WHO CAN SAVE THE UNIVERSE?

In the distant future, Barbarella (Jane Fonda) is ordered by the President of Earth to find a man who is in possession of a weapon that could threaten the planet.

Not a hit at the time, this bizarre space opera is now a cult classic, because of its music, inventive production design, feminist touches and sexual liberation theme, and because it so clearly captures the 1960s at its silliest.

Another reason is obviously the director’s then-wife, Fonda, who is gorgeous in the lead and takes on each camp scene with deliberate innocence. Her opening striptease is memorable.

1968-France-Italy. 98 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Roger Vadim. Comic Book: Jean-Claude Forest. Cinematography: Claude Renoir. Music: Bob Crewe, Charles Fox. Cast: Jane Fonda (Barbarella), John Phillip Law (Pygar), Anita Pallenberg (The Black Queen), Milo O’Shea, David Hemmings, Marcel Marceau, Ugo Tognazzi.

Trivia: Alternative title: Barbarella, Queen of the Galaxy. Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren were considered for the lead role. The band Duran Duran took its name from O’Shea’s character.