{"id":114467,"date":"2020-08-10T17:38:21","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T16:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=114467"},"modified":"2020-09-13T12:07:21","modified_gmt":"2020-09-13T11:07:21","slug":"flash-gordon-4k-ultra-hd-review-more-than-a-cult-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/reviews\/flash-gordon-4k-ultra-hd-review-more-than-a-cult-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Flash Gordon 4K Ultra HD review: More than a cult classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is a cult classic? The term gets bandied about quite a lot these days but it\u2019s generally considered as a film that has a dedicated following. 1980\u2019s Flash Gordon<\/strong><\/em> certainly is a cult classic in that sense \u2013 Flash<\/strong><\/em> fans are as dedicated as they come, which is clearly seen in the immense queues for the film\u2019s cast and crew at comic cons and the like. It\u2019s evident in the catchphrases you may have heard over the years: the \u201cGo Flash Go!\u201d or the \u201cGordon\u2019s Alive!\u201d. Or in its everlasting, catchy soundtrack by the incomparable Queen. It\u2019s also clearly seen in the appeal of documentaries such a Life After Flash<\/strong><\/em> and for this very 40th-anniversary restoration DVD and Blu-ray edition of the film.<\/p>\n

However, in addition to all of that, the term \u2018classic\u2019 really works for Flash<\/strong><\/em>. A movie that, 40 years later, still has those queues, those documentaries, this \u2013 quite frankly \u2013 immense new DVD and Blu-ray edition that StudioCanal has painstakingly restored in 4K Ultra HD. This endurance has pushed Flash Gordon<\/strong><\/em> not only into its cult classic status but propelled it into a genre entity of its own \u2013 an example of what a cult classic truly means.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which, it\u2019s this endurance that means the movie still appeals today and for those who haven\u2019t seen it, this is the way to watch it. It\u2019s the story of all-American hero Flash Gordon (Sam J Jones) who \u2013 along with love interest Dale (Melody Anderson)<\/a> and scientist Zarkov (Topol) \u2013 gets unwittingly transported to the planet of Mongo, ruled by the evil Ming (Max von Sydow). Bored, Ming has decided to play with Earth by causing natural disasters and when Flash and co are brought to him, he immediately sets sight on Dale to use for his pleasure, orders Flash to be killed and decides to brainwash Zarkov. It\u2019s up to Flash to save the Earth, his love and his friends, and perhaps along the way try to find a way to take down Ming and his dictatorship…?<\/p>\n

Based on the original comic strip of the same name created by Alex Raymond and directed by Mike Hodges (<\/a>Black Rainbow, The Terminal Man<\/strong><\/em>), Flash Gordo<\/strong><\/em>n takes its comic book lineage seriously, creating a colourful, fun, action-packed movie that has enough thrill for young audiences and more than enough double entendres for the older folks. It\u2019s about as far away from the MCU as you can get and so you can’t really compare it to the comic book movies of today. In fact, there isn’t much out there that you can compare it to \u2013 managing to balance cheesiness with a genuine sweetness, and with production sets and costumes that are a \u2013 er \u2013 marvel to behold, Flash Gordon<\/strong><\/em> needs to be seen to be believed.<\/p>\n

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Those costumes were glorious…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Furthermore, this wouldn\u2019t be a decent cult classic if there weren\u2019t just as many stories behind the camera as in front. Flash<\/strong><\/em> was originally intended to be directed by Nicolas Roeg (Don\u2019t Look Now, The Man Who Fell To Earth<\/strong><\/em>), who put in considerable work during pre-production before its producer \u2018Dino\u2019 De Laurentiis reportedly wasn\u2019t happy with the way the movie was going and Roeg was replaced by Hodges. In fact, you can see some of the original ideas for the film in one of the many excellent extras included on this new edition. This includes an interview with writer Michael Allin and some of the other key people behind the original production who discuss what Roeg\u2019s film was going to be like \u2013 including key themes and original sketches of costumes. Allin \u2013 who considered Roeg not just as a colleague but as friend and brother \u2013 gives us some insight into what it was like to work with the director and his feelings on how the final version of Flash<\/strong><\/em> came out.<\/p>\n

Speaking of extras, this special edition has some other absolute gems where you can look at original behind the scenes footage or listen to audio commentaries from Hodges or star Brian Blessed who played the winged Prince Vultan. Speaking of the great Brian Blessed \u2013 make sure you check out his anecdotes on the new special edition for some truly hilarious stories from filming.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re a die-hard Flash<\/strong><\/em> fan or you\u2019ve heard the casual \u2018GORDAN\u2019S ALIVE!\u2019 and want to know what all the fuss is about, this new 4k Ultra HD restoration is a must.<\/p>\n

The 40th Anniversary Flash Gordon Ultra HD DVD and Blu-ray, as well as a special steelbook and five-disc collectors’ edition, is out now.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’ve heard the stories. You’ve shouted the quotes. You’ve listened to the Queen soundtrack. Now it’s time to experiece Flash Gordon in 4K Ultra HD….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":114470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":""},"categories":[2617,3,8],"tags":[53],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Flash-Gordon-Main.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114467"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}