Barb Wire (1996)

Director:

David Hogan

Writers (WGA):

Chris Warner (characters in comic)
Ilene Chaiken (story)

Release Date:

3 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Don't call me babe!

Plot:

21st century. USA. The second civil war. The whole country is in a state of emergency. What was formerly...

Plot Keywords:

Dead Woman | Nude Woman Murdered | Vaginal Electrodes | Nipple Slip | Breast Electrodes

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Pamela Anderson	...	Barbara 'Barb Wire' Kopetski (as Pamela Anderson Lee)
Temuera Morrison	...	Axel Hood
Victoria Rowell	...	Dr. Corrina 'Cora D' Devonshire
Jack Noseworthy	...	Charlie Kopetski
Xander Berkeley	...	Alexander Willis
Udo Kier	...	Curly
Andre Rosey Brown	...	Big Fatso
Clint Howard	...	Schmitz
Jennifer Banko	...	Spike
Steve Railsback	...	Colonel Pryzer
Amir Aboulela	...	Patron
Adriana Alexander	...	Redhead
David Andriole	...	Goon
Vanessa Lee Asher	...	Emily the Schoolgirl
Ron Balicki	...	Customs Agent #1

Also Known As:

Barb·Wire (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

98 min | USA:109 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1996) | Australia:M | Canada:18A (unrated version) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R (certificate #34430) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Dark Horse Entertainment

Trivia:

The entire "Don't call me, Babe" leitmotif of Barb Wire comes from the original advertising for the Barb Wire Dark Horse comic book, in which she said those words to differentiate herself from a buxom, slightly airy comic book heroine named Babe by John Byrne.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Barb fights Kreb's bodyguards, one throws a chair at Barb, which misses, and hits a shelf. The shelf falls down onto a trolley-table, which is to the left of the shelf. In the next shot the trolley-table in to the right of the shelf. One shot is probably flipped.

Quotes:

Manny: What are you doing here?
Barb Wire: [holds up a cigarette] Looking for a light. Got one?
Manny: [laughing] I don't smoke.
[Barb shoots him in the head with a mini-dart from the fake cigarette]
Barb Wire: Neither do I.

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

Soundtrack:

Let's All Go Together

Proper expectations

While Barb Wire isn't an Academy style good movie, it succeeds wonderfully at what it is: a comic book translated to film. It's over-acted and over-the-top, but it's supposed to be. It's great eye candy and lots of fun to watch. I think Pamela Anderson did a great job being a two-dimensional comic book hero - think Clint Eastwood spaghetti western with tight leather. Keep in mind what the film is trying to be and you'll have a great time.