Universal City, April 26, 2007 – An All-American football player must foil an extraterrestrial plan to dominate the Earth in Flash Gordon: Saviour of the Universe Edition, rocketing into stores August 7, 2007 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Available on DVD for the first time, this rollicking sci-fi classic stars Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Timothy Dalton, and Academy Award® nominees Max von Sydow (Pelle the Conqueror) and Topol (Fiddler on the Roof) in the ultimate otherworldly adventure. An all-new digitally remastered picture and 5.1 Surround Sound brilliantly enhance the tongue-in-cheek dialogue, outrageous costumes and over the top sets, as well as the now legendary soundtrack by the celebrated rock group Queen. Directed by Mike Hodges (Croupier, Get Carter) and produced by Dino De Laurentiis (Barbarella, King Kong -1976), Flash Gordon: Saviour of the Universe Edition brings to the screen all the action, romance and fun of the original 1930’s comic strip that inspired it. The special edition DVD includes exclusive bonus features, packaging art by renowned comic book artist, Alex Ross, and an “alternate” collectible postcard of the packaging art that make it a must-have addition to the collection of any sci-fi fan. The creation of cartoonist Alex Raymond, Flash Gordon is the original epic outer-space fantasy. The DVD is priced at $26.98 SRP. Pre-order close is July 3, 2007.
Bonus Features Blast Off to excitement
The Special Edition DVD includes special bonus features that will take your enjoyment into another galaxy:
ALEX ROSS, RENOWNED COMIC ARTIST, ON FLASH GORDON - World-renowned comic artist Alex Ross talks about his favorite movie of all time, Flash Gordon, and about how the film has inspired him in his life and work.
WRITING A CLASSIC: SCREENWRITER LORENZO SEMPLE, JR. - Screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr. speaks about the deliberately campy script for Flash Gordon.
FLASH GORDON 1936 SERIAL EPISODE - Chapter One of Planet of Peril.
SYNOPSIS
In this wild and wacky update of the 1930's comic strip, maverick scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol) believes that energy waves emanating from a far-away galaxy are pulling the moon out of its orbit and threatening to destroy the Earth. Along with Flash Gordon (Sam J. Jones), quarterback for the New York Jets, and beautiful Dale Arden (Melody Anderson), Zarkov sets off on a rocket trip to the stars. They follow the energy waves to the distant planet Mongo, where they discover that evil despot Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow in a deliciously sinister performance) is planning to obliterate life on Earth. Ming decides to add lovely Dale to his harem of concubines and attempts to imprison Flash, who escapes and takes refuge with the planet’s rebel forces. He convinces rival Mongo princes Barin (Timothy Dalton) and Vultan (Brian Blessed) to unite their armies, and leads them in an all-out campaign to overthrow Ming and save humanity.
CAST & FILMMAKERS
Director: Mike Hodges
Written By: Michael Allin, Lorenzo Semple Jr., Alex Raymond
Produced By: Dino De Laurentiis
Director of Photography: Gil Taylor
Production Designer: Danilo Donati
Film Editors: Malcolm Cook
Costume Designer: Danilo Donati
Music By: Howard Blake
Cast: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol, Brian Blessed, Timothy Dalton
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
DVD
Street Date: August 7, 2007
Pre-Order Close: July 3, 2007
Copyright: 2007 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Price: $26.98 SRP
Selection Number: 61032983
Running Time: 1 Hour 52 Minutes
Layers: Dual Layer
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)
Rating: PG
Technical Info:
English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
PieterMC wrote: About time it was released in the US again. Not sure if I will buy it again though since I have the R2 DVD.
Not much reason to buy it considering the overall suckiness of the special features included. My only reason to buy is the improved video/audio....I'm still horribly disappointed though.
It's sounds pretty much the same as the last R2 release. The picture transfer was not that great on that. At least this will stop people from having to pay $50 + on ebay to buy the R1 release though.
Is the R2 Surround music "separated" at all?
In other words, the ultimate would be Freddie's vocals isolated to center or something, but it's almost worth it if for example the "crash dive" music is in the rear surround channels, and all the laser noises are in other channels.
I wonder how much of the album "A Kind of Magic" ISN'T in surround, after GVH2 and Highlander DVDs :)
Wow ... those special features are not that special. Why not interview Mr. May about the soundtrack? He loves to talk and that project was pretty much his baby anyway. Missed opportunity.
ern2150 wrote: Is the R2 Surround music "separated" at all?
It doesn't say anything about the music being surround mixed. This is for the film, not the album.
ern2150 wrote:
I wonder how much of the album "A Kind of Magic" ISN'T in surround, after GVH2 and Highlander DVDs :)
Erm...GVH AKOM tracks were definitely surround when I last listened to them. And again, with a film soundtrack they're not obligated to mix a band's music in surround.
Adam.
I wonder if I have a different R2 release then...mine's the 25th Anniversay Edition. It's one of the best DVDs I've ever seen...barely an pixelation, looks like they shot it yesterday. But since it's PAL it could be that some people's players aren't doing a very good job of converting it to NTSC or something.
Adam Baboolal wrote: It doesn't say anything about the music being surround mixed. This is for the film, not the album.
Right, but it's always been apparent that the film music is different from the album, but it's usually been impossible to separate the dialog/sound effects from that music. I was just wondering if the surround mix (film and music) made that any easier.
Adam Baboolal wrote: Erm...GVH AKOM tracks were definitely surround when I last listened to them. And again, with a film soundtrack they're not obligated to mix a band's music in surround.
Sorry I wasn't clear. What I mean is, of all the songs that are featured in Highlander, plus all of the songs that are featured on GVH, are there any "leftovers"? I'm pretty sure "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" didn't make it to either :)