There are movies that whisper.
There are movies that speak clearly.
And then there’s Flash Gordon—a movie that arrives in a rhinestone rocket ship, punches subtlety in the face, and asks, “Did someone order camp with a side of Queen?”
Released in 1980, Flash Gordon is what happens when you give a space opera a makeover by Liberace and say, “Just go with it.” Between the bombastic soundtrack, eye-melting costumes, and dialogue so hammy it should be served with pineapple slices, this cult classic refuses to do anything quietly.
And thank the space gods for that.
Queen Did the Soundtrack… Somehow Without Reading the Script
Yes, that Queen. Freddie Mercury, Brian May, the whole glam rock brigade. And no, they didn’t write the score because they were huge Flash Gordon comic fans. According to Brian May, they were sold on the project after a single meeting with producer Dino De Laurentiis—who, legend has it, couldn’t even speak English well enough to explain the movie properly.
Did that stop Queen from composing one of the most iconic theme songs of all time? Nope. They just leaned in, threw in some laser zap noises for good measure, and made magic.
“FLASH! Ah-AHHHH!”
The only lyrics you need when fighting space tyranny.
The Costumes Were Designed by Someone Who’d Clearly Just Seen Ziggy Stardust
Enter Danilo Donati, an Oscar-winning costume designer best known for his work with Fellini… and now also the man who dressed Prince Vultan in metallic feathers and leather harnesses like a member of Space KISS.
Donati was reportedly given complete creative freedom—which is Hollywood-speak for “no one told him no.” The result?
- Ming the Merciless looks like an evil wizard who wandered into a drag pageant and decided to stay.
- Dale Arden goes full fashion show every time she’s kidnapped. Because why not get brainwashed and serve looks?
- Flash mostly sticks to his tight red T-shirt and pants combo, which somehow still makes him the least outrageous person in the entire film.
Fun fact: the production spent over $1 million on costumes alone. Worth it? We’re going with “absolutely.”
The Sets Look Like a Pulp Comic Threw Up on a Discothèque
The production design is a whole vibe. A vibe that says, “We have three buckets of glitter, a fog machine, and no brakes.” The film was shot entirely at Shepperton Studios in England, and practically everything you see is hand-built. This was before CGI—so every glowing throne room, swirling vortex, and death spike hallway is the result of real people going “Sure, this makes sense.”
One behind-the-scenes gem? Director Mike Hodges said that he basically “made it up as he went along.” Which explains so much and also makes us love it more.
The Dialogue Was Rewritten Daily. By Whom? Unclear.
Originally, Flash Gordon had a script. What happened to it is still up for debate. Rumor has it rewrites were done constantly, sometimes on the same day as shooting.
Sam J. Jones (Flash himself) and De Laurentiis didn’t get along—so much so that most of Flash’s lines were later dubbed by someone else. That’s right: the hero of the movie isn’t even using his own voice in many scenes. Just vibes.
Max von Sydow, somehow, plays Ming the Merciless like he’s in Shakespeare in the Park, and the rest of the cast follows suit with performances that swing wildly between “Saturday morning cartoon” and “community theater but with fog machines.”
There Were Injuries. There Was Drama. There Were Hawkmen Crashes.
The costumes may have looked cool (debatably), but they weren’t exactly OSHA-compliant. Brian Blessed, who played Prince Vultan with the subtlety of a cannonball, said the Hawkmen’s flying rigs were a nightmare. They’d crash into walls. Harnesses snapped. People bled.
Did that stop him from yelling “DIVE!” like his life depended on it? No. In fact, Blessed claims to this day that Flash Gordon is his favorite role. (And, frankly, it shows.)
Campy? Yes. Legendary? Also Yes.
Flash Gordon was never going to be Star Wars. It didn’t want to be. Instead, it embraced its comic book roots, cranked the dial to 11, and said, “Let’s make this look like a rock concert on Mars.”
And you know what? It worked. The film bombed in the U.S. but became a cult classic in the U.K., where people apparently understood that this was high camp masquerading as a sci-fi epic. Or maybe they just really liked sparkly shoulder pads.
Final Thoughts: Long Live the Cheese
In the age of gritty reboots and dark, brooding heroes, Flash Gordon is a glorious reminder of what happens when a movie says, “You know what? Let’s just have fun.”
Is it overacted? Definitely.
Is it stylish to the point of absurdity? Without question.
Is it completely unforgettable? Oh, absolutely.
So grab your cape, fire up Queen, and remember: you don’t have to be subtle to be iconic.
“FLASH! Ah-AHHHH!”
(He may not have read the script, but he still saved every one of us.)