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Old 08-27-2002, 03:39 AM   #1 (permalink)
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Flash Gordon (1980)

For some reason I was thinking about this movie today... I looked around and I guess Image Entertainment released a "naked" transfer a while back...

I see that DVDFILE never did a review of the DVD. But from everything I read, it wasn't that great. Now, the question is...is there gonna be a new release of this film?

The only place I can find a new version of the 1998 DVD is Amazon...and it's being sold for $70...for a DVD with a poor transfer and no extras!!!

Anyhow, I certainly hope we don't have to wait till 2005 for a 25th Anniversary edition. I also found info about a new, high budget ($100 mil) film. Maybe then, but this was supposed to be shot in 2000 for release in 2001.

The other thing is, I know that there is other info that can be inserted into this "Special Edition"...I found a page that mentioned the man himself sold the rights to a "Making of The Film" video to a small company.

Maybe a Petition is in order.

Any info would be appreciated.
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Old 08-27-2002, 04:27 AM   #2 (permalink)
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i bought this new when it came out as i like the wacked production design and the killer queen score. i was dissapointed by the dvd. the film is full of glittering costumes and sets, and a great deal of smoke effects. the dvd has the worst pixilation and blocking problems i've ever seen outside poorly encoded rips on a computer. plus the soundtrack is screwed up, most noticeably in the score at key points like the hawkman battle. i sold it quickly. i wish i had held onto it until i could get $70 for it!!

this movie demands a new transfer in anamorphic, a dts soundtrack, and an isolated score.
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Old 08-27-2002, 05:15 AM   #3 (permalink)
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This title might be out of print, but as one of my favorite movies, I certainly agree a reissue is in order.

Though I don't see why Amazon comes off this that $70 buck price tag.

I see plenty of copies on eBay selling from anywhere from $1.00 to $25.00, which is pretty normal selling price for DVD's on eBay. I've also seen this title startign at $9.99 to $14.99 and all the way up to orginal MSRP of $29.99 at retailers. Most places have it for under 20 bucks.

Region 2 got a pretty good release of Flash Gordon. This disk was the first DVD I bought when I got into DVD in early 1998.

Redshifter, Flash Gordon got a repressing due to that bad coding of the soundtrack. You probably had spine # 4273, which was the bad one, and was shortly thereafter replaced with spine # 4630. So if you are looking for a copy of this, make sure you get the correct spine #. I am sure all the bad ones have already been pulled.

I am so crossing my figners for a reissue of this in anamorphic widescreen and the disk getting the attention this movie so badly deserves.

-Flash
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Old 08-27-2002, 11:02 AM   #4 (permalink)
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Sometimes I get nostalgic for movies from my youth, but when I finally see them again they're not as good as I remember. I hadn't seen Flash Gordon for years until it started playing recently on one of my satellite movie stations. As campy as it is, I still love it as much today as I did all those years ago. I would definitely but it on DVD if it were released.

I taped myself a copy, but the P&Sing was atrocious :barf:
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Old 08-27-2002, 01:14 PM   #5 (permalink)
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I love this film and I am glad to have it on DVD. Of course I would love to have an anamorphic widescreen that's all cleaned up! Pleeze Pleeze!!!!

I hope they re-release it in a better transfer.

Barbarella looks great and I wished Flash looked just as good.
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Old 08-27-2002, 01:36 PM   #6 (permalink)
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They need to release FG in a Special edition like the way High lander:The immortal edition.

Anamorphic transfer, making of, Queen videos. Don't forget the 'Football Fight'!:p
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Old 08-27-2002, 02:11 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally posted by UncleFester
....Don't forget the 'Football Fight'!:p

Go Flash GO! Go FLASH GO!! GO FLASH GO!!!! GO FLASH GO!!!!
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Old 08-27-2002, 02:15 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally posted by UncleFester
They need to release FG in a Special edition like the way High lander:The immortal edition.

Anamorphic transfer, making of, Queen videos. Don't forget the 'Football Fight'!:p
Could you imagine the football scene with a nice 5.1 mix? That and the final Hawkman battle scenes.
I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

What's funny is that Flash Gordon is the second movie I ever saw on VHS when I was a kid. I bought the Image DVD of it, thinking to give it to my father when they got a player, but he can't even really watch it because it lacks captions or subtitles.
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Old 08-27-2002, 04:32 PM   #9 (permalink)
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Ahh, the Hawkman attack on war rocket Ajax.......gotta love that



**Mild spoiler**


Always loved the scene where the ship comes out of the clouds to find the hawkman army massed and waiting.
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Old 08-27-2002, 04:55 PM   #10 (permalink)
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"Gooordon's Alivvvvvee?!?!?!?'

"DIE!!!"

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Old 08-27-2002, 07:18 PM   #11 (permalink)
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So, are we starting a petition or what? I am all for it.

(Ornella Muti ... the love of my youth )

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Old 08-27-2002, 08:00 PM   #12 (permalink)
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Nice to see some fellow Flash Gordon supporters/fans here.



-Flash
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Old 08-27-2002, 08:14 PM   #13 (permalink)
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Max von Sydow as Emperor Ming is so cool!

And of course all the hot hot HOTTIES:

Sam Jones as the hunky Flash Gordon himself

Melody Anderson as Dale Arden

Sexy Ornella Muti as Aura

Timothy Dalton and I don't remember the name of the guy who played the head bird man. I've seen him in other Brit films and shows.

I love the costumes! They are awesome. And the colors. OOOH, all the colors and glitter. MmmMMM!!!!

The bad guys with the masks are cool. It looks like Battlestar Galatctica took those masks as rip-offs, ahem, inspiration for their design.

I love the leather scene when Flash is about to be executed and the cat fight scene with Dale and the other girl.

Love this movie. Maybe I can make some time tonight to watch this.
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Old 08-27-2002, 10:07 PM   #14 (permalink)
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There's nothing in any movie soundtrack anywhere like the cacophony of the hawkman attack on Mingo City. The whole soundtrack is just brilliant. The weading march is also fantastic --

'Do you, Ming the Merciless, take this earthling Dale Arden to be your mistress of the hour?'
'Of the hour, YES!'
'Do you promise to use her as you will'
'Certainly'
'Not to blast her into space?... ah... until such time as you grow weary of her?'
'I do'
'I do NOT!'

I was lucky to snap up a copy of the current disc for $7.99 in a bargin bin before it went out of print. Actually picked up Flash and They Live from the same bin, both of which I could probably sell now for three times what I paid.

Quote:
"Gooordon's Alivvvvvee?!?!?!?'
My favorite is

'Flying blind on a rocket cycle?!'

Brian Blessed is the man!
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Old 08-27-2002, 10:25 PM   #15 (permalink)
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"General Kala....Flash Gordon approaching!"

"What do you mean 'Flash Gordon approaching.'?"

Great movie. The Queen soundtrack is like the coolest thing ever (next to Star Wars of course) If I were a baseball player "Flash" would be my theme song as I came to the plate. My theory is: If someone can make a SE of Supergirl, Flash should get one too.
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Old 08-27-2002, 11:26 PM   #16 (permalink)
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>chant< Anchor Bay, Anchor Bay...

I agree, this film should get the special edition format (i.e. Legend, Tron)

Think of the extras! How about unreleased music by Queen?

Where's the petition? Lemme sign it!
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Old 08-28-2002, 01:20 AM   #17 (permalink)
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Ok...

So, it seems like there are alot of ppl that want a SE.

First off, does anyone know how to find out if MCA/Universal is already planning a release? I guess we could send an E-Mail to someone, but I AssUMe that someone here would know a slightly better way to go about this.

I see from IMDB that Cinema Classics has the distribution rights...so this might be the best one to try. Of course, it might be smart to first find out why it has been discontinued. Someone might be sitting on the rights to the film...

And then the next question would be...if noone is planning a new release (and for no good reason)...what is the procedure for starting a petition?
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Old 08-28-2002, 01:51 AM   #18 (permalink)
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Originally posted by Flash Ahhh


Redshifter, Flash Gordon got a repressing due to that bad coding of the soundtrack. You probably had spine # 4273, which was the bad one, and was shortly thereafter replaced with spine # 4630. So if you are looking for a copy of this, make sure you get the correct spine #. I am sure all the bad ones have already been pulled.

I am so crossing my figners for a reissue of this in anamorphic widescreen and the disk getting the attention this movie so badly deserves.

-Flash
thanks, flash. until they fix the video problems with the "flash gordon" dvd i have really no interest in buying it again.
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Old 08-28-2002, 02:02 AM   #19 (permalink)
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Flash Gordon is just one big sexual innuendo all the way through.

Don't believe me, watch it again. :p

Here are two Region 2 covers. The German and UK versions.

German Right on !



UK



-Flash
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Old 08-28-2002, 02:30 AM   #20 (permalink)
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I'd definately get a Collector's Edition of Flash Gordon....this is definately a film that Universal should revisit on DVD

It's a campy, cheesy, gaudy, way way over the top film. The production design is sooo wacked out and totalally unique.

I watched it recently when the Sci Fi channel had it on.

I'd like to hear a commentary by the cast and their recollections of making the movie. And certainly a nice little feature with the surviving members of Queen....

Flash Gordon..
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Old 08-28-2002, 04:33 AM   #21 (permalink)
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Old 08-28-2002, 04:55 AM   #22 (permalink)
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I'm impressed, there are alot of "Flash" aficionados here.

If others feel this way, maybe we will get an SE re-release.
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Old 08-28-2002, 12:44 PM   #23 (permalink)
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Absolutely Fucking Love this...saw it in the theaters with my dad when I was a sproutling. The dvd is pants...and DOES deserve a special kickass tits version.

As far as favorite bits and pieces...

"No Klytus...not the Bore Worms!!!" (What a sexy little nympho)

The battle on the tilting, spiked platform!

The score, the score, the score...up there with Queen's finest work EVER! The musical ques when he is being swallowed by that bloated spider...awesome.

Shit...I'm such an unmitigated fan I was Klytus at a college costume ball. "There's an obscure body in the S-K sysytem, your majesty."
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Old 08-28-2002, 04:23 PM   #24 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally posted by Jellodyne
--snip--

My favorite is

'Flying blind on a rocket cycle?!'

Brian Blessed is the man!
Damn straight! I actually met him at a convention 6-7 years ago. Buy that man a few drinks he will recreate, line for line, some of his best scenes from Flash Gordon.

Buy him a lot to drink and he'll do pretty anything at all. Scary!


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Old 08-28-2002, 05:58 PM   #25 (permalink)
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Ornella keeps herself quite busy acting overseas:

http://us.imdb.com/Name?Muti,+Ornella

My copy of Flash Gordon has pretty substandard audio for the first half of the main credits, then fixes itself. Must've been a problem with the source that no one bothered to fix. It sucks, because man those credits are cool.

I saw this movie in the theater when I was about 10 and had no concept of how sexual it was. It's a hoot to watch now: the boreworms, hah!

I'm surprised at how good the movie actually flows. It's a non-stop action fest from beginning to end as it leaps from setting to setting. I give the film editors a lot of credit for pacing the film so well.

Flash is indeed a superman. There's no way any man EXCEPT Flash could spurn Aura's advances and marry the limp Dale Arden instead.

-HM
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Old 08-28-2002, 06:28 PM   #26 (permalink)
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The first time I saw this film was when we first got to America. We were on our flight from Oakland, CA to Atlanta, GA and they played this film on the plane.

I was just on the brink of puberty. I think this movie pushed me all the way to it!!!!

A couple of years later when I saw this movie again, it made sense why I loved this film so much. SEX, gaudynes, SEX, people with tight clothes, SEX, hot people, SEX, leather, SEX, hot humid swampy worm holes, SEX, men fighting men, SEX, women rolling around in big soft warm bed, SEX.

And to think, its only rated PG. teeheeehee. See you can make good quality sex film under R rating.

This movie came just in the right time for me. I feel blessed!!!!


Flash would never fall for Aura. For the way he is, it makes sense for him to fall for a girl like Melody. Besides, Timothy looks better with Aura.

I know I am using actors name mixed with character names but I can't think right now because I am at work.
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Old 08-28-2002, 08:06 PM   #27 (permalink)
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Update...

Ok, first...I have E-Mailed an address at MCA/Universal about the DVD and any possible release in the future (this was done last night). I have not recieved any reply...

Looking around at other information, I have found that there was appearently a legal problem specifically with the DVD. Which would explain this and this and this.

Does anyone else know where we might find information on what legal problems have caused the DVD to be discontinued and if this would keep a SE from happening?

Last edited by OneFix : 08-28-2002 at 08:12 PM.
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Old 08-28-2002, 08:15 PM   #28 (permalink)
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This movie came just in the right time for me. I feel blessed!!!!
you're right, it seems like brian blessed will do anything for a few drinks!


DYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
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