The Complete Adventures of Flash Gordon

Classic Serials! New Package! Same Old Discs...
These are the classic "Flash Gordon" serials from Universal, starring Buster Crabbe in the title role, with Charles Middleton as Emperor Ming "The Merciless" and Frank Shannon as Dr. Alexis Zarkov. The first two, "Flash Gordon" (1936) and "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars" (1938) have Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, and Richard Alexander as Prince Barin, with Carol Hughes and Roland Drew in these roles for the last serial, "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe" (1940). The acting, special effects and other aspects of these are thoroughly discussed elsewhere; I'll just note that the appearance of the Flash Gordon comic strip may well have provoked over-the-top serials like "The Lost City" and "The Phantom Empire," and Universal was ready for these classics, having made the first comic strip adaptation with "Tailspin Tommy" in 1934.

This "Collectable Video-Book" is by Image/Madacy Home Entertainment, # VB9 51292, the discs being the same ones first issued by Image in 1999 with only the...

Great Serial - Poor copy!
This is one of the best serials ever made but the copies leave a lot to be desired. The film sources of each were not of good quality and it really shows! The first one is is the worst (1936). They do get better in the second and third stories (1938 and 1940) but are still not very good in quality. They will work in a pinch but with today's big screen systems, the DVD producers needs to research some high quality originals (they're out there) and present these true cliffhangers in the quality they deserve.

Three great Science Fiction Epics
While lacking modern special effects, the three Flash Gordon serials with Buster Crabbe: Space Soldiers, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe are some of the very best Science Fiction movies of all time. I have watched them a number of times, and all three are great. I like Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe the best, but the other two are outstanding also. In these movies the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad. No such thing as a “fallen hero”.

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