@@MrRambo4 Well said. I count the best actors as those who are willing to take a role in a campy movie not just for the paycheck, but because it can be fun. And all the actors made this movie so fun.
What always amazed me was how closely this low-budget film stuck to the original look of Alex Raymond's earliest dailies. Apart from a few details (NY Jets, no-fur Lionmen, etc.), the "origin" story is also much like Raymond's. Since seeing FG in 3rd grade, the opening has always excited me, especially the slow motif in the middle. If people had seen FG from a perspective that compares it to Alex Raymond's work (rather than the polish of "Empire Strikes Back" and Disney sci-fi of the time), then accept that it's made to thrill little boys, FG might have done better.
You´re wrong it´s not "low-budget", actually it´s said it cost between 27 and 35 millions dollar, That was an enormous budget on 1980, considering that "The empire strikes back" cost was 18 millions dollar on the same year!. Yes"Flash Gordon " looks "cheap" but it was made on purpose cause they wanted to imitate the feeling of the old 1930´s Flash Gordon serial, but in the comic bright colors instead of back and white.
Aw man this takes me back way back I'll never forget going into the theater and listen to that Lucas film THX system it was unreal man so every theater at the time had the Lucas film THX system that had the tea act system dude way ahead of his time
Love the cartoon seqencing and the song wording and its meaning,, very classy,,the hero standing on the cliff wearing his cape,, taking a break,,thinking about the final battle to come !!!
Saturday morning in the early 80s laying on the floor with a blanket. Watching HBO. Smoked a doobie and this starts up. Damn, this film took me to space with them. Best 2 hours of my life when I was 22 years old. Now I'm 61 and I still love it!
Quite beautiful use of the original Flash Gordon comics for the opening graphics. Reminds me of the current Marvel movie logo, with its rapid flashing of comic book images. Wonder if the Marvel folks had this title sequence in mind when they designed the logo.
Paying homage to previous works seems like a winner for a lot of movies. Superman the Movie started with a kid reading the opening to a Superman comic book. (I think it was the very issue of Action Comics that's so famously well-known.)
I'm very blessed to have seen this in the theater. 2:41 The slowing of the beat with Flash over looking a cliff was nothing short of divine on the big screen.
I was five, I had no idea what a director was and even less what a producer was, but whenever a movie started and at the beginning it said "A Dino De Laurentiis production" (I saw them dubbed in spanish, and yeah, they dubbed that) I got excited, because I knew I was in for a treat!
I remember seeing this in the movie theater as a child. I was awestruck by this opening scene. I saw it with my neighbor friend Scott. It's pure cheese but it will always be pure fun to watch. Anyone who does a remake should remember to not take it seriously and focus on the fun!
I know this movie isn’t supposed to be taken all that seriously, but one thing that never made sense to me was the fact that Ming, who has apparently never seen or heard of Earth before, has a sign that reads “EARTH QUAKE.”
I didn't quite appreciate this as a 13 year old when I first saw it, but with the years have come to more fully understand and love all the levels of satire in the script and the playful campiness of the Art Deco-toned production design and the superbly sly music by QUEEN. Lorenzo Semple Jr. who wrote the script also created the original cult BATMAN TV series and the equally underrated KING KONG remake of 1976 which pokes fun at the oil industry's pathological rapaciousness, (the expedition that finds Kong is for PETROX; geddit?) finally culminating in the introduction of Kong in New York sealed inside a colossal gas station filling tank. FLASH GORDON is full of similar, wonderfully knowing touches. Dino; you have given us some of the finest!
I am SO relieved to see this here - I just bought this from iTunes, and at first thought, "Is this faulty? It looks like the screen has been squished!" (Not the widescreen effect, mind you, but the images themselves.) So I pulled two vids of the intro up on here to compare... looks like they're just made that way. All the comic visuals being more horizon than they normally would be and all. I used the shape of the Earth itself to determine.
Klytus: The Inhabitants call it "Earth" Ming: As in "Earth-Quake". Boy, talk about bad luck. The two laugh Klytus: Most effective your majesty. Will you be destroying this....Earth? Ming: Not immediately. I like to have fun before annihilation. Also there might be chicks on this planet.
Flash Gordon Opening Titles "Flash aaaah Savior of the Universe" What, I was 7 or 8 years old when the Flash Gordon movie came out.......something like that.
@@godzillavkk I care precisely as much about what the "new fans" want as much as the "new fans" care about what I want. This didn't have to be a zero sum game where "one side of the fandom" wins but this is the House Disney built and yall ate it up. Regardless Starwars is a shadow itself and its only getting worse. The diminishing returns on the franchise speak for itself.
JUST A MAN WITH A MAN’S COURAGE YOU KNOW HE’S NOTHIN BUT A MAN HE CAN NEVER FAIL NO ONE BUT THE PURE AT HEART MAY FIND THE GOLDEN GRAIL OH-OH-OH OH-OH-OH-OH
man seeing the row of disasters to choose Ming had in front of him at his disposal make him one nasty gamers LOL. "I like to play with this for a while before annihilation"
This movie had me at hello. In the ensuing decades I’d meet two types of people: those who love it and those who don’t. If you were in the latter group I would and still will make every effort to stay far away from you. Flash Gordon is a miracle.
Cheesy? Yes. Campy? Yes. However, I loved the film. Any movie with a cast including Timothy Dalton, Max Von Sydow, Chaim Topol, Brian Blessed and music by Queen in it, can't be all bad! ⚡⚡
The only thing that would have improved this is if they kept the line from the trailer as the opening beats of the theme play: Ming: Pathetic earthlings... who can save you now? Queen: Flash! a-ah, saviour of the universe
Emperor Ming has been to my Planet of Melonar 6. *HAIL MING(;^)* He's a Delightful Fellow. Great at Lighting Camp fires. Have A Good Day Earthlings, ha ha ha ha ha ha(;) This bit at >2:38 is about The Melon YAY!(:)
One of the best openings to a film ever
Agreed!
The movie was cool as well cause of great actors and greatest band of all time
@@MrRambo4 Well said. I count the best actors as those who are willing to take a role in a campy movie not just for the paycheck, but because it can be fun. And all the actors made this movie so fun.
FLASH aaaahhhhhhaaahh
Probably THE best
The montage of the original comic strips is actually really cool, and quite ahead of its time.
What always amazed me was how closely this low-budget film stuck to the original look of Alex Raymond's earliest dailies. Apart from a few details (NY Jets, no-fur Lionmen, etc.), the "origin" story is also much like Raymond's. Since seeing FG in 3rd grade, the opening has always excited me, especially the slow motif in the middle. If people had seen FG from a perspective that compares it to Alex Raymond's work (rather than the polish of "Empire Strikes Back" and Disney sci-fi of the time), then accept that it's made to thrill little boys, FG might have done better.
You´re wrong it´s not "low-budget", actually it´s said it cost between 27 and 35 millions dollar, That was an enormous budget on 1980, considering that "The empire strikes back" cost was 18 millions dollar on the same year!. Yes"Flash Gordon " looks "cheap" but it was made on purpose cause they wanted to imitate the feeling of the old 1930´s Flash Gordon serial, but in the comic bright colors instead of back and white.
The comic montage really got me as a kid. It implied that this film was part of a much larger universe
Stax Maye true it was supposed to be the first in a trilogy
I was thinking that! Pretty cool
Rest in peace, Max Von Sydow, and thanks for one of the best openings ever in a movie!
And rest in peace, topol
Max rocked every movie he was in
And Peter Wyngarde
I'll take this over any Marvel, DC or Star Wars movie anytime of the day.
Seeing this intro on a giant screen with Queen blaring on the sound system was something I'll never forget.
Jackson Kim i seen this at the theater when it came out...good memories of childhood.
Yep, I remember seeing with my best friend and Queen fan at a movie theater in the Bronx! Fun!
Aw man this takes me back way back I'll never forget going into the theater and listen to that Lucas film THX system it was unreal man so every theater at the time had the Lucas film THX system that had the tea act system dude way ahead of his time
Why oh why did queen not have a cameo ? Imagine seeing them briefly as Birdmen in the attack scenes...
I was very fortunate to have seen it. CZcams cannot do it justice.
Throughout the universe, our planet is #1 for seismic activity! That's why they're called Earth Quakes no matter where you live!
Haha
I read that Earth Quake in Klytus's voice.
There is no badness in Flash Gordon. It is pure awesome.
I agree. It's a comic come to life.
200% pure awesomeness
You crazy son-of-a-bitch. lol. This movie is terrible. EVERY copy should be tracked down and destroyed. It should be forgotten. it's a pure puke fest.
you just don't understand the campy greatness of greatness
Non esageriamo. Si è visto ben di peggio! XD
Love the cartoon seqencing and the song wording and its meaning,, very classy,,the hero standing on the cliff wearing his cape,, taking a break,,thinking about the final battle to come !!!
Corny script, over the top acting and cheesy special effects but still a movie I will watch over and over again.
It's all by design.
That's precisely why it's so good
You forgot the hot looking babes in this movie....ahh disco age costumes
America needs Flash now more than ever.
You have him, he's called Trump!
itsconnorstime Trump is the answer... 😎🇺🇸
@@StevieAF how did I know some dummy would say this
Saturday morning in the early 80s laying on the floor with a blanket. Watching HBO. Smoked a doobie and this starts up. Damn, this film took me to space with them. Best 2 hours of my life when I was 22 years old. Now I'm 61 and I still love it!
I skipped school to see this as a kid....and took the bus.... Great memories ❤😂. Oh yes...and Queen.... This was a big deal
Quite beautiful use of the original Flash Gordon comics for the opening graphics. Reminds me of the current Marvel movie logo, with its rapid flashing of comic book images. Wonder if the Marvel folks had this title sequence in mind when they designed the logo.
krjames 68 I was thinking the same thing.
Me too! I saw it and went...wait a minute...Flash Gordon!!
Paying homage to previous works seems like a winner for a lot of movies. Superman the Movie started with a kid reading the opening to a Superman comic book. (I think it was the very issue of Action Comics that's so famously well-known.)
@@samsonguy10k did you ever red the flash Gordon comics ever
@@zacharyjochumsen9677 A bit here and there
Just a man
With a man's courage
He knows nothing but a man
But he can never fail
No one but the pure in heart
May find the golden grail...
Still my favorite part of the song, after all these years.
Freddy killed that part! The guitar strum fit it perfectly too! Emotional Made me feel Flash’s struggle!
those meaningful words and the scene as he is thinking about the final battle to come,,standing on cliff top with his cape. Class.
I'm very blessed to have seen this in the theater. 2:41 The slowing of the beat with Flash over looking a cliff was nothing short of divine on the big screen.
0:10--It's the Universal logo!
“Just a man with a man’s courage you know he’s nothing but a man who can never fail”
R.I.P., Max Von Sydow.
The guy can magically control Earth's weather and eco system. Damn that's pretty powerful
Makes Palatine look like a chump
I was five, I had no idea what a director was and even less what a producer was, but whenever a movie started and at the beginning it said "A Dino De Laurentiis production" (I saw them dubbed in spanish, and yeah, they dubbed that) I got excited, because I knew I was in for a treat!
Brian May's triumphant harmonized guitar work is as jaw-dropping now as it was back when I saw this in the theater in 1980.
Lucky you , in the theater !
Saw this in the theater opening weekend in 1980! Sat through several more screenings.... Great mix of the scenes and background info.
Superb effects, excellent queen song! Taylor was a huge SF comics fan
Queen makes everything awesome.Flash Gordom and Highlander are examples :)
This opening makes me want to do the Dale Arden cheer!
He's a Miracle!!!
King of the Impossible!
I remember seeing this in the movie theater as a child. I was awestruck by this opening scene. I saw it with my neighbor friend Scott. It's pure cheese but it will always be pure fun to watch. Anyone who does a remake should remember to not take it seriously and focus on the fun!
Saw this movie when i was 5 years old they played Queen so loud it was awesome i thought it was amazing and it still is today for me!
I don't know, it looks like it is an ok film based on a comic....
Oh shit JUST GOT REAL!!!!
Klytus pronounces 'Earth' as if he's saying it for the first time and yet there's a button on the console already labelled 'Earth Quake'.
amazing opening
...flying blind on a hawkman rocket cycle!
"Flying blind on a rocket cycle?"
I know this movie isn’t supposed to be taken all that seriously, but one thing that never made sense to me was the fact that Ming, who has apparently never seen or heard of Earth before, has a sign that reads “EARTH QUAKE.”
Maybe he changes the label on the button with each new planet he torments. 😃
The opening credits are beautiful
One of my favorite tv shows when I was a kid.
I was only 6 years old when this was released. I rediscovered it when the theme song was used in Blades of Glory.
I grew up watching this when I was a child since the 90s
Ming... The three Eye Raven.
Watched this a month ago on television with my little brother brilliant film.
General Karla Flash Gordon Approaching
Ahhh. Another fave from my childhood. GORDON'S ALIVE!!
I didn't quite appreciate this as a 13 year old when I first saw it, but with the years have come to more fully understand and love all the levels of satire in the script and the playful campiness of the Art Deco-toned production design and the superbly sly music by QUEEN. Lorenzo Semple Jr. who wrote the script also created the original cult BATMAN TV series and the equally underrated KING KONG remake of 1976 which pokes fun at the oil industry's pathological rapaciousness, (the expedition that finds Kong is for PETROX; geddit?) finally culminating in the introduction of Kong in New York sealed inside a colossal gas station filling tank. FLASH GORDON is full of similar, wonderfully knowing touches. Dino; you have given us some of the finest!
Planet EURTH....
Wyngarde sells the distaste Kyltus had for that planet. Klytus was the best henchman.
The Comic Strip Is Now The Hit Movie!
FLASH GORDON!
Rated PG!
I am SO relieved to see this here - I just bought this from iTunes, and at first thought, "Is this faulty? It looks like the screen has been squished!" (Not the widescreen effect, mind you, but the images themselves.) So I pulled two vids of the intro up on here to compare... looks like they're just made that way. All the comic visuals being more horizon than they normally would be and all.
I used the shape of the Earth itself to determine.
Klytus: The Inhabitants call it "Earth"
Ming: As in "Earth-Quake". Boy, talk about bad luck.
The two laugh
Klytus: Most effective your majesty. Will you be destroying this....Earth?
Ming: Not immediately. I like to have fun before annihilation. Also there might be chicks on this planet.
The transitions through the comics with the song is outstanding!
The planet “Uurrth” Lol Never gets old.
1:52 is epic.
so true.
Loved it!
Wrong, the whole fucking thing is epic
@@OMGILOVEBANANAS Almost 15 years ago I met Sam J. Jones.
Flash Gordon Opening Titles
"Flash aaaah
Savior of the Universe"
What, I was 7 or 8 years old when the Flash Gordon movie came out.......something like that.
It's beautiful.
This will never be topped! :D
best movie ever. best soundtrack ever
Best movie opening of all time!
Rip ming you will be remembered
Watching this as a kid in the theater was just too much awesome sensory overload for our little brains!
hail to the Queen
GOD SAVE THE BAND QUEEN... OH YEAH!!!
*Scornful laughter* Pathetic earthlings! Who can save you now?!
Rest in peace Freddie.
They knew how to do music for comic movies back then.
Everytime I think of the Last Jedi, I watch a Flash Gordon scene. Thank you Flash Gordon.
Salty.
@@godzillavkk yes im salty that the movie invalidated the original trilogy and turned luke into a worthless piece of shit.
@@Gnostic88 Maybe it's not for you, but for new fans.
@@godzillavkk I care precisely as much about what the "new fans" want as much as the "new fans" care about what I want. This didn't have to be a zero sum game where "one side of the fandom" wins but this is the House Disney built and yall ate it up.
Regardless Starwars is a shadow itself and its only getting worse. The diminishing returns on the franchise speak for itself.
@@Gnostic88 Actually, the sequels were box office hits. And you ruined SW years ago... in 1999.
JUST A MAN
WITH A MAN’S COURAGE
YOU KNOW HE’S NOTHIN BUT A MAN HE CAN NEVER FAIL
NO ONE BUT THE PURE AT HEART MAY FIND THE GOLDEN GRAIL
OH-OH-OH
OH-OH-OH-OH
man seeing the row of disasters to choose Ming had in front of him at his disposal make him one nasty gamers LOL. "I like to play with this for a while before annihilation"
0:51 is where the song begins.
I saw this at a drive in theater right before it closed down, best childhood memories.
"Gordon's alive?!"
NO ONE BUT THE PURE AT HEART MAY FIND THE GOLDEN GRAIL OH-OH-OH-OH OH-OH-OH-OH-OH
Interesting cast , Topol from Sound of Music, Richard O’Brien from Rocky Horror & Timothy Dalton who was Roger Moore’s successor as James Bond
This movie had me at hello. In the ensuing decades I’d meet two types of people: those who love it and those who don’t. If you were in the latter group I would and still will make every effort to stay far away from you. Flash Gordon is a miracle.
I'll always remember this wonderful film for its Incredible soundtrack!!!
This movie pays a wonderful homage to the 1940's serials
Hail Flash Gordon, Savior of the Universe!
Best movie intro ever ⚡
damn this is one helluva intro
R.I.P., Chaim Topol.
Awesome soundtrack.
Fun film.
Colorful sets and costumes.
Cheesy? Yes. Campy? Yes. However, I loved the film. Any movie with a cast including Timothy Dalton, Max Von Sydow, Chaim Topol, Brian Blessed and music by Queen in it, can't be all bad! ⚡⚡
The only thing that would have improved this is if they kept the line from the trailer as the opening beats of the theme play:
Ming: Pathetic earthlings... who can save you now?
Queen: Flash! a-ah, saviour of the universe
Who else here thought this movie was about the Flash from The Dc Universe but ended up being something else but fun at the same time?
Seeing this after Morocco Earthquakes makes me think..
The music is of course amazing, but Man von Sydow’s opening delivery is like music of its own
Halloween 2015....I've got 364 days to do as many bicep curls as possible
the best
The simplest editing on those pieces of comic art just adds to this awesome!
Hm, so this is where Big O's opening theme got it's inspiration from!
They are a bit similar aren't they? At least they borrowed from a great source.
It may seem a bit rip-offy, but they still made the tune sound great.
Thank you Flash for saving every one of us. RIP Max Von Sydow and Freddy Mercury 🙏🏿🕊️
HOT HAIL
Nowhereman10
Hail made of Carbon Dioxide (aka - dry ice). It can burn the skin. 😂
Have to love the way it builds to a crescendo!
El mas noble héroe creado. El gran Flash Gordon!
42 years on and I'm still trying to figure out how hot hail works
Flash Gordon's alive?!?
Best part of the movie for me.
Von Sydow really should have had top billing here or at least 2nd
Queen composed great themes for movies. Wish they did more of them.
QUEEN OF ROCK. \m/
Spectacular!
Emperor Ming has been to my Planet of Melonar 6. *HAIL MING(;^)*
He's a Delightful Fellow.
Great at Lighting Camp fires.
Have A Good Day Earthlings, ha ha ha ha ha ha(;) This bit at >2:38 is about The Melon YAY!(:)
I just fucking melt when I hear this intro. Such nostalgia
*The Original Thor Ragnarok*
What do you mean, he saved every one of us thanks for the spoiler alert.