Barbarella (1968)
70%RT Audience Score: 56%
Awards & Nominations: 1 nomination
Unevenly paced and thoroughly cheesy, Barbarella is nonetheless full of humor, entertaining visuals, and Jane Fonda’s sex appeal
Barbarella is a wild ride through space that’s sure to leave you feeling like you’ve been transported to another dimension. With its cheap but epic sets and silly-funny lines, this camp classic is a must-see for anyone who loves a good sci-fi romp. Sure, it’s not perfect, but who needs perfection when you’ve got Jane Fonda in a see-through space suit? So buckle up and get ready for a journey that’s equal parts ridiculous and entertaining.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, The Steve Tisch Company, Wendy Finerman Productions,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1968
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 38m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 1968 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 25, 2005
Genre(s)
Sci-fi
Keyword(s)
starring Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O’Shea, David Hemmings, Marcel Marceau, directed by Roger Vadim, written by Claude Brulé, Terry Southern, Roger Vadim, Vittorio Bonicelli, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, Jean-Claude Forest, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, sci-fi, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kim Newman, Dave Kehr, Variety Staff, Renata Adler, Marjorie Baumgarten, Almar Haflidason, Taylor Baker, Penelope Houston, Mike Massie, Sean Axmaker, Tracy Moore, Brian Gibson, PG, Barbarella, Pygar, The Great Tyrant, Dildano, Professor Ping, cheesy, humor, sex appeal, kitsch, psychedelic, erotic, campy, low-budget, effects, outfits, lounge music, Jane Fonda’s sex appeal
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
John Phillip Law – Pygar
Anita Pallenberg – The Great Tyrant
Milo O’Shea – Durand Durand
David Hemmings – Dildano
Marcel Marceau – Professor Ping
Director(s)
Roger Vadim
Writer(s)
Claude Brulé, Terry Southern, Roger Vadim, Vittorio Bonicelli, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, Jean-Claude Forest
Producer(s)
Dino De Laurentiis
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (12)
Cheerfully catch-all.
July 13, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The film is ugly on so many levels — from art direction to human values — that it’s hard to know where to begin.
April 17, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Despite a certain amount of production dash and polish and a few silly-funny lines of dialog, Barbarella isn’t very much of a film.
April 17, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Throughout the movie, there is the assumption that just mentioning a thing (sex, politics, religion) makes it funny and that mentioning it in some offensive context makes it funnier.
May 9, 2005
Renata Adler
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
A camp classic.
March 10, 2003
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
A nutty film that boasts at times beautiful photography of some cheap but truly epic sets of PVC and everything that clings.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/5
Almar Haflidason
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
Episode 36: Love in the Time of Monsters / Barbarella / Welcome to the Dollhouse / Johnny Guitar
October 3, 2021 | Rating: 75/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
Barbarella is a gift-wrapped ‘X’ certificate bonbon for a space age nursery.
March 22, 2021
Penelope Houston
The Spectator
The plot is essentially nonexistent, used to transport Barbarella from one exotic locale to another, where she’ll be fondled or attacked in increasingly silly manners.
August 24, 2020 | Rating: 2/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
… Buck Rogers reworked as a sex kitten in space for the 1960s culture of free love and pop art.
January 5, 2018
Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand
Campy sci-fi cult classic features violence, nudity.
June 17, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Tracy Moore
Common Sense Media
A Flash Gordon-meets-Oz kitsch-fest stripping women’s sexual revolution down to voyeuristic spectacle, flimsily dressed in cheap, see-through, psychedelic B-movie garb. Vadim imbues most scenes with a faux-arty lethargy that slumps into stiltedness.
December 27, 2013
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)…
Plot
The year is 40,000. After peaceful floating in zero-gravity, astronaut Barbarella lands on the frozen planet Lythion and sets out to find renowned scientist Durand Durand in the City of Night, Sogo, where a new sin is invented every hour. She encounters such objects as the Excessive Machine, a genuine sex organ on which an expert artist of the keyboard
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Barbarella stars Jane Fonda as the titular character, a space adventurer on a mission to find a missing scientist.
Roger-Vadim.jpg
