Barbarella

If you're looking for a quality science fantasy experience, you will probably be disappointed in BARBARELLA, which tells a typical story of an intergallactic astronaught who is sent on a mission to save a brilliant scientist from the clutches of an evil force that threatens to destroy the universe.

On her quest she finds daunting foes, unexpected comrades and twists and turns like any good superhero story should have. The only problem is that her world is made up of Christmas lights, cellophane and balsa wood, and it's all held together with scotch tape.

However what some might consider schlock entertainment, I saw it as pure camp all the way, with some hysterical situations and outrageous costumes draped over not-so-difficult-to-look-at actors (especially our babe-o-naught Ms. Fonda), and to top off the cake we have an icing of infectious music by comedic composer Charles Fox (9 to 5, Foul Play) and singer/songwriter Bob Crewe.

This is pure candy all the way so don't expect any nutrition here, but if you let it happen instead of looking for more, you may find yourself inspired to watch it again and again, when you don't feel like using any brain cells in this dimension.

Really and truly, this could be the plot of one of the more "high-brow" types of porn. I watched this with a bunch of other girls for a class, and we could not stop laughing the entire time.

See Jane Fonda meet men from around the galaxy, and have sex with them! Dare your friends to count how many times she changes her costume!! Sparks deep philosophical discussion, like what exactly the writers were on when they wrote this. Great fun, not to be missed!

I first saw 'Barbarella' on TV as a small child in the 1970s and along with 'The Omega Man', 'One Million Years B.C.', and 'Jason and the Argonauts' the movie blew my tiny little mind! I think my interest in cult and bizarre began from seeing this classic slice of 1960s psychedelic trash for the first time. This is one of the silliest movies ever made, but still one of the most entertaining. Jane Fonda, then at the peak of her sex kitten period (history lesson - this was before "radical Jane" and "corporate Jane"), has never looked lovelier than in this movie, and manages to really pull off Barbarella's wide-eyed innocence. Anita Pallenberg (co-star of 'Performance' and then Keith Richards' "old lady") is stunning as The Great Tyrant, even if her voice is dubbed, and her handful of scenes with Fonda are unforgettable. The rest of the eclectic supporting cast includes cult favourites John Phillip Law ('Diabolik') as Pygar, the blind angel, David Hemmings ('Profondo Rosso') as Dildano a revolutionary, and Milo O'Shea ('Theatre Of Blood') as renegade Earth scientist Duran Duran. 'Barbarella' contains some of the most striking and surreal images of the 1960s (the doll attack scene is one of my all time favourites!), and is definitely one of the most bizarre science fiction movies ever made. Like many of the 1960s more excessive movies it is a real love it or hate it proposition. I love it of course, and think it, Russ Meyer's 'Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!', and Roger Corman's 'The Trip' are the three greatest 1960s trash classics. This is simply absolutely essential viewing for all 1960s buffs, science fiction or otherwise. Long live 'Barbarella'!

Comic Strip brought appropriately to life . Tremendous fun, amusing scenes , psychedelic frames and many other things . In the far future, the year is 40,000. The protagonist is a highly sexual woman named Barbarella (Jane Fonda , Sophia Loren turned down the title role) is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand (character famously inspired the band name of 1980s pop stars Duran Duran), a missing scientist (Milo O'Shea). Along the quite sexy way she encounters various unusual people . As Barbarella (whose costume was inspired by designer Paco Rabanne) travels to the evil city called SoGo, it is a reference to Biblical cities Sodom and Gomorrah. On her dangerous trip she teams with blind angel Pygar (John Philip Law), and fights the Great Tyrant (Anita Pallenberg) along with numerous sexual torture devices , but she has to save the world .

Naif Sci-Fi plenty of colors , thrills , brilliant cinematography by Claude Renoir and fantastic images ; surprisingly, for such a diverse melange, it actually works. Knowingly Camp version of comic-book sci-Fi classic written by Jean Claude Forest . In the original comic, Barbarella was not a secret agent but an outlaw, and the movie omits some of the adventures she had on Lythion, including an encounter with an earlier villainess called the Gorgon, whose face changed into a duplicate of the face of anyone who looked at her. Unlike the other space movies of the time, this film emphasized sets and costumes rather than visual effects, and as a result its overall look dates less than many space operas of the late seventies/early eighties .Jane Fonda is simply unbelievable as gorgeous heroine , she plays a feisty Barbarella , a futuristic girl from Earth . 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. Performance-wise, everyone seems to be camping it up like an end-of-term pantomime, though Milo O'Shea somehow seems to give his villain a deliciously style . Barbarella was the first science fiction hero from the comics to be adapted into a feature film as opposed to a serial , Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, her male predecessors, had only appeared in serials up to this point. A bit later on , there was realized by Mike Hodges ¨Flash Gordon¨ (1980) in similar aesthetic and a TV series titled ¨Buck Rogers¨ . Jolly and catching musical score , including commercial songs , by Charles Fox, who co-wrote the songs for this film, also wrote the theme song for another Sci/Fi flick of 1968, The Green Slime, and future Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour was one of the session musicians who performed the film's original score. The motion picture was originally directed by Roger Vadim who married Brigitte Bardot , in fact , the original author Jean-Claude Forest based the character of Barbarella on Brigitte Bardot - who ironically was director Roger Vadim's previous wife ; Vadim subsequently married Jane Fonda . However this film is listed among The 100 Most Amusingly Bad Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Award .

In the year 40,000, a stunningly attractive adventurer named Barbarella (Jane Fonda) is assigned by the President of the Republic of Earth (Claude Dauphin) to track down an evil scientist. This scientist has invented a weapon in an era of pacifism in this intergalactic society, and has disappeared into an area dubbed Tau Seti. Barbarella will have many interesting experiences, and encounter a rich variety of characters, such as winged man Pygar (John Phillip Law), a nasty but sultry villainess (Anita Pallenberg), and a sadistic Concierge (Milo O'Shea).

The opening striptease by Jane (with the opening credits moved around to help obscure her nudity) may play a pivotal part in why this is so beloved as a cult classic 50 years later. But in truth, this off the wall science fiction tale is plenty goofy, enough so that the movie does have a real sense of fun going for it. It amps up its sex appeal and its psychedelic qualities to the nth degree, and its production design (by Mario Garbuglia) and cinematography (by Claude Renoir) are first-rate. Along with amusing special effects, this results in a non-stop assortment of futuristic and exotic eye candy. Based on a best-seller by Jean-Claude Forest, the script (bearing contributions by EIGHT credited individuals) contains some endearingly literate but silly dialogue.

Jane is appealing, playing a character who is not all that heroic; she needs saving more than once, and often must rely on the help of others. Her wide-eyed innocence (and that of the likeable hunk Law) is contrasted by the lascivious qualities of the production and the delicious villainy of the characters played by Pallenberg and O'Shea. (Trivia note: a certain 80s rock band took its name from the name of O'Sheas' character.) Memorable contributions are also made by Marcel Marceau, David Hemmings (very funny as a comedy-relief revolutionary), and Ugo Tognazzi.

Complete with a catchy, groovy score and songs (by Charles Fox and Bob Crewe), and Roger Vadim (Janes' husband at the time) directs with great style.

Overall, quite engaging, although clearly not something to be taken seriously.

Seven out of 10.