Barbarella (1968) – Review

Adapting comic books to the big screen is nothing new but in 1968 producer Dino De Laurentiis and director Roger Vadim weren’t interested in the likes of Batman or Superman, instead, they set their sights on a French science-fiction comic book about a space-going heroine who solved many her problems through her sexual liberation. This was not a tactic Batman or even Flash Gordon had ever employed in the pages of their respective books and which makes Barbarella, a comic strip that was accused of being rather pornographic, a strange choice to be brought to the big screen, then again, this was the 60s.

The release of Barbarella clearly stemmed from the sexual revolution of the 60s and director Roger Vadim was very much interested in giving the world a film that would “depict a new futuristic morality” one that wasn’t hung up on sexuality or the guilt over one’s body. And to be sure, that’s a noble enough goal, but the key ingredient to pulling such a thing off is in having a good script that can properly explore such concepts, sadly, that wasn’t the case with Barbarella. There isn’t really much of a plot to this film as it’s more a science-fiction equivalent of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with the heroine falling in and out of various crazy scenarios amongst even crazier inhabitants.

All this movie is missing is a White Rabbit.

The movie opens with the President of Earth giving Barbarella (Jane Fonda) the assignment of retrieving Dr. Durand Durand (Milo O’Shea) from the 16th Planet of Tau Ceti system because he has invented a super-weapon called the positronic ray, which could send a now peaceful universe into utter chaos. Right off the bat, Barbarella is shown not to be the greatest heroine in the universe as she almost immediately crash lands on the planet and is quickly captured by a group of children. It’s interesting to note that some aspects of Barbarella veer into the horror genre as the first threat she faces includes a collection of sharp teethed dolls, set upon her by those selfsame children who easily catch her. Then later she ends up in the Labyrinth of the City of Night, where people who are not evil are sentenced to despair and death.

This place could have really used David Bowie to spice things up.

Jane Fonda’s portrayal of Barbarella is that of a naive girl thrown into wild and bizarre situations. Still, throughout the film’s run-time, her naiveté is more akin to stupidity than it is innocence. Though the character in the comic book embodied the modern and emancipated woman of the era of sexual liberation the movie gives us a protagonist who is more like a teenage girl discovering she has a vagina. For most of the film, she uses sex as either currency or a reward and thinks nothing of offering her body up to anyone who asks for it, yet her dialogue hints that sex back on Earth has become almost passe and no longer a thing of physical pleasure – pills having replaced intimate contact – and when she discovers that the people of Tau Ceti do it the old fashioned way her world is literally rocked.

Alice’s Adventures in Sexland would have been a better title for this film.

Visually speaking one must admit that Barbarella is something to behold, the Italian artisans are without a doubt the best at what they do and are simply amazing when it comes to creating truly eye-catching sets and fabulous costumes – Jane Fonda has seven costume changes within this movie’s ninety-eight-minute run time – and one of the film’s highlights is the blind angel Pygar (John Phillip Law) whose magnificent wings and John Phillip Law’s almost unnatural beauty makes him the most interesting character in the film – that Barbarella restores his will to fly through sexual intercourse is certainly in keeping with this film’s supposed “sexual liberation” theme and it’s about as subtle as a hammer to the forehead.  That said, seeing John Philip Law carrying Jane Fonda through the air on feathered wings almost makes it worth it.

If there has been a better depiction of an angel on film I haven’t seen it.

I will admit that there are some legitimately funny moments in Barbarella, such as the inept rebellion led by the charmingly goofy Dildano (David Hemmings ), and I did get a chuckle out of Barbarella surviving Durand-Durand’s Excessive-Pleasure Machine – a device which I believe was designed to kill you via orgasms – and it provides one of the rare moments in the film where it looked like Jane Fonda might actually be having fun with the part.

Phantom of the Orgasm?

I have not read the comics on which this movie was based and though the idea of a city built on a “Sea of Evil” and ruled by Sogo’s Black Queen is an intriguing enough concept, the filmmakers never quite gave us enough time with the world-building to make it all that believable, and sure, this movie is a blend of high-fantasy and science fiction and not intended to be all that believable but the episodic nature of the movie doesn’t lend itself all that well to a world that has no structure or apparent rules. We hear about the Matmos, a living sea that feeds off the evil of the city dwellers above, but it’s more of an abstract threat than a direct one and Sogo’s Black Queen, also known as The Great Tyrant, is even less of a threat as all she really does is prance around calling Barbarella “Pretty, Pretty” while wearing the horn of the Mugato from Star Trek.

“Am I supposed to take her seriously?”

Stray Observations:

• The opening zero-gee striptease was created by Jane Fonda laying on a pane of glass, much the same way Kubrick made a pen float in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• She has a Presidential briefing without even wearing briefs.
• Barbarella is shocked to learn of a weapon being developed because the universe has been “pacified” for centuries. Am I the only one who finds that term rather chilling?
• Barbarella changes into even skimpier attire before leaving her spacecraft, despite being told by her computer that it is cold outside.
• Upon examining Barbarella, Professor Ping states that she has “The aspect of an Earthling” which is a strange thing to point out considering that everyone in this film pretty much looks like an Earthling.
• There are lobby cards that exist depicting a lesbian tryst between Barbarella and the Great Tyrant. The fact that this scene has never appeared in any version of the film is a true crime.
• The interior of Barbarella’s spacecraft is covered in shag carpeting as if we needed any more proof that this film was made in the 60s.
• The people of future Earth not engaging in the physical aspects of sex makes one think of the movie Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone.

I wonder if they know the secret of the Three Seashells.

At a glance Roger Vadim’s Barbarella looks like a typical sexploitation film, especially considering that Jane Fonda was his wife at the time and she was going through her “Sex Kitten” phase of her career, but even placed in that genre it fails to work as Barbarella’s supposed innocence comes across as more childlike rather than that of someone who sexually free, and when one thinks of sex the last thing you want crossing your mind is children. The incredible visual designs and the fun campy aspect of the film are its most compelling aspects so if you can look past its nonsensical story structure and corny dialogue you may find yourself enjoying it despite its obvious faults.