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Movies that feel like Barbarella (1968)

If you loved Barbarella, the closest films we have are Ikarie XB 1 (1963), Dark Star (1974) and Forbidden Planet (1956). All three share Barbarella's cerebral and awe feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people.

πŸ… 64% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 5.9 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Roger Vadimcerebralepicwittyplayfulawedreamlike
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If Barbarella hit the spot, these will too

Ikarie XB 1 poster
Ikarie XB 1
1963 Β· dir. JindΕ™ich PolΓ‘k
πŸ… 100%β˜… 6.9science fiction

Both are built on the same subject: alien planet

The difference: Reviewed even better

The year is 2163. Starship Ikaria XB-1 embarks on a mission deep into space in search of alien life. During their perilous journey the crew confront the effects of a malignant dark star, the destructive legacy of the 20th century and, ultimately, the limits of their own sanity.

Feels alike?
Dark Star poster
Dark Star
1974 Β· dir. John Carpenter
πŸ… 74%β˜… 6.1comedy Β· science fiction

Cerebral and witty in the same breath

The difference: Not nearly as epic as Barbarella

A group of scientists are sent on a mission to destroy unstable planets. Twenty years into their mission, they have to battle their alien mascot as well as a "sensitive" and intelligent bombing device that starts to question the meaning of its existence.

Feels alike?
Forbidden Planet poster
Forbidden Planet
1956 Β· dir. Fred M. Wilcox
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.5science fiction Β· adventure

The same preoccupation in both: alien planet

Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for twenty years. They find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.

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(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 poster
(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1
2004 Β· dir. Michael Herbig
β˜… 5.5comedy Β· science fiction Β· adventure

The same mix in both: scale, then play

The difference: Made in the 2000s, in a different era of the craft

Hundreds of years after humans have settled on Mars, Regulator Rogul and Lord Jens Maul lead a force of Martians to Earth in order to conquer the planet. Queen Metaphor looks to the gay heroes aboard the Dreamship Surprise – Captain Kork, Mr. Spuck, and first engineer Schrotty – for help.

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Kin-dza-dza! poster
Kin-dza-dza!
1986 Β· dir. Georgiy Daneliya
β˜… 7.8comedy Β· science fiction Β· adventure

Awestruck science fiction in both cases

Two Soviet humans previously unknown to each other are transported to the planet Pluke in the Kin-dza-dza galaxy due to a chance encounter with an alien teleportation device. They must come to grips with a language barrier and Plukian social norms (not to mention the laws of space and time) if they ever hope to return to Earth.

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Beneath the Planet of the Apes poster
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
1970 Β· dir. Ted Post
πŸ… 37%β˜… 6adventure Β· science fiction Β· mystery

One thread runs through both: distant future

The difference: Sits closer to mystery than Barbarella does

The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission lands on the planet of the apes, and uncovers a horrible secret beneath the surface.

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Fantastic Planet poster
Fantastic Planet
1973 Β· dir. RenΓ© Laloux
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.7animation Β· science fiction

Both lean on dream logic more than on adventure

On the planet Ygam, the Draags, extremely technologically and spiritually advanced blue humanoids, consider the tiny Oms, human beings descendants of Terra's inhabitants, as ignorant animals. Those who live in slavery are treated as simple pets and used to entertain Draag children; those who live hidden in the hostile wilderness of the planet are periodically hunted and ruthlessly slaughtered as if they were vermin.

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Explorers poster
Explorers
1985 Β· dir. Joe Dante
β˜… 6.4science fiction Β· adventure Β· family

Comedy built on ideas, twice over

Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result – when he has a vivid dream about technology, his prodigy best friend Wolfgang manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren, the boys take off into outer space and encounter some very odd extraterrestrial life.

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Silent Running poster
Silent Running
1972 Β· dir. Douglas Trumbull
πŸ… 71%β˜… 6.6adventure Β· science fiction Β· drama

Science fiction with a pulse of scale, in both cases

After the entire flora goes extinct, ecologist Lowell maintains a greenhouse aboard a space station for the future with his android companions. However, he rebels after being ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions.

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea poster
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954 Β· dir. Richard Fleischer
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.2adventure Β· science fiction Β· fantasy

Dreamlike adventure, and it commits to that

A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.

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The Diamond Arm poster
The Diamond Arm
1969 Β· dir. Leonid Gaidai
β˜… 8.3adventure Β· comedy Β· crime

Witty comedy, and it commits to that

A diamond smuggling operation goes wrong when an ordinary Soviet citizen becomes unwittingly involved, and the criminals are forced to court him to retrieve their diamonds.

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Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession poster
Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession
1973 Β· dir. Leonid Gaidai
β˜… 8.2comedy Β· science fiction

Both lean on play more than on science fiction

A scientist builds a time machine and accidentally sends his apartment complex manager and a petty burglar to 16th century Moscow, while Tsar Ivan the Terrible travels to 1973.

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The best-reviewed films that share Barbarella’s defining feeling.