Film
Flash Gordon
Other titles called Flash Gordon: the 1980 film.
- Action
- Space opera
- Action thriller
- Relentless
A 1936 serial adventure that invented the visual language of space opera. Flash Gordon is pure Saturday matinee energy—colorful, earnest, relentlessly entertaining, with art deco sets that still dazzle. It's for anyone who loves retro-futurism, camp that doesn't wink, and the raw joy of adventure cinema before irony set in.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love pulp adventure played with straight-faced sincerity, where rocket ships, ray guns and capes are treated as serious business and the camp is part of the pleasure.
Skip it if you need modern pacing and polished effects, because the effects show their age, the acting is broad, and at four hours it tests patience a slicker film never would.
What it asks of you: Settle in for roughly four hours of breathless, uninterrupted plotting, with the tone running from earnest to cheerfully absurd and little time spent on quiet moments.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century1979
Gil Gerard's wisecracking pilot carries this campy-but-sincere space adventure that captures Flash Gordon's DNA: stranded hero, impossible odds, planetary peril, and that delicious 1970s retrofuturism. Fun and genuinely imaginative.
But The episodic structure means quality varies wildly. Some weeks it's sharp; others drift into Saturday-morning tedium.
The Fifth Element1997
Luc Besson's explosion of color and romance channels Flash Gordon's pulp spirit through 90s maximalism. Corben's comic book art, Bruce Willis stumbling through absurdity, and genuine heart beneath the chaos make it a spiritual descendant.
But The plot is paper-thin and gets increasingly silly. If you need coherence, the third act will test your patience.
Barbarella1968
Jane Fonda in a space bikini fighting planetary tyrants with camp and style. It's Flash Gordon for the psychedelic age—silly, sexy, colorful, and totally committed to its own ridiculousness. Pure pleasure.
But The satire is broad and sometimes lands awkwardly. Some find it dated in ways that feel uncomfortable rather than charming.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Flash Gordon
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Metropolis1927
Flash Gordon inherits Metropolis's aesthetics and structure—the outsider who sees injustice and becomes a hero. Lang invented the template.
Fritz Lang's vision of the future established the visual and narrative language Flash Gordon speaks. Before Flash, Metropolis created the grammar of sci-fi cinema—city planets, mad tyrants, working-class heroism, dazzling sets.
But It's long, silent, and requires patience with 1920s pacing and acting. The restoration helps but it's still an endurance test.
More like this (7)
Flash Gordon1980
Mike Hodges' cult remake understands the serial perfectly—it's Flash with a Queen soundtrack, Max von Sydow's Ming, and Tim Topham channeling innocent heroism. Garish, energetic, and weirdly moving.
But It's deeply 1980s in ways that haven't aged well for everyone. The tonal whiplash between camp and sincerity bothers some viewers.
John Carter2012
Andrew Stanton's Mars adventure is Flash Gordon DNA filtered through modern spectacle—a fish-out-of-water hero, impossible planetary odds, and genuine sincerity about adventure. The production design is stunning.
But The script is overstuffed and the pacing drags. Critical drubbing means it carries baggage that affects viewing experience.
Avatar2009
Cameron's alien world adventure inherits Flash Gordon's outsider-hero structure and the innocent-man-saves-the-world energy. Stunning visuals and world-building carry an earnest adventure story.
But The plot is genuinely predictable and the dialogue occasionally cringeworthy. The colonial narrative is complicated in ways the film doesn't fully grapple with.
Forbidden Planet1956
Walter Pidgeon and an all-star cast explore a mysterious planet with genuine sci-fi ideas beneath the adventure trappings. It's Flash Gordon grown up—more serious, more ambitious, still thrilling.
But It's slower and more cerebral than Flash Gordon. If you want pure action, the philosophical detours will feel like delays.
The Black Hole1979
Disney's weird space opera pits a crew against an eccentric tyrant commanding a strange ship. Earnest, visually ambitious, and genuinely unsettling in places—proof that 70s sci-fi could be strange and sincere.
But The middle sags and the plot becomes increasingly confused. It's visually striking but narratively frustrating.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace1999
Both are sincere space serials where an innocent hero stumbles into galactic conflict. Both have devoted defenders who love their unironic earnestness.
George Lucas filmed his childhood love of Flash Gordon serials as a 90s blockbuster—planet-hopping adventure, space battles, earnest heroism, colorful worlds. It's closer to Flash Gordon than most give it credit for.
But The dialogue is stilted, the Jar Jar character is actively annoying, and the plot meanders. It's the least essential Star Wars film and carries massive franchise baggage.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen1988
Both are earnest adventure tales where an outmatched hero must navigate absurd worlds using wit and courage. Both prioritize visual wonder over coherent plotting.
Terry Gilliam's baroque fantasy captures Flash Gordon's spirit of colorful adventure and impossible odds, but in a fantastical register. Sumptuous visuals, a hero defined by imagination, and an evil bureaucratic enemy—the serial DNA in disguise.
But It's visually chaotic and narratively opaque. Some find Gilliam's indulgence exhausting rather than delightful; it demands you surrender to its logic.
People
Cast
Buster CrabbeFlash Gordon
Jean RogersDale Arden
Frank ShannonDr. Hans Zarkov
Charles MiddletonMing the Merciless
Priscilla LawsonPrincess Aura
Richard AlexanderPrince Barin
Jack 'Tiny' LipsonKing Vultan
James PiercePrince Thun
Theodore LorchHigh Priest- Earl AskamOfficer Torch
Richard TuckerProfessor Gordon
George ClevelandProfessor Hensley
Directing
- Frederick StephaniDirector
- Ray TaylorDirector
Writing
- Alex RaymondCharacters
- Basil DickeyScreenplay
- Ella O'NeillScreenplay
- Frederick StephaniScreenplay
- George H. PlymptonScreenplay
Production
- Henry MacRaeProducer
- Robert M. BecheProducer
Recommended by
Superman, Woman in the Moon, Just Imagine, The Phantom Empire, The Mysterious Island, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, A Trip to Mars, Missile to the Moon, The Phantom Creeps, Daredevils of the Red Circle, Devil Girl from Mars