Barbarella (1968) began as a French comic book series created by Jean-Claude Forest. Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis — known for a wide range of films including spaghetti Westerns — secured the rights and hired French director Roger Vadim to bring it to the screen. Vadim was well known for visually bold filmmaking, and he also happened to be Jane Fonda’s husband at the time. Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot were both considered for the lead role before turning it down. Fonda herself was hesitant at first, but Vadim persuaded her to take on the part.
The film is set on the planet Lythion in the distant future. Every inch of that world had to be physically constructed — this was the 1960s, long before computer-generated effects existed. Production took place at Cinecittà Studios in Rome, where large sound stages and skilled craftspeople made the ambitious sets possible. Art director Mario Garbuglia worked alongside Vadim to design environments like the Black Queen’s dark, angular castle, the bubbling Matmos lake, and the trap-filled Labyrinth. Bright colors and strange shapes gave the film its distinctly alien feel.
Costume design was equally important to the film’s identity. Jacques Fonteray created most of Barbarella’s outfits using shiny, unconventional fabrics. Fashion designer Paco Rabanne, already known for his futuristic aesthetic, contributed additional pieces. Many of the costumes were tight and restrictive, which made it genuinely difficult for Fonda to move freely during filming.
One of the most memorable sequences in the film involves the Excessive Machine — a device operated by the villain Durand-Durand, played by Milo O’Shea. The machine was designed to kill its victim through pure pleasure. The scene required precise timing and carefully coordinated special effects to pull off its darkly comedic tone.
Vadim was a constant presence on set, working closely with Fonda throughout production. His direction shaped both the film’s look and its playful, provocative tone.
Flying scenes required Fonda to be suspended from wires for hours at a time. It was physically exhausting and often uncomfortable, but the technique produced convincing results on screen. The scenes involving sharp-toothed dolls attacking Barbarella used a combination of hand-operated puppets and careful camera angles. Actors had to react to the puppets as though they were genuinely threatening, which demanded real concentration and practice. The Matmos scenes posed their own problems — the crew experimented with mixtures of different liquids in a large tank to make the living lake bubble and move in a convincing way.
The score, composed by Bob Crewe and Charles Fox, blended pop, rock, and orchestral styles to match the film’s shifting moods. The opening title sequence — set to the theme song “Barbarella” — features Fonda appearing to float in zero gravity, setting the film’s fun, freewheeling tone from the very first frame.
