IMDb RATING
5.3/10
2.9K
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A married woman leaves her husband and zooms off on her motorcycle to see her lover.A married woman leaves her husband and zooms off on her motorcycle to see her lover.A married woman leaves her husband and zooms off on her motorcycle to see her lover.
Bari Jonson
- French Customs Officer
- (as Bari Johnson)
Chris Williams
- 2nd Student
- (as Christopher Williams)
Robert Rietty
- Of two roles
- (voice)
Stephanie Mildenhall
- Child
- (uncredited)
Featured reviews
I can't get enough psychedelic silliness, and the DVD revolution has given new life to several 60s/70s gems. First 'Ciao Manhattan' with commentary, now 'Girl On A Motorcycle', also with commentary (by veteran cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who directed). Most people who have seen this movie don't seem to rate it very highly, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Marianne Faithfull looks absolutely beautiful, and watching her race across Europe in a leather jumpsuit is my idea of a good time! Faithfull's acting talent is difficult to gauge. She spends so much time "emoting" over the endless voice overs that her expressions sometimes border on the absurd. There are quite a few unintentional laughs just looking at her face, and there are some naff lines in the script that will provoke smirks. That added to the impressive photography, a couple of solarized freak outs, some swingin' soundtrack music, and super cool Alain Delon ('Le Samourai') makes this lots of psychedelic fun! It would make a great double bill with Roger Corman's exploitation classic 'The Trip'.
Cult movies don't come much 'cultier' than "The Girl on a Motorcycle". This film was British in name only; fundamentally it was French through and through from its source novel, (La Motocyclette by Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues), to its leading actor, Alain Delon. Pop singer Marianne Faithful, naked but for a black leather jump suit, was really only standing in for Bardot. There's no real plot to speak of but there's a lot of sixties psychedelia, sex, nudity, cheesy dialogue (Your body is like a violin in a velvet case), and, of course, Faithful tearing along the highways and byways of Europe on a big, phallic motorbike to the bed of her lover, Delon.
The director was a somewhat unlikely Jack Cardiff whose superb cinematography also gives the film its texture. Faithful's non- performance is really rather appealing while the film itself is ripe for rediscovery. It's not actually very good but it's certainly weird enough to be of more than passing interest.
The director was a somewhat unlikely Jack Cardiff whose superb cinematography also gives the film its texture. Faithful's non- performance is really rather appealing while the film itself is ripe for rediscovery. It's not actually very good but it's certainly weird enough to be of more than passing interest.
Outwardly straightforward stuff: Ms Faithful simpers inanely and tries to look like Suzi Quatro (in the roadside bar scene, anyhow) while she holds a tedious deliberation on the relative merits of her lukewarm, downtrodden schoolteacher husband (Mutton -literally!) vs her rather friskier, piped- up college lecturer lover (Delon, looking strangely like a young Ewan McGregor). All this during a dawn bike ride on a Harley that probably once belonged to Noah. Jack Cardiff pulls this off with aplomb, and stretches the thin material over a flashback/fantasy-forward laden narrative until it becomes transparent, allowing a glimpse through to the dreamlike nature of desire, longing and the futility of trying to control them. Of its time, but by no means the worst of its time, and it sort of stays with you longer than it should. Love the cheesy opening credits!
An emerging cult classic that was hard to find until its recent release on video, GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE is beautiful in its simplicity. Marianne Faithfull's character serves as a wish-fulfilment fantasy for both men and women, she's a figure of liberation and freedom who bucks social conventions to follow her heart. The film was a labor of love for veteran Hollywood cinematographer Jack Cardiff, and captures the late 1960's zeitgeist that is nowadays parodied in films like "Austin Powers." But one need only compare the opening sequence of this film to the beginning of David Lynch's "Lost Highway" to see the influence this film still has thirty years later.
Rated "X" when it was originally released, even the "uncensored" version would be lucky to get an "R" these days, which more reflects changing social morays than the filmmakers' intentions. Far from reputation the film has developed, it is in fact an intriguing psychological study of a troubled young woman who must choose either a safe, loveless marriage or a passionate affair with a man who vows never to love again.
Rated "X" when it was originally released, even the "uncensored" version would be lucky to get an "R" these days, which more reflects changing social morays than the filmmakers' intentions. Far from reputation the film has developed, it is in fact an intriguing psychological study of a troubled young woman who must choose either a safe, loveless marriage or a passionate affair with a man who vows never to love again.
First off, the video I saw claims to be the uncut version; this wasn't the heavily censored version released in North America (not that much of it would be cut today.)
The most interesting thing about this movie is how typical it is of the 60s - from the psychedelic effects to the long-winded talk about freedom.
It's also an hypocritical movie, in a way - while using nudity and strong sexual imagery, the film is a thinly-disguised attack on the 60s concept of freedom and "free love". This is a film that simultaneously tries to use the freedom ideal of the 60s and to criticize that ideal.
The director is best-known as a cinematographer, and it shows; while the film is very shallow in terms of plot and message, the cinematography is often brilliant.
Rating: worth seeing for historical reasons, not on its own merits.
The most interesting thing about this movie is how typical it is of the 60s - from the psychedelic effects to the long-winded talk about freedom.
It's also an hypocritical movie, in a way - while using nudity and strong sexual imagery, the film is a thinly-disguised attack on the 60s concept of freedom and "free love". This is a film that simultaneously tries to use the freedom ideal of the 60s and to criticize that ideal.
The director is best-known as a cinematographer, and it shows; while the film is very shallow in terms of plot and message, the cinematography is often brilliant.
Rating: worth seeing for historical reasons, not on its own merits.
Did you know
- TriviaA German woman who was a Playboy centerfold was originally cast as Rebecca, but was let go after she had a drug overdose. Marianne Faithfull was subsequently cast in the lead.
- GoofsIn close shots Rebecca and her motorbike stay vertical even going around corners, revealing the fact that she was probably on a trailer being towed behind the camera.
- Crazy creditsThe word "Customs" in the end credits is repeatedly and incorrectly written as "Custom's" (with an apostrophe).
- Alternate versionsOriginally released as "The Girl on a Motorcycle" and X-rated; later trimmed and re-released as "Naked Under Leather".
- ConnectionsFeatured in Étoiles et toiles: Le cinéma du rock (1983)
- SoundtracksGirl On A Motorcycle
Composed and arranged by Les Reed
Performed by The British Lion Orchestra conducted by Douglas Gamley
- How long is The Girl on a Motorcycle?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- La chica de la motocicleta
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 31m(91 min)
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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