Directed by Roger Vadim
Writing credits Jean-Claude Forest Claude BrulĂŠ Terry Southern Roger Vadim (screenplay) Vittorio Bonicelli Clement Biddle Wood Brian Degas Tudor Gates Jean-Claude Forest (writers)
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis Cinematography by Claude Renoir Film Editing by Victoria Mercanton
Crew and Details Release Date: 18 October 1968 (Italy) Genre: Sci-Fi; Adventure Runtime: 98 minutes Country: Italy; France Language: English Filming Locations: Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Barbarella 1968
Cast Jane Fonda John Phillip Law Anita Pallenberg Milo O’Shea Marcel Marceau Claude Dauphin VÊronique Vendell Serge Marquand Catherine Chevallier David Hemmings Ugo Tognazzi
Barbarella Pygar The Great Tyrant Concierge / Durand-Durand Professor Ping President of Earth Captain Moon Captain Sun Stomoxys Dildano Mark Hand
A voluptuous outer space agent travels to another galaxy in search of a missing inventor in this science fiction sendup. Barbarella, an iterstellar representative of the united Earth government in the 41st century, is dispatched to locate scientist Durand Drand, whose positronic ray, if not recovered, could signal the end of humanity. Outfitted in an array of stunning Star Trek/Bond girl outfits and cruising around in a plush, psychedelic spaceship, Barbarella travels to the Tau Seti system and promptly crash-lands. She then spends the rest of the film discovering the joys of interstellar sex with a keeper of feral children, a blind, beatific angel, and an inept revolutionary named Dildano. Slowly but surely, she also finds her way to Durand Durand by moving from one exotic, Wizard of Oz-style lo-
Summary
cale to another. Along the way, she meets the kindly Professor Ping, a Eurotrash dominatrix named the Great Tyrant, and the Concierge, a strangely familiar lackey of the Great Tyrant who tries to destroy Barbarella with his great big organ of love. Jean-Claude Forest, who created the character Barbarella in 1962 for V-Magazine, served as visual advisor on the adaptation. The film’s missing scientist character famously inspired the band name of ‘80s pop stars Duran Duran (who altered the spelling slightly). Almost two decades later, the film also inspired electronic act Matmos, which was named after the aqueous personification of evil unleashed by the Concierge at the movie’s climax. Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Barbarella was the first science fiction comic strip hero to be adapted into a movie instead of a serial (Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, her male predecessors, had only appeared in episodes up to this point). “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?”(these are the taglines for the Barbarella movie). As this suggest, the woman on the movie is totally represented as a sex symbol. She is the hero who saved the universe, however, a fragile and girly one (as a woman was supposed to be, at least on the past).
The criticism of the “female role” will manifest in 1963 with the release, the USA, Betty Friedan’s book, “The Feminine Mystique,” in which the author criticizes the coercive role of “bride” and “mother”, the American woman, and claims the equality of women to men in professional, cultural and political (the current egalitarian feminism). So we start to see Barbarella as the savior of the world. Although the traditional references, Barbarella is dressed in modern clothes, and she still is occasionally saved by men who “pay” with virtual sex. Her hair is curly, so she still seems the traditional woman of the 50’s with the hair of “mother”. The creators of the film, though more modern, still
See Barbarella do her thing!
The girl and the Movie
wanted to keep the idea of “weak woman” who must be rescued by several men, unable to protect themselves. The film was both a box office and critical failure on its release. Variety’s review stated that “Despite a certain amount of production dash and polish and a few silly-funny lines of dialogue, Barbarella isn’t very much of a film. Based on what has been called an adult comic strip, the Dino De Laurentiis production is flawed with a cast that is not particularly adept at comedy, a flat script, and direction which can’t get this beached whale afloat.” Despite this, in the years since its initial release, Barbarella has garnered a cult following.
Jane Fonda (1937) She is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model and fitness guru. She describes herself as a liberal and a feminist. Jane Fonda started her career in the movies with the forgotten 1960 comedy Tall Story. A decade later she was a movie star in her own right, having gone from the sex kitten in 1968’s Barbarella to earning a reputation as a serious actress, winning Oscars for her roles in Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978). She announced her retirement from acting in 1991, but returned to film in 2005 with Monster in Law, Rule, released in 2007.
Actress and Director Roger Vadin (1928 – 2000) Was a French journalist, author, actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. During the 1960s, Roger Vadim used a formula in further sexsymbol presentations of his later wives and love-partners, such as Catherine Deneuve in Le vice et la vertu (1963), and Jane Fonda in La curée (1966), and then in the title role in Barbarella (1968) and Brigitte Bardot in “And God Created Woman”. Vadim died at age 72 of lymphoma and is buried in the St. Tropez Cemetery, Saint Tropez, France.
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.” vampiremovies from Suf-
folk, uk
The greatest psychedelic science fiction sex comedy ever made! “I think my interest in cult and bizarre began from seeing this classic slice of 1960s psychedelic trash for the first time. Jane Fonda has never looked lovelier than in this movie, and manages to really pull off Barbarella’s wide-eyed innocence.” Infofreak from Perth, Australia
Beyond imagination “This is a movie you have to see, or you will not believe it. Categories like “good” or “bad” simply do not exist in the aesthetic limbo in which this film was made. I should mention I saw Barbarella in a movie theatre in Montreal, and there is no other city in the world where Barbarella’s “parlez-vous français?” (uttered twice!) sounds more hilarious.” Albrecht Gaub
from Madison, Wisconsin
Barbarella Psychedella “A must-see for late 60’s shagadelicity.” Jonah Falcon, New
York, NY
Incredible fun scifi movie “The movie make me laugh nearly whole time. Sarcastic future vision and self ironical future technology make this movie most excellent. Jane Fonda do so great blonde role in main role of the movie, that you should watch this movie for that if you don’t found any other reason.” Elerond
Sexy and colourful
User Reviews
2009/2010 Laboratorio di Sintesi Finale Maria Carvalho Ferraz de Figueiredo
“The story is not memorable... but the sets and costumes are “out of this world”. Be prepared for a fairly slow film...and don’t expect to get emotionally involved.” taniak from Australia