11 Songs That Were Far Better Than The Movies They Were Made For

If ever there has been a song that was more brilliant than the film it was written for, then Queen’s 1980 smash hit is it. Pretty much everything in this song, with one noticeable exception, is of the highest order.

From Roger Taylor’s ominous drum beats to John Deacon’s simmering bass, Brian May’s withering bursts of electric guitar and synthesiser and of course Freddie Mercury’s powerful falsettos, the song was close to perfection. The one downside of the song? Well that would have to be the lines of dialogue from the film inserted into the song, proving a case of the film cheapening what is an otherwise glorious epic Queen hit.

Epic is not a word one would use for the Flash Gordon film, a deliberately over the top film with all the class and style of a high schooler’s media project. It’s hard to know which part of the film is more cringeworthy, the ham-fisted acting, dreadful dialogue- “Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the earth!”- horrific action scenes that were even bad by 1980 standards or woeful attempts at tension building such as the tree monster scene. Seeing poor Timothy Dalton missing the point and playing this scene straight is hard to watch.

Flash Gordon made back its money and has built up a cult following over the years, but compared to its ripping soundtrack led by the brilliant title song, Flash Gordon the Movie really did fade into insignificance.