Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #98102 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-01-26
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.com
Remember the old days, when Pamela Anderson Lee was still just a Playboy Playmate turned Baywatch babe? You know--back before the bootleg release of her infamous home video with then-husband and ne'er-do-well rocker Tommy Lee, at which time the whole world got to compare Pam's barely adequate acting chops with her formidable skill at fellatio? Yes, those were the days (1996, to be exact), when a movie like Barb Wire represented dubious progress for the busty blonde, who was determined to make as big a splash on the big-screen as she did in the world's most popular syndicated TV series. Set in the year 2017 when the Second Civil War is in full force, this sci-fi action thriller stars Pam in the title role--a leather-clad biker babe ("don't call me babe," she warns) who runs a nightclub in the last free city in America. The rest of country is controlled by the "Congressional Directorate," a dictatorial superpower which suspects Barb of trafficking in black-market contraband. That gets her into plenty of trouble (and a lot of cleavage-revealing costumes), and ... well, if any of this sounds even vaguely familiar, it's because this comic book-inspired movie is really just a shamelessly breast-enhanced variation on Casablanca, with Pam Anderson in the Bogart role. Taken for what it is, it's a brazen folly with action to spare, and as guilty pleasures go it's surprisingly enjoyable. What--you were expecting Oscar material? --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Just have fun
Okay, this isn't an Oscar-level movie. But once again the movie critics are taking themselves MUCH too seriously. A long time ago I was taught that the three questions a reviewer has to ask are:
What was done?
Was it done well?
Was it worth doing?
Based on those criteria, this movie deserves a lot more respect than it gets.

What was done? The filmmakers set out to do an outlandish remake of Casablanca. But where Casablanca was intended as social commentary (not surprising since it came out in 1942) and although this movie does pay homage to that class of commentary, their main goal was to HAVE FUN!

Was it done well? If they had set out to make a brilliantly acted Oscar-worthy film, then you could say it wasn't done well. There are holes in the plot you could drive a truck through. And no one can argue that the dialog or the script or the acting is Oscar-level material. But this movie set out simply to have some fun and use Pamela Anderson to provide it. She is not and will never be a brilliant actress. But (as subsequent projects have proven) she is much more intelligent than most people give her credit for and she carries out the role of the "shoot-em-up" bounty hunter very well. The special effects are also well-done, and the fact that people can fire 3000 bullets at her and she doesn't get hit is reminiscent of the old B-movie westerns with the good guys in the white hats and the bad guys in the black hats. You want an example of how the movie KNOWS it is just fun? Check out the first real shooting scene (in the hotel room), at the end of which you see a shot of her hand. She says something like, "Oh, shit" because in the mayhem she broke a fingernail.
Don't expect this movie to be what it isn't and you won't be so hard on it.

Was it worth doing? Sometimes we want to watch a movie just so we can escape for awhile from the drudgery and disappointments in our daily lives. We don't want to think, we don't want to cry. We just want a diversion. And that's what we got. The film never lets up, so you have no chance to be "pulled back" from it into your own problems. YES!!! A simple diversion done well is worth doing.

Oh, yes. Pamela Anderson is gorgeous and she knows it. But knowing it is not a crime. She has fun with it and doesn't take it too seriously. Neither should you.

Redeemed from its awfulness by its sheer gall.
"Barb Wire" is not a good film. Honestly, it's a one or two star film at best, save that it does the unthinkable: It's a scene-for-scene remake of "Casablanca," set in a post-apocalyptic future, with Pamela Anderson replacing Humphrey Bogart.

The sheer cheek involved in doing this -- I would love to have been in the pitch meeting for "Barb Wire" -- really makes this a hoot to watch and redeems its awfulness. Each scene from "Casablanca" that's cheerfully trashed is a laugh riot to watch, once you relax and stop worrying about Humphrey Bogart spinning in his grave.

Easily the most fun I've ever had watching a "bad" movie and good (extremely) mindless fun.

So bad it's good!
I'm not a Pamela Anderson fan, and (as a woman) I'm not really interested in cleavage. I was more-or-less forced to watch this at a friend's house. But I have to admit "That's Entertainment!!" Bad dialog, ridiculous fight scenes, and every unbelievable reason for Pam to dress in tight, black leather. Anyone who took this as a serious movie needs a CAT-scan. The ultimate in camp! Thoroughly enjoyable for the same reason that people slow down for accidents on the freeway or eat cheese out of a spray-can. After seeing this, I have to believe that Ms. Anderson is far more intelligent than she lets on. This could only have been done tongue-in-cheek as the trite scene of the shapely heroine limping away from the battlefield complaining, "Dammit - I broke a nail" could never have been included in a serious picture. If you're going to watch this, do yourself a favor and get the director's cut "with extra cleavage!" Those who know me and have seen this movie will understand the inclusion of "Don't call me Babe" and "Get in line" in my vocabulary.