Mike Hodges

Best known for the hard-edged crime thriller Get Carter, Hodges took Flash Gordon in the opposite direction entirely — full, knowing camp spectacle rather than straight-faced space opera. He came to the project after producer Dino De Laurentiis's original choice of director departed partway through pre-production, and Hodges deliberately steered the film toward self-aware, theatrical excess. The film has since become a beloved cult classic despite a mixed critical reception on release.