Flash Gordon

Year:

1980

Duration:

111 min

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

IMDB rate:

6.4

Director:

Mike Hodges

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win & 8 nominations

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 1980-12-05

Filming Locations: Airstrip, Breakish, Skye, Highland, Scotland, UK

Earnings

Budget: $35,000,000

Opening Weekend: $3,934,030 (USA) (7 December 1980)

Gross: $27,107,960 (USA) ( 1981)

Cast

Actor

Character

Peter Wyngarde

Flash Gordon

Sam J. Jones

Flash Gordon

Melody Anderson

Dale Arden

Max von Sydow

The Emperor Ming

Topol

Dr. Hans Zarkov

Ornella Muti

Princess Aura

Timothy Dalton

Prince Barin

Brian Blessed

Prince Vultan

Mariangela Melato

Kala

John Osborne

Arborian Priest

Richard O'Brien

Fico

John Hallam

Luro

Philip Stone

Zogi, the High Priest

Suzanne Danielle

Serving Girl

William Hootkins

Munson

Bobbie Brown

Hedonia

Ted Carroll

Biro

Adrienne Kronenberg

Vultan's Daughter

Stanley Lebor

Mongon Doctor

John Morton

Airline Pilot

Burnell Tucker

Airline Co-Pilot

Robbie Coltrane

Man at Airfield

Peter Duncan

Young Treeman

Ken Sicklen

A Treeman

Tessa Hewitt

Hawk Woman (as Tessa)

Venetia Spicer

Hawk Woman

Francis Mughan

Wounded Hawkman

Oliver MacGreevy

Klytus Observer No. 1

John Hollis

Klytus Observer No. 2

Paul Bentall

Klytus' Pilot

Leon Greene

Colonel of Battle Control Room

Graeme Crowther

Battle Room Controller

Tony Scannell

Ming's Officer

David Neal

Captain of Ming's Air Force

Bogdan Kominowski

Lieutenant of Ming's Air Force

George Harris

Prince of Ardentia

Colin Taylor

King of Frigia

Doretta Dunkley

Queen of Frigia

Sally Nicholson

Queen of Azuria

Deep Roy

Princess Aura's Pet

Michelle Mildwater

Special Movement

Marie Green

Special Movement

Imogen Claire

Special Movement

Kay Zimmerman

Special Movement

Frederick Warder

Special Movement (as Fred Warder)

Stephen Brigden

Special Movement

Lionel Guyett

Special Movement

Ken Robertson

Special Movement

Andy Bradford

Hawkman (as Andrew Bradford)

Bertram Adams

Hawkman

Terry Forrestal

Hawkman

Mike Potter

Hawkman

John Sullivan

Hawkman

Eddie Stacey

Hawkman

John Lees

Hawkman

Roy Scammell

Hawkman

Kathy Marquis

Sandmoon Girl

Sophie

Sandmoon Girl

Kathy September

Sandmoon Girl

Glenna Forster-Jones

Sandmoon Girl (as Glenna Forster Jones)

Roseanne Romine

Cytherian Girl (as Rosanne Romine)

Sneh

Cytherian Girl

Magda

Cytherian Girl

Shaka

Cytherian Girl

Lindy

Cytherian Girl

Viva

Cytherian Girl

Beverly Andrews

Cytherian Girl

Frances Ward

Cytherian Girl

Kerry-Lou Baylis

Cytherian Girl

Camella

Cytherian Girl

Miranda Riley

Frigian Girl

Lorraine Paul

Aquarian Girl

Carolyn Evans

Aquarian Girl

Celeste

Aquarian Girl

Tina Thomas

Aquarian Girl

Ruthie Barnett

Aquarian Girl

Joe Iles

Ardentian Man

Trevor Ward

Ardentian Man

Alva Shelley

Ardentian Man

Nik Abraham

Ardentian Man

Leonard Hay

Ardentian Man

Glen Whitter

Ardentian Man

Jamalia

Serving Girl in Ming's Chamber

Jill Lamb

Serving Girl in Ming's Chamber

Sunanka

Serving Girl in Ming's Chamber

Karen Johnson

Serving Girl in Ming's Chamber

Gina

Exotic Girl in Ming's Bedchamber

Raquel

Exotic Girl in Ming's Bedchamber

Fai

Exotic Girl in Ming's Bedchamber

Malcolm Dixon

Dwarf

Tiny Ross

Dwarf

Mike Edmonds

Dwarf

John Ghavan

Dwarf

Rusty Goffe

Dwarf

Richard Jones

Dwarf

Mike Cottrell

Dwarf

Peter Burroughs

Dwarf (as Peter Burrows)

John Lummiss

Dwarf (as John Lummis)

Kenny Baker

Dwarf

Bob Goody

Azurian Man (as Robert Goody)

Daniel Venn

Azurian Man

Peter St. James

Azurian Man

Steve Payne

Azurian Man (as Steven Payne)

Max Alford

Azurian Man

Stephen Calcutt

Azurian Man

Anthony Olivier

Azurian Man

Jim Carter

Azurian Man

Stuart Blake

Azurian Man

Nigel Jeffcoat

Azurian Man

Chris Webb

Ming's Brute

Leslie Crawford

Ming's Brute (as Les Crawford)

Peter Brace

Ming's Brute

Terry Richards

Ming's Brute

John Gallant

Ming's Brute

Eddie Powell

Ming's Brute

Sean Barry-Weske

Rabbi in Montage (uncredited)

Richard Bonehill

Extra (uncredited)

David de Keyser

Colonel of Battle Control Room (voice) (uncredited)

Kevin Hudson

Hawk Man (uncredited)

Derek Lyons

Arborian Priest Assistant (uncredited)

Ralph Morse

Arborian (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

Director Mike Hodges, referring to the numerous production problems that plagued the film, once called it "the only improvised $27-million movie ever made".

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Princess Aura's "pet" is named Fellini. Production Designer Danilo Donati worked on a number of Federico Fellini films.

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Dr. Zarkov's backstory was that he was a NASA scientist who was fired for his paranoid fantasies that Earth was going to be attacked from outer space. Sixty Minutes derided him as "A Poor Man's Billy Mitchell".

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Goofs

On Ming's console listing catastrophes, Typhoon and Hurricane are listed as separate items. Typhoons and Hurricanes are the same weather system and are just called by different names around the globe.

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There are many blue-screen compositions where characters or items appear partly transparent. This is probably due to the copying process for the travelling mattes that were used to superimpose the effects shots over one another.

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When Princess Aura is showing Flash how to fly the ship when they are traveling to Arboria, she tells him, "The left lever controls direction, and the right controls altitude". Moments later while still flying, Flash gets mad at Aura for not showing him how to use the thought amplifier, so he shoves the left lever forward. The ship responds with a nose-dive.

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Quotes

Flash Gordon: Prince Barin! I'm not your enemy, Ming is! And you know it yourself. Ming is the enemy of every creature of Mongo! Let's all team up and fight him.

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Klytus: [watching Zarkov's memories of Hitler at a Nazi Party rally] Now, he showed promise!

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Flash Gordon: I demand to see the governor! I can hardly breathe in this thing!

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Faq

Q

Why do the Hawkmen use rocket cycles if they have wings and, therefore, can fly by themselves?

A

well Let's put it this way: you can walk, yet you still travel by car, don't you?As much as I like the previous answer, there was a small blurb explaining the rocket cycles in a pre-production note. Something about using them as emergency transportation for injured hawk-people who couldn't fly.

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