ROGER VADIM

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BB

France/Italy, 1968.  Marianne Productions, Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica.  Screenplay by Terry Southern, Roger Vadim, Vittorio Bonicelli, Clement Biddle Wood, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, Jean-Claude Forest, in collaboration with Claude Brule, based on the comic by Jean-Claude Forest.  Cinematography by Claude Renoir.  Produced by Dino De Laurentiis.  Music by Charles Fox.  Production Design by Mario Garbuglia.  Costume Design by Jacques Fonteray, Paco Rabanne.  Film Editing by Victoria Mercanton.  

Jane Fonda plays Barbarella, the Queen of the Galaxy, who flies around the universe and helps people with her superpowers. Well, actually, she has no real powers and she only gets herself out of trouble by having sex with men or waiting for them to come and save her. The plus side is her costumes are great! The sets and hairstyles are psychedelic-funky, and Fonda gives a vapidly annoying performance that only heightens the pleasure. The downside is that no matter how stupidly fun it is, it’s also way too long and extremely boring. Still, it captures an era way more effectively than most good films of the time do, but The Tenth Victim does a much better job with the genre.