Barbarella (1968)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Roger Vadim

Writers:

Jean-Claude Forest (comic "Barbarella") and
Claude Brulé (collaborating writer) ...

Release Date:

10 October 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Fantasy

Tagline:

Who seduces an angel? Who strips in space? Who conveys love by hand? Who gives up the pill? Who takes sex to outer space? Who's the girl of the 21st century? Who nearly dies of pleasure?

Plot:

In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people.

Plot Keywords:

Evil | Planet | City | Sex | Machine

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jane Fonda	...	Barbarella
John Phillip Law	...	Pygar
Anita Pallenberg	...	The Great Tyrant
Milo O'Shea	...	Concierge / Durand-Durand
Marcel Marceau	...	Professor Ping
Claude Dauphin	...	President of Earth
Véronique Vendell	...	Captain Moon (as Veronique Vendell)
Giancarlo Cobelli
Serge Marquand	...	Captain Sun
Nino Musco
Franco Gulà
Catherine Chevallier	...	Stomoxys
Marie Therese Chevallier	...	Glossina
Umberto Di Grazia
David Hemmings	...	Dildano

Also Known As:

Barbarella (USA)
Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) (cut US version) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Approved | USA:PG (re-rating) (1977) (cut) | West Germany:16 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Trivia:

The scenes during the opening credits where Barbarella seems to float around her spaceship were filmed by having Jane Fonda lie on a huge piece of plexiglas with a picture of the spaceship underneath her. It was then filmed from above, creating the illusion that she is in zero gravity. (If you look carefully, you can see the reflection in the glass as she removes her gloves.)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Barbarella first has to go down for a crash landing, she puts her right arm up to her head. However in the next shot her left arm is up to her head.

Quotes:

The Great Tyrant: Hello, pretty pretty.
Barbarella: Hello...
The Great Tyrant: Do you want to come and play with me? For someone like you I charge nothing. You're very pretty, Pretty-Pretty.
Barbarella: My name isn't pretty-pretty, it's Barbarella.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

Love Theme from 'Barbarella'

the most beautiful film ever made

This film is beautiful. From the gorgeous Jane Fonda, and sexy Pygar to the wonderful costumes, and the very shiney sets, there is nothing ugly in the whole thing.

Unbelievably silly it has some fantastic lines of dialogue like "de-crucify the angel or I melt your face!" Great characters, a killer lava lamp, fur lined space ship and a villain called Duran Duran.

The evil organ of desire scene, and the opening strip tease still manage to be erotic, even though this film is dated. Cult with a capital C, this is never going to appeal to a mainstream audience, and yet remains my favourite movie of all time. A classic. And very pretty pretty.