Flash Gordon! King of the Impossible!
I have not seen this movie since it came out in 1980, but in re-viewing it, all I can say is wow! With a camp factor so high (like your intrepid narrator) and winking at the camera so blatant, I thought I was going to have a seizure. It was hard to not eat this up all over again.
Our hero Flash is played by the weirdly cast Sam J. Jones. His acting ranges from a dazed look suggesting he can barely remember his lines to a lot of running around in shirts with Flash or a lighting bolt on it. He must have something Flash-like on his person no matter what the circumstances. This is akin to the swashbuckling hero never losing his hat. Consequently, most of his dialog was dubbed in post-production. Jones largest claim to fame before Flash Gordon was a 1975 centerfold in Playgirl.
Everyone else involved had slightly more interesting pedigrees: Michael Hodges directed Get Carter, one of the best gangster films of the 70s with Michael Caine. Timothy Dalton would one day play not the most mediocre, but not the best James Bond. And the biggest star of the entire film is the unforgettable soundtrack by Queen which will stay with you for days, if not forever. I didn't even touch on some of the most amazing sets, Max Von Sydow playing Ming the Merciless, and the loudest Vultan, King of the Hawkmen, ever. If you have not seen this masterpiece in some time or at all, go treat yourself today. Diiivvvveeeee!
On a dark side note and because Hollywood can’t get behind origination, Flash Gordon is slated to be remade.