LET’S GET PHYSICAL: BARBARELLA (1968) *** ½

FORMAT:  4K UHD (REWATCH)

ORIGNAL REVIEW:

(As posted on August 17th, 2007)

Has there ever been a woman hotter than Jane Fonda in this movie? I don’t think so. Dressed in an array of sexy, skimpy futuristic outfits that happen to find their way off her body ever few scenes or so, Fonda as Barbarella typified two words: Sex Goddess for many an adolescent boy. (God knows I’m one.) The film itself may be gaudy, sloppy, and episodic, but I maintain that any movie that starts off with a zero-gravity striptease is a good movie.

Barbarella is kinda like an interstellar female version of James Bond who’s sent on a mission to retrieve a scientist named Durand Durand (yes, that’s where the band got its name from) who has created a weapon called the “positronic ray”. Barbarella races all over the galaxy looking for him and encounters killer dolls, has sex, gets lost in a maze, has sex with the angel Pygar (Diabolik’s John Phillip Law), gets attacked by birds, has more sex, and in the best scene of the movie, gets trapped in the “Orgasmatron” machine.

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that the flick goes on for far too long and gets progressively sillier as it goes along, but Fonda is the end all be all of cinematic hotness and for me that’s enough. She looks great either naked or dressed in her sexy get ups and insanely teased hair and gets some truly awesome dialogue like, “De-crucify the angel or I’ll melt your face.” Director Roger Vadim was also Fonda’s then husband and he knows how to photograph her better than anyone as she’s never looked lovelier. Produced by the omnipotent Dino de Laurentiis.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

This is one of those movies that has its share of problems (wildly uneven, overlong, inconsistent tone, etc.) but all that goes out the window because you have such a strong connection to it.  I saw this at a formative age and believe me when I tell you, I was Gaga for Fonda.  I had Barbarella posters on my walls for years and I still think no one has looked hotter on film than she did in this movie.  I still can’t quite give it Four Stars after all these years as it still drags considerably in the second half, but I never miss an opportunity to watch it if only to drool over Jane. 

4K UHD NOTES:

The zero-G striptease has always been one of my favorite scenes of any movie, and it certainly didn’t disappoint in 4K.   Likewise, Fonda looks amazing, and her array of wonderful costumes really shine in high def.  The 4K transfer on the other hand is a little unforgiving when it comes to some of the chintzier special effects (like John Philip Law’s flying scenes), making them look cornier than ever.  At least the more psychedelic sequences pop, thanks to Arrow’s strong transfer.