on the “Freeze, you bloody bastards!” line. Something similar happens in Licence to Kill with the line “You’re bloody lucky to be alive” so it seems the word bloody is the trigger.
Love this film always will it is right up there with B movie love like The Last Dragon or Big Trouble in Little China. Colors pop, cast eats and chews up the scenes.... they just go for it. Brian Blessed can do no wrong :)
- Queen did two movie soundtracks. First Flash Gordon, and then Highlander in 1986. Both soundtracks are FIRE!!!! - Flash started as a comic strip. Then it became a film serial. They would film the full thing, but release it in 15 minute episodes each week in the theaters as partof a full show that had the feature film, a newsreel, and a cartoon. The original Flash serials were made in the 1930s, and then later found their way to TV. They starred Larry "Buster" Crabbe as Flash and Charles Middleton as Ming. There were three made. Flash Gordon (1936), Flash Gordon's Trip To Mars (1938), and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940). They are a hoot to watch. But you can definitely see the influence they had on Lucas for both Star Wars and Indiana Jones. There was a 1950s series, but I never saw any of that. - 5:13 - The guy inside the building at the airfield, and then shutting the airplane door is Robbie Coltrane (of Hagrid in Harry Potter fame) in one of his first filmed roles. - 40:25 - The guy playing the pipes is Richard O'Brien. He wrote the script, music and lyrics to The Rocky Horror Show, later The Rocky Horror Picture Show and played the role of Riff Raff in the movie version. - Prince Vultan is played by Brian Blessed. He has done tons ofstuff on stage and screen. Many of Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare films, he was Old Deuteronomy in the Original London cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, played Emperor Augustus Caesar in the landmark BBC/Masterpiece Theater miniseries I, Claudius in the 1970s....and was Boss Nass of the Gungans in Star Wars - Episode I - The Phantom Menace. However,the role he has gotten the most out of (because he stole the damn movie) is Flash Gordon. His catchphrases "Gordon's Alive?", "Ah, well....Who wants tolive forever? DIVE!!!", and others have worked their way into the culture Here among Gen X'ers (like me) and in Britain.
The source material is actually a comic strip which debuted in 1934 (4 years before Superman) as competition for another scifi comic strip Buck Rogers. Flash, portrayed by Olympic swimmer Buster Crabbe, appeared in 3 movie serials between 1936 and 1940. The TV series was 39 episodes appearing from 10/1/1954 to 7/15/1954 and outside of character names (Flash, Dale & Zarkov) seems to have little to the comic strip and serials. Lucas wanted to do a Flash Gordon movie but couldn't get the rights. Since this film premiered after A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back it has just about as much influence from Star Wars as it does from the source material.
I 💕 how you said the Jets could of use Flash all of these years 😂 I remember my mother taking myself & 10 of my friends to see this movie when it came out. Yes my mom was that mom & I think it was 2 dollars a person then . I was only 10 but I knew then everything was over the top & that the music 🎶 rocked 😊
The TV versions of Flash Gordon aren't much like the original comic strips and serials... It was the three 1930s/40s film serials that Lucas was thinking of when he made Star Wars, not the TV versions. The 1980 movie and the serials are not bad adaptations of the Alex Raymond comics actually.
1:09:09 This is one of my favorite scenes. When Flash says "Not too bad", it sort of sums up all the garbage and nonsense but also the importance and need of humanity.
The reason this movie is so good is because it is a rare example of a film that executes perfectly on what it's meant to be. Not everyone likes a cheesy pulp/camp sci-fi action story, but if you do there is nothing about this movie that fails to deliver. Even the visuals are insane: everything still looks great (except Hawkmen flying). A truly perfect film.
A lot of people sleep on the absolute theatrical star power in this film. Max von Sydow (Ming) has a long, illustrious film career; Topol (Zarkov) was a huge stage name, most famous for his portrayal of Tevye in both stage and film productions of Fiddler on the Roof from 1967-2009. Timothy Dalton (Barin) was a fairly prominent British film actor prior to this film, and went on to play James Bond (The Living Daylights, License to Kill), and several other prominent Hollywood films. Brian Blessed, as you've no doubt discovered, was simply a screen presence to be reckoned with in every role he took on. One honorable mention is Richard O'Brien (Barin's 2nd in command whose name escapes me), the writer, director, and Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Not exactly tippy-top A-listers, but some very serious acting chops in the cast for a film of this genre at the time.
The actor who plays Doctor Zarkov also plays Doctor Hans Reinhart in the Black Hole look and sound very similar. The line in Flash where the guard tells Zarkov he will be liquidated is like Doctor Hans Reinhart saying to Maximillian, "The time has come to liquidate our guests".
Sorry. No...The guy who plays Dr. Zarkov is the guy who played Tevye in the movie musical Fiddler on the Roof, Chaim Topol. It was a role he played onstage in London for years. He also played Columbo in the Roger Moore Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Dr. Hans Reinhart in The Black Hole was Academy Award-winner Maximillian Schell (Best Actor, 1961 - Judgment At Nurenberg). They kinda look alike. Chaim Topol is Israeli and Maximillian Schell is Austrian.
Nope. Reinhart in The Black Hole is played by Maximillian Schell. Zarkov is Topol who was in Fiddler on the Roof and James Bond For Your Eyes Only (the smuggler).
I actually recently watched three Flash Gordon serials condensed into movies on Prime. They were great, though this Flash Gordon outshines them a bit. Worth watching, though.
"Does he have super powers?" to quote the theme playing whilst this question is asked.. "Just a man with a man's courage. You know he's nothing but a man. And he can never fail" (Also, I tried your drinking game suggestion.. I had to break watching the reaction in to two parts - for health reasons 😜 )
The guy at the airfield looking out the window after the hot hail and closing the airplane door was Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid from Harry Potter)... The guy who played Ming was also the villain in Strange Brew with Rick Moranis...
“Tell me more about this man, Houdini” is a reference to Harry Houdini. He was a stage illusionist from the early 20th that specialized in elaborate escapes from chains, locked boxes and such. The chained Baron wants to hear about someone who specialized in escaping from chains.
The tv show was based on the comic strip... Flash was mainly popularized through newspaper syndication. It's a product of it's time, as is every iteration of the story. (There's even a WB style teen drama version Syfy channel did) This version is however the definitive version in most people's minds... pretty faithful to the feel of the comics save for changing Flash from a Polo player to a Football star. Richard O'Brien, the writer and actor in Rocky Horror Picture Show is my favorite hidden star in this. Barron's bald buddy who tricks Flash.
Never ever apologize for Star Wars references! This film is actually quite faithful to the Flash Gordon comic strips and movie serials, which heavily inspired George Lucas. Even the opening title crawl of the Star Wars movies is directly lifted from the Flash Gordon serials.
Originally all the conquered races were inhabitants of the kingdoms of Mongo - Frigia (the ice kingdom) near the pole, Arboria (the forest kingdom) in the temperate zone, Tropica (you can probably figure that one out).. It seems they decided to update the locations to various moons orbiting the planet - the one thing that looks straight from the comics and the serials is the city of the Hawkmen.
With all the Star Wars references how was Boss Nass not recognized early on. Brian Blessed's (Voltan) voice is so distinct. He was the voice of Boss Nass.
I always enjoy your reactions Jonathan, and especially looking forward to this, since it’s one of my favorite movies growing up to this day. I also loved it when you said, “Sorry if I do a lot of Star Wars references,” not realizing the “bigger” scientist lackey running away from Hans Zarkoff was Porkins from the first Death Star battle in A New Hope! His short resume is pretty great, playing roles in Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Batman 89, just to name a few. Not too shabby!
And besides James Bond’s Timothy Dalton being in the film, we have even more Star Wars connections. Hawkman Prince Vultan is played by Brian Blessed, who voiced Boss Nass leader of the Gungans in the Phantom Menace, and Emperor Ming played the old man at the beginning of the Force Awakens, talking with Poe Dameron in the village.
@@randallwright1973 yes, I’m pretty sure he was, though I never verified his name in the credits. I don’t remember his name. But I’ve always assumed it’s him. Just watched Batman 89 the other day and was looking closely at him. It’s about a decade after this (9 years), so it would fit his age and look well. Nice resume. With him also being the one in Raiders telling Indy the ark is guarded by “top men…”
There was a trend which I believe started around this time to hire SF writers to adapt certain movies to the page. The book of this film is, for me, a great example of a different take on the same material. For instance, in the adaptation we get background on Flash as a QB, and, more importantly, his plans for when his playing days are over.
The design aesthetic of Flash Gordon is based on the 1930's serials. That's why you can, for example, see the strings the Hawkmen are dangling from. It's why the sets are so basic and gaudy, the costumes are impractical (but cool), the weapons are oddly proportioned, etc. It's all an homage to the budgetary limitation of movie serial production...on a big budget movie.
7:29 - There's no such thing as a "30's TV show". 🤭 It was a film serial, which meant you had to come back to the theater every Saturday to find out what happened :and every half-hour chapter ended with a danger tease.. (A genre that inspired Indiana Jones, Star Wars and MCU.)
Thanks, Jonathan! ⚡ I love this one. And it's Deep Roy's birthday tomorrow... he portrayed 'Princess Aura's Pet'. 🔸 And, I'm sure you've been told by now, but the serials from 1936 weren't on television at first... they were at the cinema... as shorts before a feature (along with newsreels and cartoons). Those eventually started running on tv in March 1940.
The TV show, Flash was a world champion wrestler. Dale was a damsel in destress every episode, as every leader wanted to have sex with her. The director wanted to keep the look of the show, which all the critics hated. Sound track from Highlander also done by Queen.
People always get on how messed up Ming is, as if it's somehow surprising. He either choose or accepted being called 'the Merciless'. Finally a bad guy that lives up to his name. About the Star Wars references, what do you think was there first? Not this movie of course, but the franchise? George Lucas was inspired by a lot of what came before Star Wars (1977). Like 'John Carter of Mars' (1911) with the desert planet and Leia's slave outfit, 'Buck Rogers' (1929) and it's competitor 'Flash Gordon' (1934) with their Emperors and space battles. Add a little 'Foundation' (1951) from Isaac Asimov for the galactic scale and other things.
There was a animated flash gordon movie that was like a Sunday or Monday night TV movie in the late 70s when I was a kid my folks allowed me to stay up and watch it cause I loved flash gordon , then they made the filmation animated fg series off it ,the animated movie was never released on DVD but the cartoon series was ,I suggest checking out the animated movie it should be up on you tube I think it was called flash gordon the greatest adventure or some thing similar to that ,there is a scene in it that is why I'm pretty sure why it wasn't released if you watch it you will see ,(pretty silly reason not to release it )
There was never a Flash Gordon TV show. It was a newspaper comic strip and then became a film serial (There was a Buck Rogers TV show. Very similar and Buster Crabbe, who played Flash in the serials also played Buck in serials). George Lucas, inspired by these early films and newspaper strips, wanted to make a Flash Gordon movie. But the rights were already purchased by Dino DeLaurentis, so instead, George wrote is OWN sci-fi story, heavily inspired by Flash. That was Star Wars. DeLaurentis had the rights, and when Star Wars hit bit, the studios all raced to make their own Star Wars, so Flash was greenlit.
PBS had a show called Matinee at the Bijou and they would how the old Flash Gordon serials with Larry "Buster" Crabbe. Sam Jones was great in this and Max Von Sydow was perfect as Ming the Merciless. We need a new movie and a Buck Rogers movie.
The date in the description is wrong. This is 1980 movie, so any parallels with Empire Strikes Back are coincidental. This would've been made with only Star Wars already released.
You know the opening crawl of text at the beginning of the Star Wars movies, with the upper parts fading into the background? That was taken directly from the old Flash Gordon movie serials, where that device was used to remind the audience of the story up to now. And the character of Ming the Merciless, in both the original Flash Gordon comic strips and the serials, is a shameless ripoff of Sax Rohmer's character Dr. Fu Manchu, complete with beautiful, amoral, rebellious daughter. When Princess Aura, in the comic strips, stops having mixed loyalties and goes over completely to the side of the good guys, she stops being depicted with Asian features like those of her father, and becomes a redhead.
Jonathan, nobody cares how many "Star Wars" references you make. Reference away! But "Flash Gordon" was not a TV show. It was a movie serial based on a comic strip. George Lucas wanted to make a movie based on it but couldn't get the rights. So he made "Star Wars" instead. And there's another "Star Wars" reference for you!
I cringed every time you called out a Star Wars reference that happened after this movie was released. Only the original Star Wars in 1977 predates Flash Gordon from 1980.
You have the wrong release date. This came out in 1980 and follows closely to the storyline and look of the 1930s serials. “Star Wars” copied it. You should check out Brian Blessed’s audio commentary originally recorded for the Silver Anniversary U.K. DVD, and ported onto the Blu-ray sets. I hope he realizes that “Flash Gordon” came out (1980) before most of those “Star Wars” references.
switched my default thumbs up to a thumbs down...NO THX...you totally ruined this haha...but I DID make it to the 23 minute mark somehow!? normally I would've waited til at least the 3/4 mark when people finally figure out the genius of this movie and it all comes together BUT...nahh not worth it, life's too short for that mini payoff. PLUS those 'OctoKrool' dorks who I normally can barely stand already posted the best reaction ever to this movie like 2 months ago so...better luck next time? #theregoesyourpopcornroulettebonus 🤭🤷♂
A bit of feedback for your channel. I've unsubscribed because of too many polls. You were taking up my entire home feed. Stop the polls and I might subscribe again.
Oh man was looking forward to this reaction but 1st time with this guy. Really bad & extremely annoying (sorry)....please bring back Coby as she's NOT SO DENCE.
Poin of fact. Flash Gordon came out in 1980. Return of the Jedi and Leia’s chain mail wouldn’t be seen til ‘83. So Leia actually looks like Princess Aura. 😘. This Flash Gordon was designed as a homage to the outlandish original series and comic. The 2000’s show ditched all the camp and tried to be serious. It failed miserably. No one wanted that, we wanted an even bigger, brighter camp fest.
"Flash! Flash, I Love you! But we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!"
Mehh, I prefer "We are going to empty your mind as we might empty your pockets!!"
Zarkov's assistant was in Star Wars: A New Hope as rebel pilot Porkins. And in Raiders of the Lost Ark as one of the government agents recruiting Indy. Voltan is Brian Blessed and he's Robin Hood's dad in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Princess Aura is also in the Stallone comedy, Oscar. After Ming supposedly died, he was reincarnated in Earth's past as the king that hires Conan, Valeria and Sobatai to bring back his daughter.
“Top men.”
@@p.mc.4449 He was also Eckhart in the 89 Batman film. He's been in quite a few things.
Beat me to the reference.
Don’t forget he was an Exorcist as well.
Brian blessed was also in iClaudius, Doctor who and Blackadder.
One of Ming's secret police with the glasses was the same actor who played Lobot in The Empire strikes back.
He looks like a Devo member to me.
Brian Blessed's lungs stole the show, as they always do.
Gordon's ALIVE???
@@miller-joel It's actually "Gordon's Alive?!"
Man, that theme song makes this movie.
Rock band "Queen"
Well, I'm no Queen fanboy. I dig ole FG with or without queen.
"Imagine Queen doing the soundtrack for a Marvel movie," made me think of one of the few times that Marvel matched up with the level of Flash Gordon music/film goodness... when Thor comes jumping into the battle at the end of Thor: Ragnarok and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" is playing. Probably one of the closest match-ups to the battle against war rocket Ajax in the third act as Queen starts rocking it when the Hawkmen attack.
It wouldn't fit a MARVEL movie the same way it fits Flash Gordon here, no.
Queen in Highlander has some of my favorite movie music of all time.
Correct ❤❤❤
I've met Sam Jones (Flash Gordon). Really nice guy
It started out as a comic strip created by Alex Raymond…the TV series was actually a serial that was shown theatrically in chapters before feature length movies. Visually, the movie is very true to both the comic strip and serial, but played much more campily. It wasn’t a hit in the US but was much more successful overseas.
My introduction to Flash Gordon was the Filmation cartoons around 1980.
The clunky "animation" was on the level of He-Man cartoons (which came years later), but the storytelling was relatively faithful to the original series. (Plus the design for Princess Aura was definitely aimed for the young male viewers.)
The Flash Gordon comic strip was created because negotiations to secure the rights to make a John Carter od Mars comic strip fell through. So King Features Syndicate tasked Raymond to come up with a scifi-themed strip of their own.
THIS movie isn't really "campy", it's just IRREVERENT.
I’m watching this while looking at my framed, autographed still of Vultan and Flash Gordon. Yes, I have Brian Blessed and Sam Jones’ signature up on my wall while they were on war rocket Ajax. I am the coolest man alive!!!! Flash! ⚡️Ahhaaaaa! Savior of the universe! ⚡️
(I know I’m a crazy middle age guy but bear with me lol)
Good to see you again Jonathan. 👍
When you've seen a lot of movies from this time period, the similarities to Star Wars go away. :)
Well, I've never seen THIS movie as being similar to SW. I've always had no difficulty taking it on it's OWN. Besides, I get sick of numbskulls comparing just ANYTHING to freaking SW just because it happens to feature ohhhh a laser, or an alien, or a spaceship, or a robot, or has anything to do with space.
@@viceversar-do1cn Yes. When you realize there are thousands of space books and movies, you realize it's a genre, not a copy of SW :)
Might be aprochrophal, but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Star Wars resulted, in part, from Lucas being unable to get the rights to make a Flash Gordon film.
You're right!
For the record, Star Wars actually had nothing, or very little at any rate, to do with why THIS movie was made. THIS movie was actually made because the makers were previously doing an early movie version of Dune during the mid to late 70s, but THAT was canceled so they made THIS movie instead, which incorporates and recycles a lot of stuff from THAT aborted project.
Just to clear it up, Star Wars actually had nothing, or very little at any rate, to do with why THIS movie was made. THIS movie was actually made because the makers were previously doing an early movie version of Dune during the mid to late 70s, but THAT was canceled so they made THIS movie instead, which incorporates and recycles a lot of stuff from THAT aborted project. See a documentary film called Alexander Jodorowsky's Dune - it's all talked about in THAT.
"Older movies with long intro credits"
Because if the movie starts at 7:00PM people will be showing up at 7:05PM. Intro credits let people get to their seats without missing anything or disrupting the movie for anyone else.
Now they solve that problem with 20 min of ads beginning at the scheduled start time.
They were still required by the guilds at the time or the production would be fined by them. Look up how Lucas dealt with it for Empire: he just paid the fines.
I always loved how Timothy Dalton’s accent slips and goes Northern on the “Freeze, you bloody bastards!” line. Something similar happens in Licence to Kill with the line “You’re bloody lucky to be alive” so it seems the word bloody is the trigger.
This came out same a few months after Empire came out and 3 years before Jedi and the gold bikini.
Love this film always will it is right up there with B movie love like The Last Dragon or Big Trouble in Little China. Colors pop, cast eats and chews up the scenes.... they just go for it. Brian Blessed can do no wrong :)
- Queen did two movie soundtracks. First Flash Gordon, and then Highlander in 1986. Both soundtracks are FIRE!!!!
- Flash started as a comic strip. Then it became a film serial. They would film the full thing, but release it in 15 minute episodes each week in the theaters as partof a full show that had the feature film, a newsreel, and a cartoon. The original Flash serials were made in the 1930s, and then later found their way to TV. They starred Larry "Buster" Crabbe as Flash and Charles Middleton as Ming. There were three made. Flash Gordon (1936), Flash Gordon's Trip To Mars (1938), and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940). They are a hoot to watch. But you can definitely see the influence they had on Lucas for both Star Wars and Indiana Jones. There was a 1950s series, but I never saw any of that.
- 5:13 - The guy inside the building at the airfield, and then shutting the airplane door is Robbie Coltrane (of Hagrid in Harry Potter fame) in one of his first filmed roles.
- 40:25 - The guy playing the pipes is Richard O'Brien. He wrote the script, music and lyrics to The Rocky Horror Show, later The Rocky Horror Picture Show and played the role of Riff Raff in the movie version.
- Prince Vultan is played by Brian Blessed. He has done tons ofstuff on stage and screen. Many of Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare films, he was Old Deuteronomy in the Original London cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, played Emperor Augustus Caesar in the landmark BBC/Masterpiece Theater miniseries I, Claudius in the 1970s....and was Boss Nass of the Gungans in Star Wars - Episode I - The Phantom Menace. However,the role he has gotten the most out of (because he stole the damn movie) is Flash Gordon. His catchphrases "Gordon's Alive?", "Ah, well....Who wants tolive forever? DIVE!!!", and others have worked their way into the culture Here among Gen X'ers (like me) and in Britain.
The source material is actually a comic strip which debuted in 1934 (4 years before Superman) as competition for another scifi comic strip Buck Rogers. Flash, portrayed by Olympic swimmer Buster Crabbe, appeared in 3 movie serials between 1936 and 1940. The TV series was 39 episodes appearing from 10/1/1954 to 7/15/1954 and outside of character names (Flash, Dale & Zarkov) seems to have little to the comic strip and serials. Lucas wanted to do a Flash Gordon movie but couldn't get the rights. Since this film premiered after A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back it has just about as much influence from Star Wars as it does from the source material.
I 💕 how you said the Jets could of use Flash all of these years 😂 I remember my mother taking myself & 10 of my friends to see this movie when it came out. Yes my mom was that mom & I think it was 2 dollars a person then . I was only 10 but I knew then everything was over the top & that the music 🎶 rocked 😊
The TV versions of Flash Gordon aren't much like the original comic strips and serials... It was the three 1930s/40s film serials that Lucas was thinking of when he made Star Wars, not the TV versions. The 1980 movie and the serials are not bad adaptations of the Alex Raymond comics actually.
1:09:09 This is one of my favorite scenes. When Flash says "Not too bad", it sort of sums up all the garbage and nonsense but also the importance and need of humanity.
Well, it is before Leia appeared in a similar costume.
The reason this movie is so good is because it is a rare example of a film that executes perfectly on what it's meant to be. Not everyone likes a cheesy pulp/camp sci-fi action story, but if you do there is nothing about this movie that fails to deliver. Even the visuals are insane: everything still looks great (except Hawkmen flying). A truly perfect film.
A lot of people sleep on the absolute theatrical star power in this film. Max von Sydow (Ming) has a long, illustrious film career; Topol (Zarkov) was a huge stage name, most famous for his portrayal of Tevye in both stage and film productions of Fiddler on the Roof from 1967-2009. Timothy Dalton (Barin) was a fairly prominent British film actor prior to this film, and went on to play James Bond (The Living Daylights, License to Kill), and several other prominent Hollywood films. Brian Blessed, as you've no doubt discovered, was simply a screen presence to be reckoned with in every role he took on. One honorable mention is Richard O'Brien (Barin's 2nd in command whose name escapes me), the writer, director, and Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Not exactly tippy-top A-listers, but some very serious acting chops in the cast for a film of this genre at the time.
The actor who plays Doctor Zarkov also plays Doctor Hans Reinhart in the Black Hole look and sound very similar. The line in Flash where the guard tells Zarkov he will be liquidated is like Doctor Hans Reinhart saying to Maximillian, "The time has come to liquidate our guests".
Sorry. No...The guy who plays Dr. Zarkov is the guy who played Tevye in the movie musical Fiddler on the Roof, Chaim Topol. It was a role he played onstage in London for years. He also played Columbo in the Roger Moore Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Dr. Hans Reinhart in The Black Hole was Academy Award-winner Maximillian Schell (Best Actor, 1961 - Judgment At Nurenberg). They kinda look alike. Chaim Topol is Israeli and Maximillian Schell is Austrian.
@@FeaturingRob OUCH! Comparing an Austrian to an Israeli...... is that even beyond the "too soon" phase, yet?
Nope. Reinhart in The Black Hole is played by Maximillian Schell. Zarkov is Topol who was in Fiddler on the Roof and James Bond For Your Eyes Only (the smuggler).
The actor who portrayed the king of the hawkmen also played Lord Locksley in Robinhood, Prince of Thieves.
@15:00 "Oh, cool! A gauntlet gun?" I really missed a reference to the Star Wars Force Choke at this point, missed opportunity.
I actually recently watched three Flash Gordon serials condensed into movies on Prime. They were great, though this Flash Gordon outshines them a bit. Worth watching, though.
I used to watch them on late night tv when I was a kid.
"Does he have super powers?"
to quote the theme playing whilst this question is asked.. "Just a man with a man's courage. You know he's nothing but a man. And he can never fail"
(Also, I tried your drinking game suggestion.. I had to break watching the reaction in to two parts - for health reasons 😜 )
Movies with great soundtracks: Flash Gordan (this movie), Highlander, and The Wedding Singer.
Dude, watched this in the theater when I was 9...good times :)
Flash Gordon is the ULTIMATE cheese pizza and we all go back for another slice.
The guy at the airfield looking out the window after the hot hail and closing the airplane door was Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid from Harry Potter)... The guy who played Ming was also the villain in Strange Brew with Rick Moranis...
“Tell me more about this man, Houdini” is a reference to Harry Houdini. He was a stage illusionist from the early 20th that specialized in elaborate escapes from chains, locked boxes and such. The chained Baron wants to hear about someone who specialized in escaping from chains.
Fun fact Sam J. Jones was a playgirl model turned actor I believe. Ppl often criticized his performances, but I liked him here.
The drinking game would be to take a drink every time Flash almost dies. How could anyone not enjoy this movie?
Oh, and the guy who played Ming, Max VonSydow, also did the voice for Vigo, in Ghostbusters 2, among many other roles.
I saw this in the theatre! So campy, but i think the best part was the soundtrack by Queen.
Me too!
Best wedding vows, ever!
The tv show was based on the comic strip... Flash was mainly popularized through newspaper syndication. It's a product of it's time, as is every iteration of the story. (There's even a WB style teen drama version Syfy channel did) This version is however the definitive version in most people's minds... pretty faithful to the feel of the comics save for changing Flash from a Polo player to a Football star. Richard O'Brien, the writer and actor in Rocky Horror Picture Show is my favorite hidden star in this. Barron's bald buddy who tricks Flash.
"The equivalent of Queen doing a soundtrack"
That would be when Daft Punk did Tron Legacy.
It is very interesting to see your detailed reaction to the film Robocop 1987. This is a cool classic movie 🦾🤖🔥
Never ever apologize for Star Wars references! This film is actually quite faithful to the Flash Gordon comic strips and movie serials, which heavily inspired George Lucas. Even the opening title crawl of the Star Wars movies is directly lifted from the Flash Gordon serials.
Originally all the conquered races were inhabitants of the kingdoms of Mongo - Frigia (the ice kingdom) near the pole, Arboria (the forest kingdom) in the temperate zone, Tropica (you can probably figure that one out).. It seems they decided to update the locations to various moons orbiting the planet - the one thing that looks straight from the comics and the serials is the city of the Hawkmen.
With all the Star Wars references how was Boss Nass not recognized early on. Brian Blessed's (Voltan) voice is so distinct. He was the voice of Boss Nass.
The original Highlander movie is a good one to watch. Good music throughout the movie. Hidden Figures has some good music in it as well.
I always enjoy your reactions Jonathan, and especially looking forward to this, since it’s one of my favorite movies growing up to this day. I also loved it when you said, “Sorry if I do a lot of Star Wars references,” not realizing the “bigger” scientist lackey running away from Hans Zarkoff was Porkins from the first Death Star battle in A New Hope! His short resume is pretty great, playing roles in Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Batman 89, just to name a few. Not too shabby!
And besides James Bond’s Timothy Dalton being in the film, we have even more Star Wars connections. Hawkman Prince Vultan is played by Brian Blessed, who voiced Boss Nass leader of the Gungans in the Phantom Menace, and Emperor Ming played the old man at the beginning of the Force Awakens, talking with Poe Dameron in the village.
OMG! Please tell me he was Eckhart in Batman 89! If so, I never realized that until now!
@@randallwright1973 yes, I’m pretty sure he was, though I never verified his name in the credits. I don’t remember his name. But I’ve always assumed it’s him. Just watched Batman 89 the other day and was looking closely at him. It’s about a decade after this (9 years), so it would fit his age and look well. Nice resume. With him also being the one in Raiders telling Indy the ark is guarded by “top men…”
@ I love character actors. They are always important, no matter how small their role.
There was a trend which I believe started around this time to hire SF writers to adapt certain movies to the page. The book of this film is, for me, a great example of a different take on the same material. For instance, in the adaptation we get background on Flash as a QB, and, more importantly, his plans for when his playing days are over.
Yup, it was John Rhys-Davies :)
The design aesthetic of Flash Gordon is based on the 1930's serials. That's why you can, for example, see the strings the Hawkmen are dangling from. It's why the sets are so basic and gaudy, the costumes are impractical (but cool), the weapons are oddly proportioned, etc. It's all an homage to the budgetary limitation of movie serial production...on a big budget movie.
I love the intro music to The Black hole
Ha! Aura's first outfit is very reminiscent of Princess Leia! But it came first! I'll look out for that Prince Barin costume at DragonCon!
7:29 - There's no such thing as a "30's TV show". 🤭 It was a film serial, which meant you had to come back to the theater every Saturday to find out what happened :and every half-hour chapter ended with a danger tease..
(A genre that inspired Indiana Jones, Star Wars and MCU.)
Campy. Over the top. A good time at the movies.
Thanks, Jonathan! ⚡ I love this one. And it's Deep Roy's birthday tomorrow... he portrayed 'Princess Aura's Pet'. 🔸 And, I'm sure you've been told by now, but the serials from 1936 weren't on television at first... they were at the cinema... as shorts before a feature (along with newsreels and cartoons). Those eventually started running on tv in March 1940.
This dude needs to watch the parody "flesh gordon" 😂😂😂
"Not the bore worms!"
The airfield was actually Skye in Scotland
Favorite music for a movie:
Love on a Real Train - Risky Business
Legend (w/ Tom Cruise)
Tron: Legacy
The Wall
The Crow
Brian Blessed is having far too much fun in this movie
Another great episode Jonathan. What’s next?
As an aside, I always thought Klytus and the Bore Worms would be a great name for a rock band.
My favorite Queen rock opera.
“NOT THE BORE WORMS!!!” TS Madison brought anyone else here?
The TV show, Flash was a world champion wrestler. Dale was a damsel in destress every episode, as every leader wanted to have sex with her. The director wanted to keep the look of the show, which all the critics hated.
Sound track from Highlander also done by Queen.
Holy sh.. The Price of Arcadia is Kingsley in Harry Potter!
People always get on how messed up Ming is, as if it's somehow surprising. He either choose or accepted being called 'the Merciless'.
Finally a bad guy that lives up to his name.
About the Star Wars references, what do you think was there first? Not this movie of course, but the franchise? George Lucas was inspired by a lot of what came before Star Wars (1977). Like 'John Carter of Mars' (1911) with the desert planet and Leia's slave outfit, 'Buck Rogers' (1929) and it's competitor 'Flash Gordon' (1934) with their Emperors and space battles. Add a little 'Foundation' (1951) from Isaac Asimov for the galactic scale and other things.
Valerian
the cartoon is brilliant.
Great single band soundtracks:
Wang Chung - To Live and Die in L.A.
Daftpunk - Tron 2
Star Wars had Flash Gordon Elements 😉Queen wrote Music for Flash Gordon and Freddie sang in Bicycle Race "...I don't like Star Wars" 😁
Nope. Zarkov was in Fiddler on the Roof and he played the smuggler in James Bond For Your Eyes Only.
The guys in the creepy masks looked more like death eaters from Harry Potter.
There was a animated flash gordon movie that was like a Sunday or Monday night TV movie in the late 70s when I was a kid my folks allowed me to stay up and watch it cause I loved flash gordon , then they made the filmation animated fg series off it ,the animated movie was never released on DVD but the cartoon series was ,I suggest checking out the animated movie it should be up on you tube I think it was called flash gordon the greatest adventure or some thing similar to that ,there is a scene in it that is why I'm pretty sure why it wasn't released if you watch it you will see ,(pretty silly reason not to release it )
Actually Flash Gordon was before Star Wars in all this not the other way around. Comic strips and early serial series.
If you want another....unusual film of the era, watch The Black Hole, from Disney. Its also got some very impressive practical effects.
There was never a Flash Gordon TV show. It was a newspaper comic strip and then became a film serial (There was a Buck Rogers TV show. Very similar and Buster Crabbe, who played Flash in the serials also played Buck in serials). George Lucas, inspired by these early films and newspaper strips, wanted to make a Flash Gordon movie. But the rights were already purchased by Dino DeLaurentis, so instead, George wrote is OWN sci-fi story, heavily inspired by Flash. That was Star Wars. DeLaurentis had the rights, and when Star Wars hit bit, the studios all raced to make their own Star Wars, so Flash was greenlit.
Remember that crappy sci Fi channel flash gordon series ,man that was bad
@@jayconant3816 Holy crap! I think my brain purposefully buried that. God that was bad..
The Godzilla soundtrack is pretty good.
PBS had a show called Matinee at the Bijou and they would how the old Flash Gordon serials with Larry "Buster" Crabbe. Sam Jones was great in this and Max Von Sydow was perfect as Ming the Merciless. We need a new movie and a Buck Rogers movie.
The date in the description is wrong. This is 1980 movie, so any parallels with Empire Strikes Back are coincidental. This would've been made with only Star Wars already released.
You know the opening crawl of text at the beginning of the Star Wars movies, with the upper parts fading into the background? That was taken directly from the old Flash Gordon movie serials, where that device was used to remind the audience of the story up to now. And the character of Ming the Merciless, in both the original Flash Gordon comic strips and the serials, is a shameless ripoff of Sax Rohmer's character Dr. Fu Manchu, complete with beautiful, amoral, rebellious daughter. When Princess Aura, in the comic strips, stops having mixed loyalties and goes over completely to the side of the good guys, she stops being depicted with Asian features like those of her father, and becomes a redhead.
Doctor Doom was the inspiration for Darth Vader
Jonathan, nobody cares how many "Star Wars" references you make. Reference away! But "Flash Gordon" was not a TV show. It was a movie serial based on a comic strip. George Lucas wanted to make a movie based on it but couldn't get the rights. So he made "Star Wars" instead. And there's another "Star Wars" reference for you!
GOOD CHOICE JONNY
Just watch the Queen "Flash" video and save yourself the agony. It has all the good parts of the movie and none of the crap.
Linkin Park put together some pretty good songs for the Michael Bay Transformers franchise over the years.
Think the title needs changing, Flash Gordon came out in 1980, unless for some reason it was released 2 years later in US?
Here's the cross over you been looking for vulkin the hawkman is the voice of boss nas
I cringed every time you called out a Star Wars reference that happened after this movie was released. Only the original Star Wars in 1977 predates Flash Gordon from 1980.
But it was still fun to see -- and it makes me wonder if Lucas did some callbacks to this movie.
You have the wrong release date. This came out in 1980 and follows closely to the storyline and look of the 1930s serials. “Star Wars” copied it.
You should check out Brian Blessed’s audio commentary originally recorded for the Silver Anniversary U.K. DVD, and ported onto the Blu-ray sets. I hope he realizes that “Flash Gordon” came out (1980) before most of those “Star Wars” references.
Such a good cheesy movie
No one noticed Munson is the same actor as Porkins in Star Wars!!!!! For shame. FOR SHAME!!!!
It's Star Trek: First Contact not Generations
1980
Galactic emporer who did it better meng or palpatine I vote meng
😂😂😂
switched my default thumbs up to a thumbs down...NO THX...you totally ruined this haha...but I DID make it to the 23 minute mark somehow!? normally I would've waited til at least the 3/4 mark when people finally figure out the genius of this movie and it all comes together BUT...nahh not worth it, life's too short for that mini payoff. PLUS those 'OctoKrool' dorks who I normally can barely stand already posted the best reaction ever to this movie like 2 months ago so...better luck next time? #theregoesyourpopcornroulettebonus 🤭🤷♂
A bit of feedback for your channel. I've unsubscribed because of too many polls. You were taking up my entire home feed. Stop the polls and I might subscribe again.
Oh man was looking forward to this reaction but 1st time with this guy. Really bad & extremely annoying (sorry)....please bring back Coby as she's NOT SO DENCE.
Poin of fact. Flash Gordon came out in 1980. Return of the Jedi and Leia’s chain mail wouldn’t be seen til ‘83. So Leia actually looks like Princess Aura. 😘.
This Flash Gordon was designed as a homage to the outlandish original series and comic. The 2000’s show ditched all the camp and tried to be serious. It failed miserably. No one wanted that, we wanted an even bigger, brighter camp fest.