Editing Flash Gordon (section)

===''Flash Gordon'' 1980 film===
{{Main|Flash Gordon (film)}}
In the 1970s, several noted directors attempted to make a film of the story. [[Federico Fellini]] optioned the ''Flash Gordon'' rights from [[Dino De Laurentiis]], but never made the film.<ref name="sw">[[Dale Pollock]], ''Skywalking : the life and films of George Lucas'' New York : Da Capo Press, 1999. {{ISBN|0786749768}}, (p. 101)</ref> [[George Lucas]] also attempted to make a ''Flash Gordon'' film in the 1970s, but was unable to acquire the rights from De Laurentiis, so he decided to create ''[[Star Wars]]'' instead.<ref name="sw"/><ref name="rm">[[Ric Meyers]], ''S-F 2 : A Pictorial History of science fiction films from "Rollerball" to "Return of the Jedi"''. Secaucus, N.J. : Citadel Press,1984. {{ISBN|0806508752}} (pp. 167-8).</ref> De Laurentiis then hired [[Nicolas Roeg]] to make a ''Flash Gordon'' film, but was unhappy with Roeg's ideas, and Roeg left the project.<ref name="rm"/> De Laurentiis also discussed hiring [[Sergio Leone]] to helm the ''Flash Gordon'' film; Leone declined because he believed the script was not faithful to the original Raymond comic strips.<ref>[[Christopher Frayling]], ''Sergio Leone: Something To Do With Death''. London, Faber and Faber, 2000. {{ISBN|0571164382}} (pp. 6, 377)</ref><ref>Michael Carlson, ''Sergio Leone''. Harpenden: Pocket Essentials, 2001. {{ISBN|9781903047415}} (p.22)</ref> Finally, De Laurentiis hired [[Mike Hodges]] to direct the ''Flash Gordon'' film.<ref name="rm"/>

Hodges' 1980 ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]'' film stars former ''[[Playgirl]]''-[[centerfold]]<ref>[http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=103475&section=review ''Flash Gordon'' review for UK TV's '''Channel 4'''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226200933/http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=103475&section=review |date=2013-12-26 }}. Retrieved January 2, 2009.</ref> [[Sam J. Jones]] in the title role. Its plot is based loosely on the first few years of the comic strip, revising Flash's [[backstory]] by making him the [[quarterback]] of the [[New York Jets]] instead of a [[polo]] player. Raymond's drawings feature heavily in the opening credits, as does the signature theme-song "[[Flash (song)|Flash]]" by rock band [[Queen (band)|Queen]], who composed and performed the entire musical score.<ref name="CCT">[http://www.coolcinematrash.com/cctmovies/flash-gordon/ Cool Cinema Trash's ''Flash Gordon: Saviour of the Universe Edition'' DVD Review & Summary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225014802/http://www.coolcinematrash.com/cctmovies/flash-gordon/ |date=2008-12-25 }}. Retrieved January 2, 2009.</ref>

Riding the coat-tails of ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'', ''[[Superman (1978 film)|Superman]]'', and ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'', ''Flash Gordon'' was not a critical success on release. [[Melody Anderson]] co-starred with Jones as Dale Arden, alongside [[Chaim Topol]] as Dr. Hans Zarkov, [[Max von Sydow]] as Ming, [[Timothy Dalton]] as Prince Barin, [[Brian Blessed]] as Prince Vultan, [[Peter Wyngarde]] as Klytus and [[Ornella Muti]] as Princess Aura. Produced by [[Dino De Laurentiis]], with ornate production designs and costumes by [[Danilo Donati]], the bright colors and retro effects were inspired directly by the comic strip and 1930s serials.<ref name="CCT"/>

Brian Blessed's performance as the Hawkman leader [[Prince Vultan]] lodged the veteran stage and screen actor into the collective consciousness for the utterance of a single line&nbsp;&ndash; "GORDON'S ALIVE?!"&nbsp;&ndash; which, more than 30 years later, remained the most repeated, reused, and recycled quotation from both the film and Blessed's career.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2207279 "Brian Blessed" at the BBC's H2G2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105185220/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2207279 |date=2010-11-05 }}. Retrieved January 2, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.dwscifi.com/news/2001-gordon-s-alive-flash-returns-to-cinema-screens "Gordon's Alive! Flash returns to cinema screens"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120730020751/http://www.dwscifi.com/news/2001-gordon-s-alive-flash-returns-to-cinema-screens |date=2012-07-30}}, May 21, 2008, report for [[Dreamwatch]]'s ''Total Sci-Fi'' website. Retrieved January 2, 2009.</ref><ref>The singular phrase was much-used to refer to British [[Prime Minister]] [[Gordon Brown]], including [http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=189641&d=1061&h=0&f=0&dateformat=%25o%20%25B%20%25Y Glen John Feechan's Accounting blog] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219065455/http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=189641&d=1061&h=0&f=0&dateformat=%25o%20%25B%20%25Y |date=2008-12-19 }}; Blessed himself on ''[[Have I Got News For You]]'' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1gwVIhJ8II Series 35, episode 3] (broadcast on [[BBC1]], May 2, 2008); [[Steven Poole]] [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/sep/30/featuresreviews.guardianreview10 reviewing ''Gordon Brown: Speeches 1997–2006''] for the ''[[Guardian (newspaper)|Guardian]]'' newspaper, etc.</ref>

The film's cult status led it to feature heavily in the comedy films ''[[Ted (film)|Ted]]'' (2012) and ''[[Ted 2]]'' (2015) causing a resurgence in interest in the film.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/11/flash-gordon-star-sam-j-jones-seth-macfarlane-and-/|title='Flash Gordon' star Sam J. Jones on Seth MacFarlane and 'Ted' films|newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=2018-04-15|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-04-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415190335/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/11/flash-gordon-star-sam-j-jones-seth-macfarlane-and-/|url-status=live}}</ref>