Barbarella (1968)

74% of critics liked it
(35 reviews)
55% of users liked it
(31,657 ratings)

A voluptuous outer space agent travels to another galaxy in search of a missing inventor in this science fiction send-up. Barbarella (Jane Fonda), an interstellar representative of the united Earth government in the 41st century, is dispatched to locate scientist Durand Durand, whose positronic ray,… More A voluptuous outer space agent travels to another galaxy in search of a missing inventor in this science fiction send-up. Barbarella (Jane Fonda), an interstellar representative of the united Earth government in the 41st century, is dispatched to locate scientist Durand Durand, 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 (Ugo Tognazzi), a blind, beatific angel (John Phillip Law), and an inept revolutionary named Dildano (David Hemmings). Slowly but surely, she also finds her way to Durand Durand by moving from one exotic, Wizard of Oz-style locale to another. Along the way, she meets the kindly Professor Ping (a surprisingly verbal Marcel Marceau), a Eurotrash dominatrix named the Great Tyrant (Rolling Stones gal pal Anita Pallenberg), and the Concierge (Milo O'Shea), 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, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Roger Vadim
Written By: Vittorio Bonicelli, Claude Brule, Tudor Gates, Terry Southern, Roger Vadim
Genres: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Oct 10, 1968 Wide
On DVD: Jun 22, 1999
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The film is ugly on so many levels -- from art direction to human values -- that it's hard to know where to begin.
, Variety
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.
Renata Adler, New York Times
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.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
It's fun in a 'What were they smoking?' kind of way.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
Fonda looks sensational and glides through this romp like a dazed, ripe-to-the- touch innocent.
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
Cheerfully catch-all.
, Film4
A kitsch cult classic.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Most of this is soft-core nonsense, but snappy dialogue and design -- as well as the striptease routine that Fonda performs behind the opening credits -- have made it something of a cult favorite.
JoBlo, JoBlo's Movie Emporium
I just couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
, Time Out
Terry Southern's dialogue occasionally sparkles, and the imaginative designs, as shot by Claude Renoir, look really splendid.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
An awful film, certainly, but also undeniably watchable.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

William D

I yield to no one in my appreciation for soft-core porn and self-consciously "bad" cinema. Thus I was eager finally to see "Barbarella," which came out in October of 1968, but which I somehow never saw all these years. I was expecting good, fun trash, and instead I… More
I yield to no one in my appreciation for soft-core porn and self-consciously "bad" cinema. Thus I was eager finally to see "Barbarella," which came out in October of 1968, but which I somehow never saw all these years. I was expecting good, fun trash, and instead I got a dorky, un-funny, un-sexy snooze-fest, and some of the worst music ever recorded for the cinema. The score seems to have been put together by the lounge singer Tom Jones in his tackiest phase. Jones seems also to have directed. What a catastrophic failure "Barbarella" is. This is my first Roger Vadim film, and it may be my last. As an example of self-consciously "bad" cinema that I like: John Waters' early stuff. Waters, who was starting to make films around 1968, has vastly more imagination than Vadim had. Vadim died in 2000, incidentally.
Ken S

A Sex kitten traveling through space in a fur-lined spaceship, I mean how cool is that. What I like about this film is it's deliberateness. What I love most about Barbarella is how hard it tries, It's like… More
A Sex kitten traveling through space in a fur-lined spaceship, I mean how cool is that. What I like about this film is it's deliberateness. What I love most about Barbarella is how hard it tries, It's like Bono. Trying so hard to be cool...somehow makes him cool.
Lewis C

"You are so good that you made the Matmos vomit." I don't even really know where to begin with this one. The space adventures of Jane Fonda's sexy Barbarella are hard to review, because this has to be one of the most WTF movies that I've ever seen in my life.… More
"You are so good that you made the Matmos vomit." I don't even really know where to begin with this one. The space adventures of Jane Fonda's sexy Barbarella are hard to review, because this has to be one of the most WTF movies that I've ever seen in my life. Every scene either had me laughing out loud or scratching my head and wondering what kind of powerful narcotics the writer/director/everyone involved with making this was OD'ing on. The story is ridiculous. Barbarella is some kind of space traveler/astronaut, and she's been charged with finding a missing scientist named Durand Durand. That's right Durand Durand. Along the way, she encounters ravenous dolls, a man in three-fourths of a Chewbacca outfit, a blind angel (one of the more inspired and hilarious parts of the movie), a rousing musical performance that she ends up participating in in a rather intimate fashion, an invisible key to an invisible wall, and about 10 different wardrobe changes. It has to be seen to be believed. The whole movie is campy, from the special effects, to the sets, to the costumes to the music. And the surreal plot and characters are just the icing on the cake. If you're fond of the particular brand of trippy 60's weirdness, then Barbarella is a must-see. It's like Star Wars mixed with Austin Powers, a hot blonde, and some LSD.
AJ V

This movie is so bad it's awesome! I love it. The style is weirdly fantastic, Fonda's costumes are fabulous, and the story is good too. I love this weird 60s sci-fi movie.
Cassandra M

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. Unbelievably silly it has some fantastic lines of dialogue like "de-crucify the angel or I melt your face!"… More
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. Unbelievably silly it has some fantastic lines of dialogue like "de-crucify the angel or I melt your face!" Great characters, a killer lava lamp, fur lined space ship and a villain called Duran Duran. The evil organ of desire scene, and the opening strip tease still manage to be erotic, even though this film is dated. Cult with a capital C, this is never going to appeal to a mainstream audience, and yet remains my favourite movie of all time. A classic. And very pretty pretty.
Anthony L

Jane Fonda as Barbarella, wow! Camp and crazy, I love this film!
Dean M

This sci-fi is based on a French erotic comic, Barbarella's a secret agent of the future, a "five star, double rated, astro navigatrix, Earthgirl" to be precise. Wild and inventive production design, bizarre costumes and a cheesy Euro score all scream one thing: cult… More
This sci-fi is based on a French erotic comic, Barbarella's a secret agent of the future, a "five star, double rated, astro navigatrix, Earthgirl" to be precise. Wild and inventive production design, bizarre costumes and a cheesy Euro score all scream one thing: cult classic!
Michael S

Succeeds on pure schlock-value alone.
Dean !

Jane Fonda appears in this cult classic ahead of it's time, also quite rauchey for when it was made. A pure swinging 60's film.
Kylie B

It's not bad for a film that only has one thing on its mind: Sex. There are some good moments, though they can't quite disguise the fact that this is barly a shade or two above softcore porn.
xGary X

Camper than camp sci-fi that's really just innocent kitsch porn relying entirely on Jane Fonda's not inconsiderable charms. Silly tongue in cheek psychadelic fun.
Michael G

Pointless and enjoyable only from a nostalgic point of view.
Luke B

Cheesy and exploitative sci-fi camp. Is now absolutely hilarious. However those little toy dolls are terrifying. Completely and utterly enjoyable, as a space woman must find Duran Duran while awakening to the joys of sex. The soundtrack is very weird for such a sci-fi movie but fits… More
Cheesy and exploitative sci-fi camp. Is now absolutely hilarious. However those little toy dolls are terrifying. Completely and utterly enjoyable, as a space woman must find Duran Duran while awakening to the joys of sex. The soundtrack is very weird for such a sci-fi movie but fits thefilm perfectly and is damn catchy and comedic "Goin' round, round, round"
Ed Fucking H

The lovely Jane Fonda is sent to a distant planet to stop the evil genius Duran Duran from diminishing centuries of world peace. Along the way Barbarella has plenty of sex and blasts enough robots (and is pleasured by at least one.) A lot of people slag this movie for it's… More
The lovely Jane Fonda is sent to a distant planet to stop the evil genius Duran Duran from diminishing centuries of world peace. Along the way Barbarella has plenty of sex and blasts enough robots (and is pleasured by at least one.) A lot of people slag this movie for it's campiness and exploitative sex, but I applaud it for that very reason. Plus it definently has it's finger on the pulse of what made Science Fiction from the 60's so fun. The costumes, set designs and special effects are all perfect. Plenty of eye candy throughout, and great dialouge too. Not much to complain about really. It is overly silly but that's not necassarily a bad thing in my books. If you want something light and entertaining you could do a lot worse.
Jonny C

Jane Fonda's sex appeal isn't quite enough to save this daft tale.
Robert F

So bad, it's good, Barbarella is sheer madness. It's just fun in a 'What were they smoking?' kind of way.
Emily B

A laughable, camp, cult classic! Hilarious set designs, including a spaceship lined with shag carpet. Ultimately pretty poor.
Marcus W

Welcome to a world of blue rabbits, psychadelic everything, sex, killer dolls, a blind angel, a musical-organ that doubles as a torture device, bondage, and a revolution. This is the Ying to Flash Gordon's Yang. A trippy, sexploitation romp that puts Dulux to shame.
Chad R

SHE WAS SUPER HOT in the day. Too bad I wouldn't piss up her ass if her guts were on fire.