The Dino De Laurentiis Flash Gordon tends to attract any number of rather negative comments; like Highlander it can be rather unkindly labelled a movie length rock video for Queen. But it’s quite a bit better than such aspersions might indicate, and is enormously good fun, so long as you don’t mind the (presumably deliberate) cheesy feel pulled from the 30s comics and serial adaptions.
There’s an odd mix of talent and nobodies; notable actors such as Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Mariangela Melato, Chaim Topol, Brian Blessed, and Ornella Muti are alongside “where are they now” fodder such as Sam Jones and Melody Anderson.
Brian Blessed enjoys a romp around as the leader of the Hawkmen with his typical bellowed delivery and general bluster fit the character nicely and is easily the most fun character in the movie; Mariangela Melato’s General Kala leaves me thinking of Servalan.
There are some amusing little touches; Princess Aura has a dwarf slave named Fellini; Fellini, as well as being a more critically acclaimed film maker than De Laurentiis, was asked to direct the film, and declined. I assume it’s meant to be an unkind reference.
Of course, the more fastidious viewer might feel uncomfortable at the unreconstructed yellow peril alarmism of Ming’s Fu Manchu-in-space. If you do, you should stop enjoying Merchant of Venice, as well.
The DVD is dual-region (R2 and R4); it’s sparse, with no special features and, oddly enough, Portuguese subtitles; it does have a (fairly minimal) 5.1 remix, and the video quality is decent enough. It’s the film itself and nothing more, which was all I was after (although a “where are they now” special feature on some of the actors might prove entertaining…).