Barbarella was a 1968 sci-fi film directed by Roger Vadim and based on the French comic Barbarella by Jean-Claude Forest.
Barbarella is famous for a sequence in which the title character, played by Jane Fonda ( Yes THAT Jane Fonda, American Academy Award winning actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model and fitness guru) undresses in zero gravity during the opening credits.
This sequence was recreated by Kylie Minogue in the video for her song Put Yourself in My Place.
The film was simultaneously shot in French and English. In the French version, Fonda performs her own lines in French.
The whole film is camp, but a lot of the 60s were.
It did not do well with critics or at the box office, but now it's considered a imaginative and influential movie.
The influence part cannot be mistaken, like the above mentioned Kylie Minogue video.
CLAMP parodied Barbarella in one chapter of their Miyuki-chan in Wonderland manga.
A company in the UK sells lava lamps and oil projectors under the name Mathmos. Mathmos (or matmos) was a seething lake of evil slime beneath the city Sogo.
From 1984 to 2002, a nightclub located in downtown Orlando, Florida was called Barbarella.
Duran Duran took their name from the villainous Dr. Durand Durand. Some of the band's early appearances were at a nightclub called Barbarella's.
Prince has also referenced the movie several times.
A remake of Barbarella is currently being planned by current James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Dino and Martha De Laurentiis and Robert Rodriguez.
The role of Barbarella could possibly be played by Erica Durance (Smallville), Sienna Miller or Rose McGowan.
While American Soldiers were fighting and dying in the Vietnam War, Jane Fonda, the daughter of Henry Fonda, was using her money and influence at colleges and universities to gather support to advocate communism and encourage rebellion and anarchy against the United States Government.
ReplyDeleteName: Steven Morris Hastings
ReplyDeleteRank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: 240th Assault Helicopter Co, 214th Aviation Btn., 12th Aviation Group
Date of Birth: 11 October 1948
Home City of Record: Baldwin Park CA
Date of Loss: 01 August 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 114856N 1071107E
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1C
Other Personnel In Incident: Donald R. Fowler; Peter J. Russell (both missing)
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS:
SP4 Donald Fowler, gunner; Sgt. Steven Hastings, crewchief; WO Fernam, aircraft commander and 1Lt. Peter J. Russell, pilot, comprised the crew of one UH1C helicopter in a flight of two on a combat mission. Due to inclement weather and poor visibility, the mission was aborted. The aircraft became separated while attempting to return to the Song Be airstrip. One aircraft crashed into the trees and crewmembers were extracted the following morning. Radio contact was lost with 1Lt. Russell's aircraft after the last contact at 2025 hours on August 1. At that time, the aircraft commander indicated that he was diverting to Binh Hoa airbase rather than returning to Song Be.
When the aircraft failed to arrive at either Binh Hoa or Song Be, search efforts were begun at daylight, and continued for 3 days. On August 6, wreckage of the helicopter was discovered. On August 21, a recovery effort was conducted in the area of the aircraft and it was determined that the helicopter had crashed but not burned. During the recovery effort, portions of remains were found that were associated with WO Fernam, along with some personal effects that belonged to him. Only flight helmets were found for the other 3 individuals. No trace was found of the other 3 in subsequent searches.
In 1985, a private citizen obtained a previously classified document through the Freedom of Information Act which described in great detail a POW camp in South Vietnam. Together with the drawings and maps of the compound were lists of guards and their backgrounds, and a list of Americans the source had positively identified from photographs. On the list of positive id's was the name of Steven Hastings. Returned POWs have verified the accuracy of the drawings and much of the information. (Some on the positive list were POWs who returned in 1973)
Although the Defense Department has stated that the source was a liar, there appears to be some question as to whether Hastings, at least, perished in the crash of his helicopter or survived to be captured. And if there is question on Hastings, what of the other 2?
Nearly 2500 Americans are missing in Southeast Asia. Over 10,000 reports have been received indicating that there are hundreds of Americans still alive as captives there. It's long past time we got to the bottom of the issue and brought our men home - alive