Barbarella 1968

Fig 1 film poster

Director: Roger Vandim

Barbarella has caused much rage from the feminist community, and has left people fuming over the plot and general exploiting the image of women and lack of plot, but it still remains ever so popular for the pure eye-candy experience throughout the whole 98 minutes, not just for men to oogle over the women, but the hypnotising colours and interesting scenery.

fig 3. Strange Room

Based upon a series of comic strips named Barbarella by J. Forest, the film is deeply lacking in plot, though, it was a simple collecting mission, where the main character Barbarella experienced problems with her ships, and encounters many interesting characters along the way, before reaching her mission on a planet ruled by a witch, finding Durand Durand, a human she needed to stop creating a weapon of some sort. But, even with the lack of plot, the movie was a joy. Everything cherishable about Roger Vadims movie emanates from its position as a locus for outrageous late 60s grooviness its wild, inventive design, its hipster dream of a soundtrack, its date-stamped sexual morals. Its a self-contained, studio-bound bubble universe. Its a film you dont so much watch as hallucinate. (N.Setchfield:2012) The whole film really emulated the culture of the time. It was the 60s, drugs where more available, women could have sex without consequence due to the pill, NASA was sending probes and researching the moon frequently in 1967, preparing for their first man-on-the-moon mission to happen a year after the movie. It is a satire of the love and peace movement of the Sixties, plus a parody of the Bond-type adventures of the era. To these ends, the colors are gaudy and the special effects hopelessly corny. (J.Puccio:2012)

Fig 2. Dream Chamber The affects in the movie perhaps were corny, but affective, as the bright colours, swirling oils, strange buildings, architecture, outfits, all are just so over whelming and over powering over everything else, the viewer can do nothing but submit to it, almost as if its some sort of visual drug, which is why the plot is always overlooked. your eyes will pop at the op art set design, awhirl with psychedelic swirls courtesy of a contraption called an oil wheel projector, then all the rage at hip musical "happenings" on several continents. (B.Wilkins:2012) Though some areas in the film, the props and scenery looked poorly made, its made up by the pure strangeness and funky-ness of the atmosphere made in the film. The real psychedelic vibe over powers everything, thanks to the crazy design and colours.

Illustrations:

Fig 1:Film poster [Film Poster]: http://moviemet.com/sites/default/files/styles/node_large/public/I0Fu6Igd5eti4PLM1K93JH6yGh.jp g?1351087958301 (accessed 12/10/12) Fig 2: Strange Room [movie still]: http://366weirdmovies.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/08/vlcsnap-6043146.png (accessed 12/10/12) Fig 3: Dream Chamber [movie still]: http://366weirdmovies.com/122-barbarella-1968/ (accessed12/10/12)

Bibliography: Nick Setchfield (2012) Barbarella in: http://www.sfx.co.uk [online] at: http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/07/27/barbarella-review/ (accessed 12/10/12) Budd Wilkins (2012) Barbarella in: http://www.slantmagazine.com [online] at: http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/barbarella/2353 (accessed 12/10/12) John Puccio (2012) Barbarella in: www.moviemet.com [online] at: http://moviemet.com/review/barbarella-blu-ray-review (accessed 12/10/12)