Mario De Berardinis
Barbarella, 1968
Italian Due Fogli Film Poster
55 x 39⅔ in. (140 x 100 cm.)
Backed on linen
Printed in Italy by Novograph, Roma.
Further images
An incredibly rare Italian due fogli teaser poster for Roger Vadim's 1968 sexy science fiction comedy 'Barbarella', with spectacular psychedelic artwork by Mario De Berardinis. Based on the Italian comic...
An incredibly rare Italian due fogli teaser poster for Roger Vadim's 1968 sexy science fiction comedy 'Barbarella', with spectacular psychedelic artwork by Mario De Berardinis. Based on the Italian comic book of the same name, the film followed Jane Fonda as the 41st century space-vixen Barbarella, tasked with finding fugitive scientist Durand Durand whose deadly positronic ray could spell the end of humanity. Though it premiered to mixed reviews, the film is now considered a cult classic, influencing Jean Paul Gaultier's costume designs for 'The Fifth Element' and inspiring the name of pop band Duran Duran. Re-purposing Robert McGinnis original design for the American poster campaign, artist Mario De Berardinis' set the same central figure of Barbarella amidst a swirling psychedelic space vortex in black, crimson and mauve for this large format advance poster for the original Italian release. The day-glo yellow title pops against the cosmic backdrop. A holy grail of sixties sci-fi and believed to be one of only a handful of surviving copies, we know of only two other examples of this impossibly scarce poster that have come up for sale.
Provenance
Backing has smoothed and diminished three vertical and three horizontal machine folds as issued. Minor nicks to edges. Scattered pinholes to margins and within edges of image. Spots of light colour touching to crossfolds, pinholes and to the odd ding or surface scuff through image. Some fine vertical creasing from lower edge to bottom of title and a fine 12 in. diagonal crease extending from lower right crossfold, which is only visible from some angles. Faint writing bleedthrough to yellow title. Image and colours otherwise excellent.30
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