BARBARELLA RETURNS

The sexy space adventures of Barbarella have hit my radar recently with upcoming book releases, a new TV series, and the circulation of photo stills from the original movie set. Most fans are aware of the character through Jane Fonda's famous portrayal in the 1968 film directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim. Although I've enjoyed the movie for its Paco Rabanne-style fashion, the energy of the story and direction is quite lulling. Even with these behind-the-scenes images, with their provocative costuming, I'm not getting many clicks on the geiger counter. Barbarella may be best experienced in its original comic form. Humanoids is planning to release the Jean-Claude Forest comics in lovely duotone with a contemporary English-language adaptation by Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel, Avengers Assemble, Pretty Deadly) in deluxe coffee table and digital editions. Volume One comes out on September 24th, followed by Volume Two, The Wrath of the Minute-Eater, on January 7th. Gaumont International is currently producing a new Barbarella TV show. Cast and crew will be announced soon (series graphic below). Related books: The Adventures of Jodelle. Hey Spy Vibers, have you entered the current contest yet? I'm celebrating passing one-million visitors by giving away cool vintage prizes. Contest ends Sept 17th. Details here.

Selected Spy Vibe posts: 007 Audio Books Return, Harry Palmer Blu, One Million Prizes, Designer: Gene Winfield, Avengers Blu-Ray, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Diana Rigg at 76, Gerry Anderson Doc, Mr. Hulot's Box Set, Rare Avengers Scripts, Man From Uncle UK Comics, Mattel X-15, Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Batman News, Monty Python Fathom Spies, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Big Fun Toys, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Mod Fashion Dolls, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.

BARBARELLA TV SERIES

Deadline reported today that Gaumont International's Barbarella television series has landed at Amazon Studios. The project is being produced by Nicolas Refn and Martha De Laurentiis (widow of original producer Dino). Skyfall scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have written the pilot. Apparently the producers are currently looking for a show-runner. The news comes after years of development; even Drew Barrymore was mentioned at one point as a possible star for a big-screen project. Barbarella is based on a sexy sci-spy character created by Jean-Claude Forest in 1962, which was later adapted into a cult-film in 1968 by Roger Vadim and starring Jane Fonda (below), John Phillip Law (Danger Diabolik), David Hemmings (Blow-Up), and Anita Pallenberg (Performance). Like most modern remakes of 1960s properties, I hope the show doesn't become too self-conscious, or worse, a parody. Too often, retro-styled films go out of their way to capture some of the style and sexuality of an old show, but none of the intelligence. In this case, however, the original Barbarella film played like a poor remake and could actually use a little more intelligent writing and direction. If they bring any inspiration from the 1968 movie, I hope it's the playful approach to the costume designs- maybe Paco Rabanne is available. I have great trust in the writers and remain optimistic. To my mind, these guys wrote the smartest Bond screenplay in 50 years (and I'm a die-hard Classic 007/Connery fan). See my review of Skyfall here. Good luck to Gaumont, Amazon, and the creative team! More news as it comes.

Recent Spy Vibe posts: Meet the Beatles 50th, Wonderwall comes to Blu-ray, Batman Strips, David Bowie at 67, Kevin Dart talks Ringo & Powerpuff Girls, Sherlock Exhibit, Fu Manchu history panel, Andy Warhol box set, Six-Million Dollar Man, Striped Light Nude, Buckminster Fuller, Dylan at Newport, Jane and Serge, The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Pete Seeger nominated for Grammy,Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, Shane Glines Batman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive. 

NEW BARBARELLA

Celebrate Spy Vibe's birthday by entering to win cool vintage collectibles. See the main contest page for details. Entries must be in by February 3rd.

Variety reports that the Barbarella project with 007-writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade has been revived as a new television series from Gaumont International. Lost in development a few years back as a feature film, the new series, Skein, is based on the original comic character by Jean-Claude Forest that inspired Vadim's 1968 cult classic movie with Jane Fonda. The cast has not been revealed. The executive producer is Nicolas Winding Refn. "I'm excited for the opportunity to reinvent 'Barbarella' with my friends at Gaumont and Martha De Laurentiis," said Refn. "And I look forward to bringing this unique character to life for a new generation of fans as I believe she is one of the ultimate counter-cultural characters." Purvis and Wade are set to write the series. Although I love the costumes of the Vadim film, it was ultimately too static and stagey to work as a movie. In the hands of these very competent writers, I hope to see Barbarella translated as cinematic experience with fresh ideas and dynamic storytelling. See my review of Purvis and Wade's script for Skyfall here.

BARBARELLA EVENT

Your summer fling continues with the lovely Barbarella on the big screen! The Castro Theater will project Vadim's classic tomorrow at 3:05 and 7:00 (double feature with Cherry 2000) in glorious 35mm. Although the film suffers from stagey direction and static pacing, the Paco Rabbane influenced costumes (and Fonda's title sequence) are worth the price of admission. I suggest that Spy Vibers make their own triple feature with Roman Coppola's CQ and the remastered David Holzman's Diary. You'll see the connections. 1968 was also the year of Danger Diabolik, Yellow Submarine, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Bullitt, Planet of the Apes, Night of the Living Dead, The Green Berets, Petulia, Candy, and The Thomas Crown Affair. Think there was something in the water? See Spy Vibe's review of the 1968 Exhibit at the Oakland Museum here. 

From the Castro: "Director Roger Vadim and star Jane Fonda bring the popular French comic strip character to the big screen in this delightfully colorful sci-fi camp classic. The voluptuous 41st-century outer space agent travels to another galaxy in search of a missing inventor named Durand Durand. Moving from one exotic locale to the next, outfitted in an array of stunning outfits, she embarks on a series of interstellar sexcapades. John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, David Hemmings, Ugo Tognazzi and Milo O'Shea co-star. (1968, 98 min, 35mm 'Scope)."

Scroll down for new editions of our series, For Your Shelf Only, where guests share stories about collecting and show us some of their treasures. More about Spy Vibe creator Agent J at Jason Whiton.

1968 EXHIBIT

I recently went to an exhibit at the Oakland Museum that examines the year 1968. There was an introduction area that celebrated political fliers and posters addressing issues of the times. The graphics and messages did a good job setting the tone for the main exhibit. Visitors then entered a large space that was divided up into thematic rows, as well as a few room spaces devoted to specific topics. The chaos of the era was captured in how the displays were loosely organized and in its focus on both violent conflicts and colorful sizzle of 1968 design. The juxtaposition was actually overwhelming at times. The scope of the show was largely about turbulent change, yet we got glimpses sprinkled throughout of groovy pop culture and plastic house-ware items. It was surreal, for example, to stand next to a real Huey helicopter, with terrifying war testimony and footage, as the theme to The Monkees played in the background. 

Surreal, but the juxtaposition also provided an accurate context to 1960s entertainment. There were numerous displays that featured artifacts and information about the Vietnam War (including the helicopter), the space race (with a reproduction of the Apollo space capsule), the Black Panthers, Martin Luther King jr, Robert Kennedy, and Feminist demonstrations.

Some highlights that Spy Vibers will want to check out if they visit the museum are the music room (with Yellow Submarine and Janis Joplin), the fashion displays that feature Twiggy and Jane Fonda, a 1968 living room, and a groovy TV room that features video loops (including Spy/crime shows: Man From U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, Mannix, and Mission Impossible). Want a movie snapshot of 1968? Try this marathon of Vietnam-era stories being filmed and released: The Green Berets, The Monkees Head, Easy Rider, Barbarella, and Yellow Submarine. The 1968 exhibit runs through August 19th. More info at the Museum website. Photos by Jason Whiton.

BLU FOR BARBARELLA

Paramount announced their upcoming Blu-ray titles today and we are pleased to see Roger Vadim's Barbarella (1968) set for a July 3rd release! This classic starring Jane Fonda and John Phillip Law is pretty stagey in its direction, but the costume designs and ongoing erotic theme of the story makes the movie fun to revisit. The plot: "Barbarella, a 41st century earthling, is sent on a mission by the president of Earth to find Duran Duran, a scientist who has disappeared with an all-powerful weapon." Fans should check out Roman Coppola's homage, CQ (2001), and Barbarella as a double feature.

MOVIE POSTER PRIZES

While Agent J is away on a mission, enter to win one of these movie posters from Spy Vibe: GOLDFINGER, DANGER DIABOLIK, BARBARELLA. Winners will be picked in early August- see details and deadlines below.

It's reader appreciation time and we're giving away prizes! Prize #1: Barbarella poster style B, 11x17 poster originally purchased from Movie Goods. To enter, just send an e-mail to Spy Vibe (jason[at]spyvibe.com) with "Barbarella" in the subject line and your mailing address. The winner will be chosen from a random drawing on August 9th. Why we love Barbarella here.

Poster #2- Danger Diabolik, 11x17 Italian style B, originally purchased from Movie Goods. To enter, just send an e-mail to Spy Vibe (jason[at]spyvibe.com) with "Diabolik" in the subject line and your mailing address. The winner will be chosen from a random drawing on August 11th. Why we love Danger Diabolik here.


Poster #3 Goldfinger, 11x17 style E, originally purchased from Movie Goods. To enter, just send an e-mail to Spy Vibe (jason[at]spyvibe.com) with "Goldfinger" in the subject line and your mailing address. The winner will be chosen from a random drawing on August 15th. Why Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer chose Goldfinger as #2 in his top-5 list of spy movie sets here.



Check out Spy Vibe's production set series, an event that gathered together many writers to celebrate the best spy sets from cold war-era film & TV. Guest Set Lists: Lee Pfeiffer, Jeremy Duns, Armstrong Sabian, Steve Bissette, Roger Langley, Matthew Bradford, Wesley Britton, David Foster, Matt Kindt. Spy Vibe's Set For Adventure here, Set Countdown #10, #9, #8 ,#7, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1.

POSTER PRIZES: BARBARELLA

It's reader appreciation time and we're giving away prizes! Prize #1: Barbarella poster style B, 11x17 poster originally purchased from Movie Goods. To enter, just send an e-mail to Spy Vibe (jason[at]spyvibe.com) with "Barbarella" in the subject line and your mailing address. The winner will be chosen from a random drawing on August 9th.

Why we like Barbarella (1968): Although Vadim's film has more camp and static composition than the original comic by Jean-Claude Forest, the film still delivers as a sexy sci-fi time capsule. The opening credits (which feature a space-age strip tease) and the promotional graphics are all fantastic! But the star of the film is really the fashion designer who inspired the costumes, Paco Rabanne. Rabanne was one of the inventive culprits chopping paper-dress patterns in the 1960s. Similar in construction to using plastics, the paper clothes could be cut in-form out of Vilbond and color cellophane tape without stitching. The dresses really took off in 1967, a year in which Rabanne also designed a line of Pacojamas (paper PJs) for Hilton hotels. Rabanne was celebrated for his experiments with creating clothing from sculptural components. The advantage of these NASA-inspired materials was that clothes held their shape, rather than being draped over the body. Synthetics, bright colors, black and white, and silver with geometric and zipper-accents created an architectural silhouette of angular lines- a sculpted form for a new generation focused on the Twiggy-thin youth market. Rabanne is credited along with Jacques Fonteray for designing the costumes for Barbarella. You can see similar costumes based on Rabanne's futuristic, gladiatorial armor in Casino Royale (1966) and The 10th Victim (1965). Spy Vibe was quoted in an article that offers further info about Rabanne here.

SPACE CAMP: BARBARELLA

It's Space Camp week on Spy Vibe! As I busy myself with end-of-term grading and holiday plans, I thought it would be fun to look at quick and campy snapshots of some of the classic space-age moments in 1960s entertainment. Our last post featured David Bowie's first mix and video for Space Oddity (1969). Today we look at the infamous title sequence from Vadim's Barbarella (1968). Before we blast off, let's just mention the imagery. The opening sequence, which features a strip tease in outer-space zero-gravity, is pretty stunning. The film was shot by cinematographer Claude Renoir (nephew of director Jean Renoir), who would later go on to shoot The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Jane Fonda's wonderful space-age costumes were inspired and designed by Paco Rabanne and Jacques Fonteray (Moonraker). Rabanne was famous for incorporating unconventional materials and technology in his work, often integrating fabrics and sculptural forms. To me, the costumes are really the star of the film! (more about Paco at our pages, Fear & Fashion, Mods to Moongirls). Unfortunately, that's where the main thrusters of the film burn out. The actors, Jane Fonda, David Hemmings (Blow Up), and John Phillip Law (Danger Diabolik), do what they can with the overall static/stage quality of the directing and ridiculous dialog. The film, like its weightless strip tease, is a campy come-on that doesn't quite deliver (especially if you saw the edited-for TV cut). But it is a wonderful time capsule of our fascination with space, stylish adventure, and the open, playful sexuality of the era.


Barbarella was based on the French comic by Jean-Claude Forest (official website here). The current buzz regarding a feature film re-make is that Anne Hathaway is being considered for the title role. The movie has been in development for quite some time, however, so don't use up your air tanks waiting for a quick premiere. As we wrote in our review for the new Green Hornet trailer, I hope that Universal is aiming high for a relaunch that will add to the franchise mythology and not just be another flash in the pan. Caution to younger Spy Vibers, both the opening credit sequence below and Barbarella comics contain nudity. Still image from Fashion Windows here.