terrible... so disappointed.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Howard ziehm himself is a great comic fan and so he set up a parody of Flash Gordon in the style of the 30s/40s Tijuana bibles which were essentially porn spoofs of popular comic strips. As a parody the film is actually quite funny with genre parody with lots of elements from the original comic strip but also plain slapstick and silliness. Nevertheless -as Ziehm himself states in the audio commentary- the film is actually about 20-30 minutes too long. Hardcore it is not and Ziehm himself was adamant about the film not being shown in porn cinemas but rather in the art-house circuit. From an F/X point of view the film is actually reasonably well made for its age (released in 74 but shot in 71), particukarly the monster sequences. Flash Gordon is a very suitable object for that sort of treatment as the comic strip always had a massive undercurrent of S/M in it.

At a time when porn movies were inching closer to the mainstream this film was made to capitalize on that trend. Unfortunately the films cost over-runs and a subsequent police raid necessitated the removal of almost all of the hardcore material (although you can still spot a bit of X activity if you watch the revelers in Wang's throne room during the orgy sequence). Perhaps the biggest surprise of this film is that the deleted scenes have allowed this film to reach a much broader audience and has led directly to its status as a cult classic.Jason Williams plays Flesh Gordon who along with Dale Ardor (played by adorable porn star Suzanne Fields) get kidnapped by Flexi Jerkoff and together they zoom across the galaxy to stop the evil emperor Wang's sex ray from bombarding the earth.The goofy names and the sex ray subplot make in pretty clear where the humour is directed. Sure it aims pretty low but it actually works very well. It is next to impossible to be offended by any movie that is this goofy. Everything from the design of Flexi's ship to the look of the aliens puts a sexual spin on the sci-fi genre. Special credit must be given to the amazing monster (voiced by Poltergeist & The Incredibles Craig T. Nelson) that Flesh faces at the movies climax. It is a glowing tribute to Ray Harryhousen although it is given dialogue that none of his creatures would ever think to say.Sure this film is not for the timid but it can present a fun evenings viewing for any open minded adult but you may want to ignore the long after the fact sequel Flesh Gordon meets the cosmic cheerleaders. The special effects are good but the dialogue is simply too lame and it falls far short of the quality of its predecessor.

i remember seeing this at my fathers shop when i was about 6 and always wanted to see it, of course he would not let me watch it knowing full well what it really was but me as a little kid thought it was all about flash Gordon, ha, i wish, anyway after years and years of not seeing it i finally decided to rent it out and oh my lord, what a disaster, not only is it not good its not sexy either, it has a stupid plot, stupid characters, Wang in particular, and the whole thing is just campy and lame, i suggest that nobody on this fair planet ever watch this heaping pile of dung, i certainly wish i hadn't, i should have just lived with the illusions that i had of it as a child. damn my inquisitive nature.

While it is most definitely a porny, the writer, director, and cast clearly did their homework. Everything from the lighting design to the scene wipes were solidly based in the classic Buster Crabbe "Flash Gordon" series. The SFX so closely duplicate the effects of the 30's SF films, and are a delight for any adult who remembers seeing Flash Gordon save the Universe in 13 episodes. One of the best scenes is, of course, the Monster vs. Flesh. Animated in the classic Willis O'Brien/Ray Harryhausen style, it's a treat to behold. Not to mention funny and sharp. However the Rapist Robots, and the swordfight scene come in as close second and third.The storyline is coherent (a rarity for a XXX feature), and the actors clearly are having a lot of fun making it...so to speak. Admittedly, the sex and nudity isn't for everyone, but for those who enjoy a well-built film as well as a (mostly) well-built cast, it's a treat. Make sure you get the "directors cut" wide screen version.