Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All (1/9)

[mofrakker]

Still remember the music. Think NBC skipped the war intro.

[ripsaa2003]

OMG just saw the whole thing...off the hook....belly dancers, Hitler, half naked Aura..what else do u want?

[mondomark]

This would air occasionally on a Saturday morning on ITV in the UK during the 80s. I videotaped it and nearly wore the tape out...I do have a soft-spot for the Mike Hodges film and the Buster Crabbe serial, but this really is the best version of Flash Gordon story...

[Thor13332]

I've seen the 79 series but not this.

[invisibleman275]

This type of animation sort of reminds me of the early superman cartoon films that were made.

[TSearcy]

Like Dido said, "And I want to thank you. For giving me the best day of my life."

This show was the highlight of my Saturday Morning.

[Okamidachisan]

Lol at 8:08-8:14.... it reminded me of Classic Batman for some reason....(The 60's tv series, live-action.)

[JCLeSinge]

The animation here, even from the first shot, is superb. I'm also struck by the adult themes right from start; Nazis, air-raids, death and destruction... this is not the quaint silliness I was expecting.

[TIGERZY2K]

Flash Gordon is the cartoon version of Star Trek & Star Wars.Since Flash Gordon comics are concerned with travelling in various celestial bodies,this makes it zillion times better than the IQ below 20 cartoons like Pokemon.

[DarthDemaric]

Actually, I saw this in 1988. It was broadcast on a local channel in some of the last days of the independent TV stations. Now everything is all networks.

[TheCharacterActor]

OH YEAH!. Best non-Japanese animation ever!

[alphazeta99]

you ever hear the word...mongo?

(apparently it summons a meteor storm)

[Jeffrywith1e]

WOW @ the WWII stuff! Too bad it didn't make the DVD.

[UraganOtEnergiya]

wow, I think I had this thing on a VHS as a kid... it got broken and I never watched it again since then... If it's that, I'll be glad to watch it again and find more in the movie than just the cartoons & action I used to see as a kid. Thanks for uploading!

[leftcoast67]

The guy who voiced Flash Gordon is the same guy who voiced Tarzan?

[pele6922]

5:04=what Dale Arden doesnt know is that there were plenty of other parachutes. Flash pulled a real stud move.

[waynedaly100]

its stupid that the cut out all the ww2 stuff for the tv version,i wish it came out on dvd

[BigLouieLittlePhilly]

6:12&6:19 lol!

[pypeworld]

It's a damn shame Filmation won't release this fantastic animated film, as the 1940s time line shouldn't prohibit a DVD copy, especially when most 21st century people realise the atrocious errors of the World War 2, after all it's an animated feature not Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

[amaxamon]

This SO annihilates that awful awful live action movie!

[punkrockpub]

Awesome movie!!!! Is this available on HD/DVD or Blu-ray????

[tarsus85]

this is high class animation for a pre 80' cartoon

[themoviedudesteam]

man I used to have this after superman 2 on a VHS I had recorded from the TV but lost it 20 years ago! Thanks for the post!

[oldgamergeek]

I remember my Dad and I watching this together and him telling me about growing up during the depression and than World War Two , how his aunt died in a concentration camp and Evil should always be fought.

[AvEryBadApPLe]

Mmm, bacon.

[JEEminn3000]

Filmation always has the best cartoons.

[UltimateThanos]

Wow, the animation is allot more fluid then on Fat Albert of He-Man.

[hcvang]

@UltimateThanos He-Man was rotoscoped, the same as Flash Gordon... I think you need to go back and see your DVD's again, 'cause Filmations animation was never bad. Never. The art style, too, is absolutely wonderful, dont you think? all-american cartoon heroes should look like Filmations artists drew them =)

[24aaa]

you may not know this, but the creator Flash Gordon, Alex Raymond, was inspired by the Barsoom series (or John Carter of Mars series) by Edgar Rice Burroughs

[Jormungandor]

@hcvang I know you wrote this 8 months ago, but I just wanted you to know I agree completely. I often wonder why the cartoons of this caliber died off and were replaced by the dross that's around today. Half the crap my kid watches is just plain hideous. What I like best about this is that stays true to Williamson's artwork.

[0Vuuk0]

@hcvang obviously you've never seen /watch?v=32FB-gYr49Y

[MisterFruitbowl]

FLASH! AH AAAAAHHHHH! Saviour of the universe!

[Karmoon7]

An integral part of my childhood.

I see it after many years and realise that it is still high quality.

[rustyATV]

4:50 - Just a sign of how drastically the airlines have cut costs; they used to supply parachutes to the passengers!

[erikchicom]

@rustyATV yes i want my freaking parachute in case something goes wrong. specially when they tell you that they are fixing the plain with you in it, and then you have to take off??????

[wakawakawuwi]

flash gordon is a cool guy haha ....isu zobbi

[FoxPlant2006]

Flash Gordon started in 1934. They captured Ming and returned to Earth during World War II. Flash was first played by Larry "Buster" Crabbe, who won a gold medal in the 1932 Olympics for the 400 meter freestyle competition in swimming.

[teberson]

Eu assisti todos os episodios desse desenho quando eu era criança,deveria passar de novo. nao gosto mt dos desenhos de hj,guardo baos recordaçoes dessa epoca.parabens aos fundadores desse desenho .

[XMChipXM]

Thanks for posting this! I've never seen this movie, but I NEVER missed the show on Sat. mornings as a kid!

[mturnerr11]

ok, bombs going off,and he RINGS THE FUCKING DOORBELL!?WHAT THE HELL?!

[JPlenda]

Awesome post! I loved the black and white serials, back in the day, and I've never seen this before. Thanx a million! It's funny: Flash referres to the smog in 1940's southern California. A bit of "late 70's early 80's" attitude.

And...It would have been Jesse Owens to make headlines in the last Olympics. No big deal...Those details reveal layers of history.

[CultAuthor]

I cannot thank you enough for posting this. It's resoundingly glorious - probably the best thing Filmnation ever did - and you have shared with us something only ever aired three times in the States and twice in England if the interviews with some of its creators are correct.

[hcvang]

This is THE best film adaptation of Flash Gordon EVER.. the movie, the other animated series and the recent TV series all suck ass compared to Lou Scheimers dream project.

This wasnt kept off the air because of Nazi's being in it - how many episodes of Wonder Woman and of other series and films contain Nazi's, without being taken off the air? LOTS.. this was entirely because of De Laurentiis' motion picture, that this one was put on the backburner.

[Apokalypez]

Still the best animated movie ever!

[alxxz]

This is an awesome film!! I grew up watching the Flash Gordon Animated series, but this film is so much better! The animation & music are excellent!

[cglenwood4]

i remmber this cartoon in erie they need to put it back on tv sat'

[hcvang]

@cglenwood4 It doesnt exist anymore, only in this sort of form... the original negatives were lost or destroyed. All we have is whatever master tapes may be out there, and those would be great, and VHS recordings like this.

[Yeivo]

goclickyourself, in what format is your copy of this movie. Is it or will it be commercially available?

[robcat2075]

The poster claims the movie was suppressed because "the story is associated with Hitler's Third Reich"?

First... highly doubtful.. and second, as if that ever stopped anything from getting attention.

[s0renK]

@robcat2075 I own a vhs copy of this movie where all references to nazi germany is cut out. As a result of this many of the scenes are reused with new dialogue and the plot is significantly different. The worst thing is that the movie just ends without the plot being resolved and as the credits roll stills from the real ending is shown.

[hcvang]

@robcat2075 yeah that's complete bullshit. the movie was supposed to go into theatres but it never happened because of the big live-action film coming into play, so this one went out on ABC as a movie of the week, and the cut of the film we're watching doesnt exist anymore. negatives were either lost or destroyed, so all that we have are VHS recordings like this or whatever master tapes from networks that might be out there..

[DNotes06]

@hcvang: Actually, it was played on NBC on a Saturday Night, but you're right about it being part of the Movie of the Week. At the time, I was 7 or 8, and I dug the old school series, the cartoon series and the live action movie.

I thought I died and went to Heaven when this came on TV at the time!!!

[batmous]

It almost looks like Filmation had rotoscoped a few shots in this series.

[hcvang]

@batmous They rotoscoped every airplane and space ship in here. Not to mention a few of the stock shots are rotoscoped - some of the best animation ever. They did that on most shows.

[IPman77]

Brilliant animation, reminds me of being a kid. To think that this was the film that George Lucas wanted to make but was turned down and he decided to write his own space flick. The force is strong with this one!

[lcx0r]

O.M.F.G... this is pure, distilled awesomeness. A sea of kudos for this upload!

[Nowhereman10]

A real shame this superbly animated movie never got released. It's clearly ment for a more mature audiance than most animation at the time or now in the U.S. often is. In the animated '79 series you can tell the movie animation from the fill-in material quite easily. I hope someday that Filmation will release this on DVD or Blu-ray as it deserves to be.

[3089280288]

@Nowhereman10 It was first intended to be live action but it would have busted thier budget so they animated it instead

[harrow177]

It's a long time I've seen this. It's a lot more better than the movie. The movie was just pants.

[7ineedalife7]

poor pilot. got pwned by gravity

[TRKoneAD2]

Thanks for posting...this will just further my YouTube addiction...

I totally forgot about this one...the series is on dvd - Who's 'the collector' is he/she selling more copies?

I'm glad there's YouTube.

[stembrick]

if they made the live action like this i´d watch it, but ill probly end up like G.i.Joe or something like that, "harmless" action and sure money the first week :(

[x1expert1x]

is that hitler at 2:27 ?

[Cap285]

I haven't seen this since I was a kid! Thanks for posting!

[msm2you]

One of the things I adored about this film - and the first season of the series - was the animation style and design (loops notwithstanding).

I would love to see new film of the genre if not another Flash tale.

[Dylanio21]

I love the voice talent.

Anyone else reminded of Fleischer Superman while watching this?

[renstafari]

Anyone know why this wasn't included in the DVD release of the show?

I smell a lawyer!

[Johnlindsey289]

WOW, a lost animated gem from Filmation as it's best movie along with Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night. Anyone remembers that one? that's another enjoyable Filmation animated feature from the same makers and stars James Earl Jones with a solid cast.

[TheLuaquente]

Thank you for the post. Good times!!

[BTX61]

This is from the original broadcast in 1982. It's not later animation. I still have it (On old Beta yet!)

[Astrozombbie]

someone to know where I can find the music?

I tryed per years but I can´t find the soundtrack of this cartoon!!

please someone help me!

[anonyms404]

Hey folks - I know a lot of people have said this predated the tv series, and I've also read that ...BUT... if you look at the opening animation of Flash - when he confronts the dying Dr. Yanush ... the shadows and everything look much more like later 80's (even 1990's) Filmation animation. So my questino is - might some of this have been ADDED in later to expand the original movie? (I saw this movie as a kid and don't remember some of these parts) . Please chime in if you have info or ops.

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

No, it's all from the late 70's rotoscoping technique. The animation is the same throughout. Same style.

[anonyms404]

Franklin - couldn't disagree more, what i mentioned in the opening with the dying Yanush and the way the shadowing is done on Flahs's face is markedly all the rest of the animation - and in that part they did not use rotoscoping (you can tell) ...my point is that it looks like later filmation animation - just that scene (not the stuka's/divebombers etc. - just the scene in Yanush's study)... it's a much later filmation style.

[Johnlindsey289]

@anonyms404

There was no Filmation in the 90's except for Happily Ever After which was their last animated movie didn't got released until 1993.

[Neville6000]

@Johnlindsey289: The studio died in 1989 with Happily Ever After.

[AlarusOne]

Oh sweet Lord this is good! I had no idea there was a feature movie like this. I saw the animated series...but this is pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing this!

[Zaranyzerak]

Such a shame this wasn't included with the boxed set of the series. It's one of the few Filmation movies I'm missing, and by far one of the best they ever made!

[Akirajay38]

the guy who wrote the script for this animated movie was was hired by george lucas himself (who was a fan of the 30s serials) to write it in 1976 when the studio gave lucas the go ahead to produce and direct a flash gordon movie, the writer was a huge fan of the original comic strip, but dino de laurentiis convinced the studio that both the writer and lucas didnt know how to handle science fiction and got lucas and the writer fired, the script was turned into this, and lucas made star wars

[ste309w]

And I'd like to know what de laurentis knows about making SF lol

His version of Flash is a joke from start to finish and Dune could have been better. Still, I suppose its who you know and not what you know in the movie business.

But does make you think how Lucas's version would have turned out.

[digglyda]

Ha, ha. The animated Flash Gordon is more lifelike than the guy who played him in the film...just as I remember.

[chattykat5116]

how does dale know its millions of miles to mongo?

[powerdesa]

so true

well she's a classic woman and the MEN are gonna do the JOB

she might be guessing its far :):)

god point

funny

[Akirajay38]

they are in outer space and even in the 30s and 40s they new how far other planets were.

[neddx]

This is such a beautiful and awe-inspiring film I'm so glad I could see it

[dougd1015]

The animation style and writing is actually superb.

[AbeIn2D]

I'm in awe of this animation. It's addictivly watchable

[squeezynz]

good grief, I didn't even know there was a pilot movie for this series. I still have some of the series episodes on vhs somewhere......always thought this series was better than most.

[sugarraykirk]

I seem to remember watching this on several successive Christmas' holidays. An absolute classic. Thanks for the upload.

[Ecohillsolutions]

Flash's friend who dies in the opening minute is really type cast. He dies in every cartoon he's in.

[tunkunrunk]

very good cartoon , original flash gordon .

if james cameron or steven spielberg or the matrix makers could do a good scien fiction with it

[enpeliculado]

flash gordon 1936

flash gordon 1938  el viaje a marte

flash gordon 1940 la conquista del espacio

flash gordon serie de tv Flash Gordon Steve Holland sci-fi series 1953

flash gordon 1980 LA PELICULA sam j. jones

flash gordon tv serie animada 1979

flash gordon la mas grande aventura de todas 1982 pelicula animada

[enpeliculado]

donde se puede descargar en optima calidad gracias?

[TR50003]

Wow I remember this!!! I saw this when I was six years old. This brings back memories. This is way better than the live movie. They don't make cartoons like this anymore. Thanks so much for uploading the movie.

[luis6079]

If only a big time director with the love and passion (Like Jackson and King Kong) would make a live action film of Flash Gordon - can you imagine?! I am a BIG FG fan and was so dissapointed at the 80's movie and nearly suicidal over the TV show...

[NJburbsSeeker]

I liked the 1980's film...like a giant Queen video. lol But seriously the TV series was so bad. The folks at SyFy didn't even say it was canceled they just let it disappear. It is a great setting and story plenty to do with it with the right people. There is a script being written right now though.

[severin9000]

Really thanks for posting this, it must have been quite an effort, love it... : )

[jmadtoyou]

Thanks for posting.

[5916michelangelo]

ok Im confused I bought the dvd box set this was not in it I did read that their was a 2 hour movie only released in Europe in 1980 part of a deal between Filmation and Dino de larauntis is this it

[lancomanfredi]

Da bambina avevo tutti i fumetti di Flash Gordon, li adoravo, mi piacevano tantissimo i disegni e gli abiti di tutti.. specialmente Dale.... lo stile art nouveau... che meraviglia

[tfer1961]

while the rock opera-camp queen Flash Gordon was produced exclusively by De Laurentis. He had actually helped Filmation finace the 80's series as a prelude and interest gatherer to his live acxtion film.

[tfer1961]

The major model work and rotoscoping was very cost prohibitive for Filmation. It was his investment that helped them down the road with later series like He-man and others since the massive rotoscope reference work was done for this seriies. the references of motion were easily used for many of their final tv series. And it did air on Nbc on a friday night almost a year after his LIve Action film release in 81.

[hcvang]

Filmation.

Best.... fucking.... studio.... EVER!

[xoxBastetxox]

What a gentleman, pulling a lady lake a dog on a leash XD And it's Janusz, not Jano you jerk! ;)

[datfay]

aaaaahhhhhh I remember this, I had this recorded on VHS and remember watching it over and over as a kid. Shame my mum threw away the VHS by accident X____X

[crateos]

great to have stuff like youtube and folks like 'goclickyourself' eh? Although, strictly speaking its piracy

[jroosa030]

Thank you for uploading this. I too was disappointed that this wasn't included on the series DVD. I remember watching this as a kid, and having to turn it off as my Mother tells me "They'll play it again during the summer."

[imthehardest5]

I remember this cartoon back in 1979. It came on right after Spiderman And His Amazing Friends

[MDthornton83]

I remember this movie. I haven't seen it in a long time. But it's great to finally see it again after all these years. This is truly a great cartoon film. It's a classic.

[hcvang]

It's wonderful, yeah.

Isnt it just terrible that the reason this thing wasnt released theatrically, is that the live-action movie's producer had it blocked, because of his film?

De Laurentis' liveaction movie really stinks... I cant imagine how cool it would've been to see this in a real cinema. I'll bet it would be awesome, if it had ever happened. =(

[MDthornton83]

Good point. I wasn't around when this movie was released. But when compared to the live Flash Gordon film, this movie would have done great had it been released theatrically.

[Larz9220]

wow the animation is great! the music is fantastic!

[captain516]

This reminds me of the Fleischer Superman shorts.

[hcvang]

Those are fantastic, too.

I wish they hadnt discarded the opening scenes of this movie, so they could release it properly on DVD... I would buy that in a hear beat.

[Callabretto]

Hmmmm, this looks a lot like the film adaptation "flash Gordon" rather old for me, it was the type of vid that works best as a cartoon (like this) (this amazeing, that camp and boreing)

[hotpeach9]

I remember this cartoon movie before it was featured on the saturday morning list of cartoons back in the day.Great Filmation animated show based on the Alex Raymond comic strip.Bob Ridgely was masterful as the voice of Flash Gordon.

[hqmarcos]

Hey guy, sorry for my bad inglish, but whow make get this original file with complete movie? Rapdishare please!!! for good... thank you.

[7DARKHELLS]

This is the best film adaptation of the comic strip Excellent!!!!

[pypeworld]

One of Filmation's finest moments, it really dos pay tribute Alex Raymond's version of Flash Gordon.

The animation is rather dated, but the art design has a wonderful retro science fiction style.

[garthbo76]

I remember seeing this when I was a kid...damn they should re-release this on DVD

[SirPepe666]

Its already released, pal

[rad4life1]

wow! I haven't seen this in years! awesome!

[DasGoldenBoy]

Thank you, so much. I vaguely remember the Saturday Morning cartoon from then but I had never seen this feature and I have always heard how good it is. Thank you, thank you ad infinitum.

[MexiGojira]

you sir, deserve a medal for uploading this!

[thecap38]

has this been released on dvd.

[kentucky0rose]

it's on dvd? woooow i gotta get it hahaha:))

[mapz182poi]

WOW. nice movie. 5 stars

[thecap38]

remember this when i was a kid.its ACE,great 2 c it again.

[Steambull1]

Thank you so much for uploading this rarity!

[goclickyourself]

I got a copy from a collector in United States.

[InvisibleAvenger]

Ahh, thanks for the heads up - I think I'll try to track down a copy.

[hcvang]

@goclickyourself Quality any good?

[doctorkazoo]

OK, you've probably answered this a billion but I'm too lazy to sift through all the comments so I have to ask...where the heck did you get this!?? This is a real gem! Also...do you know if it was ever made available commercially? I got the DVD set a while back and THIS wasn't included! This is too fantastic!

[InvisibleAvenger]

Goclickyourself hasn't replied in the comments about where he found the movie at - I'd love to know as well.

As far as I have been able to determine, sadly this movie has never been made available commercially. From what I read about the Flash Gordon cartoon set, unfortunately rights issues prevented this movie from being included in the set.

[JDB73]

I also was upset this was not on the DVD set. I was hoping for EVERYTHING to be included on the DVD of Flash. That means the original opening with the Nazi planes. I was very disappointed this was not included. Thankfully it's still alive on youtube.

[thelionwaits]

Te company, Fimation, did a lot of rotoscoping of a bunch of the technology (ships,planes, etc. This was the last show they did this with. Their future endeavors (He-man, She-Ra rotscoped only human motions used for stock footage.

[newtheatron]

Oh my gosh, how come we never heard of this. The story is rich and the animation is so artistically fluid! AMAZING!:)

[InvisibleAvenger]

The opening shot on the dive bombers [as they begin to dive] is very impressive - they planes almost look 3 dimensional for a second or two.

[InvisibleAvenger]

I've been wanting to watch this for a long time now - like Flashmikko it seems like I've been looking for this.

[Flashmikko]

Where did you get this? I've been looking high and low for a copy of this!

[Curt0103]

This is excellent. Thanks

[mihambroz]

Thank you so much for uploading this... just brings back so many memories ;)

[oneilljones]

This was the first film I ever watched on VHS, and I haven't seen it for nearly 25 years. The first time I happen to think about searching for it on here, I find it was only uploaded 1 week ago.. What's that all about.

Bloody brilliant though. I remember every scene.

[assurbanipalsegundo]

Gordon is alive!!!