If you’ve never seen Flash Gordon (1980) then you’re not really alive. It is truly a phenomenal achievement and a brilliant all round movie. Whilst the character existed long before this film, on radio, T.V. and comics, it’s the Sam J. Jones incarnation we’re celebrating here.
He Saved Every One of Us!
He’s angel blonde, a man so pure of heart,
a deeply human hero, brave as he is smart
With wits as quick as the bolt on his chest,
as human beings go Flash is the best
Taken to space by chance, he’d soon fight Ming;
and Flash’s name became a song to sing
We saw him die, held on with bated breath,
but luckily Flash Gordon cheated death
Brian Blessed boomed, bleating Flash’s name
during Flash and Barren’s deadly game
When Flash won, he still held out his hand,
helping unite foes, so they’d understand
that moral courage always wins the day
We wouldn’t have Flash any other way!
All words by Benjamin Francis Cassidy
Illustration by L. A. Cassidy
Brian Blessed (Voltan in the movie) called Sam J. Jones “pure” and an astounding hero. I know because I was there when he said it, when I met him last year (and Flash himself, Sam, too!) Blessed also rightly pointed out that the movie paved the way in the super hero genre and on a small budget achieved some incredible effects. It’s up there with the best of the genre. Oh, and the soundtrack will make you feel like you might just catch fire at any moment (in the best possible way, of course!). See you next week, Earthlings!
