Campy to a fault with a self-aware sense of humor, Mike Hodges’ with gusto in 1980. Although the movie bombed in most markets (only becoming a box office success in the UK), it has since gone on to become a beloved cult classic.
As with any troubled production, there are a ton of fascinating stories from behind the scenes of Flash Gordon. Sam J. Jones wasn’t as clean-cut and heroic on the set as he is in the movie, while Queen weren’t the first choice to perform the soundtrack, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
George Lucas Tried And Failed To Get A Flash Gordon Movie Made Years Earlier
The unexpected success of Star Wars led to a wave of pulpy science fantasy movies. Flash Gordon was one of the movies made to cash in on Star Wars’ success. Ironically, Star Wars had been heavily influenced by the early Flash Gordon serials and grew out of Lucas’ failure to get his own Flash Gordon movie off the ground.
Lucas tried to acquire the rights to Flash Gordon after making American Graffiti, but couldn’t get past the red tape, so he wrote his own space opera instead, and the rest is history.
Sam J. Jones Kept Getting Into Fights During Filming
During the filming of Flash Gordon, Sam J. Jones kept getting into fights. One day, he couldn’t make it to the set, because he was hospitalized with a massive scrape across his face following a heated scuffle.
Producer Dino De Laurentiis stormed into the operating room to ensure that the doctors could fix his face and there wouldn’t be a scar mes his movie’s continuity.
Kurt Russell Turned Down The Role Of Flash Gordon
Producer Dino De Laurentiis’ top choice for the role of Flash was Kurt Russell, but the Escape from New York star turned down the part, as he didn’t feel that the character had enough personality.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was then up for the part, but he was turned down because of his unshakable Austrian accent. The producers also considered Dennis Hopper for the role of Dr. Zarkov.
Federico Fellini And Sergio Leone Were Considered For The Director’s Chair
Before hiring Mike Hodges, the producers of Flash Gordon considered such iconic filmmakers as Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, and Nicholas Roeg for the director’s chair. Fellini actually worked on the original comic strip during World War II and had the option to the film rights that prevented George Lucas from making his version in the early ‘70s.
Leone turned down the job because he didn’t think the script was faithful enough to the comics. Roeg wanted to take the stories too seriously, swapping out the campy, theatrical tone of the old serials for the story of a cosmic messiah.
Star Wars’ Director Of Photography Handled The Cinematography For Flash Gordon
Out of all the movies trying to copy Star Wars in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Flash Gordon was one of the few to recruit the people that actually made Star Wars.
The producers of Flash Gordon tapped veteran cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, who worked as the director of photography on Star Wars, to bring a hazy, fantastical, dreamlike quality (achieved using camera filters) to their movie.
Flash Was Supposed To Have Blue Eyes, But Sam J. Jones Couldn’t Wear s
Sam J. Jones dyed his dark hair blond for the role of Flash Gordon. Conversely, Melody Anderson dyed her blonde hair brown for her own role.
Gordon was also supposed to have blue eyes, but Jones couldn’t wear the lenses, so it didn’t happen.
Pink Floyd Were Considered For The Soundtrack Before Queen Were Hired
Producer Dino De Laurentiis had never heard of Queen when they were recruited to write the Flash Gordon soundtrack in 1979. When he was sent to a meeting with the band, he reportedly asked, “Who are the Queens?”
Before choosing Queen, Mike Hodges considered asking Pink Floyd to write the soundtrack. He even played Floyd’s music on the set.
Brian Blessed Received £30,000 For His Role
Brian Blessed was a huge fan of the original Flash Gordon comics during his childhood. His favorite character was Prince Vultan, so it was a dream come true to land the role in a movie adaptation.
According to Blessed’s autobiography Absolute Pandemonium, he earned a relatively measly £30,000 for his role in Flash Gordon, but he had a ball shooting the movie. He reportedly ruined a few takes by adding in the “pew-pew!” sounds himself.
Sam J. Jones Did A Lot Of His Own Stunts
Sam J. Jones landed the title role in Flash Gordon after producer Dino De Laurentiis’ mother-in-law spotted him in an episode of the reality show The Dating Game.
Since he was six feet tall, it was difficult to find stunt doubles for Jones and he ended up doing a lot of his own stunts for the movie.
This Movie Was Originally Planned As The First Part In A Trilogy
The cast of Flash Gordon was signed on for a trilogy, with this movie serving as the first part. However, there were problems with Sam J. Jones during post-production, which cast doubt on a sequel, and then the movie bombed at the domestic box office, which killed the sequels entirely.
However, as the movie has gone on to become a cult classic, Hollywood has renewed interest in Flash Gordon’s franchise potential and a reboot is in development.
