Barbarella

This seems like an odd choice to watch: I'm not a teenager anymore (although that may be questionable in some regards). However, I do like science fiction, and this seems like a prominent piece of cinema history. Perhaps I'm fooling myself though. I swear recalling seeing this movie on the shelves in those old video stores (look at me, talking like video stores are antiquated relics of an old society - perhaps they are) amongst the sea of VHS. Perhaps I even saw it on Beta: I feel old. But the cover is so alluring: scantily clad, beautiful woman holding some kind of space weapon, surrounded by promises of flying ships, warriors and exotic cities, amongst other marvels.

As a kid you couldn't resist something like this: it was right out of the comics. It also appeals directly to pubescent psyche: sex sells. And it's so weird in this movie. It basically begins with the title character receiving a mission of sorts to investigate a missing scientist; she goes into a deep sleep for the long journey, and lands on this planet where the insanity begins. Her ship needs fixing, and through a series of events, she receives help and the guys reward - he asks directly for it - is to make love. Well, she obliges but is not certain on the way of doing it. She hints at a pill that they should be taking, as that's how it's done on Earth. He's unfamiliar with this and they proceed, off camera and cut away, as are the rest of the sex scenes - basically. Every time Barbarella has sex with somebody, and she does often enough, she has a complete wardrobe change, progressing into more revealing, creative and bizarre outfits every time. Not to mention whenever she is attacked, say, by ravenous birds or a group of creepy dolls, her clothes are torn apart which forces another outfit change.

This is appealing for obvious reasons, but if you step back you have to admire the costumes, sets and in general, the eye candy. Extremely colourful, creative and interesting, you can't take your eyes off the screen as you want to see what type of world they get into next. You want to see Jane Fonda, true, but she's only a piece of this movie. The world they are in is the main attraction; the absurd plot seems random but it's there, providing witty dialogue, getting deeper and more interesting - as deep as you can get as you scratch the surface. Focusing back on the grand sets and ideas coming to life in front of you, it's easy to see this movie this movie snowballing a respectable cult following, and even providing a full blown homage, that is, CQ, which becomes that much more relevant and interesting.