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Friday, July 31, 2009

Two-Block Radius / Homo / Film Tonight in the Gayborhood: Flash Gordon

Posted by on Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 4:18 PM

4cc4/1249081519-scaled.samjonesflashgordon.jpg

Tonight at Cal Anderson Park, Three Dollar Bill Outdoor Cinema continues its summer series of beloved '80s trash with 1980's Flash Gordon.

I have never seen 1980's Flash Gordon, but every bit of info I learn about it makes me think I should. Specifically:

*Leading man Sam Jones posed nekkid for Playgirl! And eyewitnesses say his performance in Flash Gordon is "bulge-o-rific!"

*Soundtrack by Queen!

*Villainy by Max Von Sydow!

*An 83% positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with the movie mag Empire opining, "This campy extravaganza has it all—heroes, villains, beautiful women and high stakes. Laughably bad and fantastically good all at once, this is a guilty pleasure that everyone can enjoy."

If all that's not enough to entice you, there's this:

Gay nerd herd!

Tonight a bunch of gaymers are meeting up to watch Flash Gordon in Cal Anderson Park. We're meeting at Molly Moons for ice cream at 8. About 20 people are going so far but it would be great to get the word out to more gay nerds. I'll be wearing a Flash Gordon tshirt!

Gay nerd herd! Movie starts around 9pm, when the sun goes down. Bring blankets for the grass (and vice versa). Free!

 

Comments (23) RSS

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1
I'm amazed you haven't seen this, Schmader. It's so amazingly painfully good and awful at the same time. I feel like I saw it a million times on cable growing up.
Posted by bookworm on July 31, 2009 at 4:26 PM
Timrrr 2
+Richard O'Brien to boot!!!
Posted by Timrrr on July 31, 2009 at 4:35 PM
michael strangeways 3
Flash IS the saviour of the universe...

ah-HAH.
Posted by michael strangeways http://www.seattlegayscene.com/ on July 31, 2009 at 4:39 PM
PTrig 4
Spoiler Alert: The movie could have ended 63 seconds into it had only Ming not said, "I like to toy with my planets before I destroy them" and pushed the damn button. Great movie.
Posted by PTrig on July 31, 2009 at 4:53 PM
Grrr 5
The hawk-men...OMG, King Vultan and the hawk-men! Gotta love their fake-ass wings.
Posted by Grrr on July 31, 2009 at 4:53 PM
6
I saw it when I was 10 and loved it. I saw it again last year at the age of 38 and loved it on a totally different level. It's fun, doesn't take itself seriously and actually has the cool 1930's Sci-Fi feel to boot. And Topol, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed... Awesome!
Posted by TORMATO on July 31, 2009 at 5:17 PM
Summerisle 7
This movie will shake you to your soul!
Posted by Summerisle http://www.facebook.com/biggieJ?ref=name on July 31, 2009 at 5:24 PM
rob! 8
God, I remember that Sam Jones layout--I think it's the first Playgirl I ever girded up my loins to buy. Not specifically motivated by his inclusion; that was just the issue on the newsstands that month. He did have a nice sword, though. Never saw the movie; wish I lived in Seattle so I could join the herd.
Posted by rob! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZBdUceCL5U on July 31, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Rotten666 9
HAWKMEN! DIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

Brian Blessed is the greatest actor ever. How can you not love this mother fucker?

http://sleevage.com/wp-content/uploads/2…
Posted by Rotten666 on July 31, 2009 at 5:40 PM
rob! 10
Wow. Wikipedia says Sam Jones's Playgirl appearance was in 1975. That would make me a pimply teenager furtively checking it out at the drugstore rather than marching up and slapping it (the magazine) on the checkstand.
Posted by rob! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZBdUceCL5U on July 31, 2009 at 6:04 PM
Fifty-Two-Eighty 11
This is an absolutely Godawful movie. But fun. And WTF, the price is right.
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty http://www.nra.org on July 31, 2009 at 6:12 PM
12
Plus Ornella Muti as Princess Aura. The idea that any heterosexual man would choose good-girl Dale Arden over her is pure science fiction.
Posted by Proteus on July 31, 2009 at 6:15 PM
mike in oly 13
One of my all time favorite movies. Spectacularly bad, cheesy, sexy, and wonderful at the same time. Flash in those itty bitty black shorts made my teenage gay self just tingle all over. And everyone in it is in some kinda drag. I have seen it at least once every few years since it hit cable in the early 80's. Even bought the DVD (and I rarely ever do that - it's one of 8 I own). To this day I tell people I want my 'own private pleasure moon'. Gayest. Movie. Ever. And yet never skimped on the boobs either! Wish I could be there!
Posted by mike in oly http://enotaipes.blogspot.com/ on July 31, 2009 at 6:16 PM
Summerisle 14
Gosh golly I forgot how hot Ornella Muti was in that movie. Thanks for reminding me Flash.
Posted by Summerisle http://www.facebook.com/biggieJ?ref=name on July 31, 2009 at 6:44 PM
15
This villian's demise at the movie's end is by far the best Freud-style repressed homosexual desire/wish fufillment/death-gasm ever captured on celluloid! Highly recommended for that alone.
Posted by enonymoose on July 31, 2009 at 6:48 PM
16
Director Dino DeLaurentis was so pissed at Sam Jones for the Playgirl spread that they had a very public feud about it and DeLaurentis swore he would blacklist Jones from the movie industry. Apparently he was pretty successful as Jones never had another major film role again.
Posted by MichaelB on July 31, 2009 at 7:38 PM
17
Emporer Ming awats!

Somehow this is one of the movies that led to Timothy Dalton becoming Bond?
Posted by Zander on July 31, 2009 at 7:49 PM
18
For the bears out there:

Brian Blessed in leather - 'nuff said.
Posted by Foo on August 1, 2009 at 2:00 AM
hartiepie 19
@16 ---Sounds apocryphal to me seeing as the Playgirl spread was made 5 years before this movie was made, and the guy has been working ever since....
Posted by hartiepie on August 1, 2009 at 7:53 AM
20
Jones actually clashed with the director, who retaliated by overdubbing his husky Southern drawl with a vapid male ingenue trill.
Posted by Gry on August 1, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Keekee 21
Comic Geek Alert:

I believe that Brian Blessed has been cast as Odin in the Thor flick coming out next year.
Posted by Keekee on August 1, 2009 at 10:49 AM
22
No!!! Not the BORE-WORMS!!!!!!
Posted by Cornhole on August 1, 2009 at 1:55 PM
michael strangeways 23
i think the paucity of Sam Jones credits would have more to do with his lack of talent than any sort of DiLaurentian blacklist...
Posted by michael strangeways http://www.seattlegayscene.com/ on August 3, 2009 at 9:52 AM

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