Barb Wire

The critically lambasted 1996 film adaptation of the comic book "Barb Wire" starring Pamela Anderson (credited as Pamela Anderson Lee due to she was married to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee at that time) bombed at the box office. During its theatrical run the R rated film grossed only 3.8 million against a production budget of 9 million. While regarded by many as a terrible film, I actually enjoyed it when I initially saw it in theaters and feel it is a great definition of the term guilty pleasure. "Barb Wire" is by no means a great movie but it is a lot of campy fun which was made by people who clearly understood what type of movie they were making. It features a tongue firmly planted in cheek style which can prove infectious if you are in the right mindset. Pamela Anderson was clearly hired for the title role due to her ample physical assets which match the curvaceous qualities of the comic book character. (A lot of people forget how much more beautiful she was before the extensive plastic surgery and breast implants but I digress.) While she does not give a terrific performance, she delivers where it counts and is surrounded by a terrific cast."Barb Wire" was initially released on VHS and eventually DVD in an unrated cut which featured a few brief moments of additional nudity. Universal released the R rated theatrical cut on bluray back in 2011 which featured a transfer in the VC-1 codec that was marred by egregious use of digital noise reduction and sharpening. Fans lamented the fact that the unrated version was not included but it was found that the negative for the extra footage was lost. (I actually prefer the theatrical cut as the pacing is slightly better.) Germany got the unrated version on bluray in mid 2018 but they had to use standard definition inserts for the unrated footage.Due to the original Universal disc has been out of print for a while, Mill Creek Entertainment decided to reissue "Barb Wire" on blu-ray as a budget priced release in early 2019. In terms of image quality this is not the same transfer used on the Universal release. For Mill Creek's reissue the film got a new encode in the AVC codec at a higher bit rate usually averaging around 30 mbps yielding better detail in comparison. While it appears that they had to use an existing HD master which had some DNR baked in, the Mill Creek disc looks more film like with more natural film grain present and an overall less smooth presentation. Colors look natural whereas contrast and black levels look solid too. There are enough obvious improvements to my eyes that the Mill Creek reissue is worth the double dip.Audio is presented in 5.1 master audio sounding punchy with nice separation and clarity. Thankfully English subtitles were included which is a rarity with Mill Creek blu-ray releases. No extras are included.While I would like to see this film get a special edition blu-ray release eventually (hello, Shout Factory!), this reissue does at least get the film back out again especially at such a great low price. The film is a lot of goofy fun and Pamela Anderson looks great strutting her stuff throughout. Recommended!

Since Amazon just lumps all of these reviews together, I'll specify that this is for the Mill Creek blu-ray release. Typical of Mill Creek, there are no special features, but if you just want a blu-ray copy of Barb Wire, this will work for you. It is region A. It's a good quality transfer at a good price.

I somehow was able to snag a glimpse of this film as a young boy years ago and felt my jaw hit the floor. Bought it at 32 and realized that it really wasn't that great of a movie, but it's still Pam Anderson...so, yea.

Possible spoilers. I’ve been watching Hulu’s new series “Pam and Tommy” which centers on Babewatch…er, “Baywatch” TV star Pamela Anderson and her new husband, rock drummer, Tommy Lee. It is set at the time they first met, and their sex tape was stolen in 1995. Shortly thereafter, Pam starred in this comic book action film. I use “action” film loosely. Most of the action is of Barb Wire kicking the bejeezus out of bad guys in her high heels and black, faux leather corset. How those bazookas stayed undercover is a miracle in costume design and should have earned an Oscar.Say what you want about the film, the story seems almost prescient. Get this, it is set in 2017 after a new election in the United States. The country is in a civil war as the fascist political party has taken over. Called the “Congressional Directorate” they have overthrown the country’s established democratic process. Every city is under Martial Law, except Steel Harbor, an isolated island where there is little law, plenty of chaos and crime. Barbara “Barb Wire” Kopetsky (Anderson) runs the Hammerhead bar and nightclub. She also has a side gig as a bounty hunter. Barb has never taken a side in the political war underway between new regime and the resistance fighters. That will begin to change when her already blind brother, Charlie (Jack Noseworthy) becomes a victim and her ex, Axel returns seeking her help.Axel is played by Temuera Morrison who Star Wars/Disney fans might recognize as Boba Fett himself. His acting here is just as wooden as in the new series, but he’s leaner and better looking. Barb is assisted in the club by a bald guy called Curly played by German actor Udo Kier (“Swan Song”). Axel wants Barb to help him and his new girlfriend, Cora D (Victoria Rowell) escape to Canada. Cora is some super-scientist or something who has top secret information. The Directorate is after her. She’s changed her looks but the government uses eye recognition to catch the people they are looking for. Axel wants Barb to find a set of contact lens on the black market that will allow Cora to get through security.So, how is Pam’s acting as Barb? Well, she certainly looks the part, although I would think that being top heavy might be a problem with some of those moves. Acting? Yes, it’s bad. Maybe the filmmakers need to remake the movie with Lily James, who plays Pam in the Hulu series. She’s terrific.

Pamela Anderson

Alles gut gelaufen, danke!

PLOT...In 2017, during the Second American Civil War, Barb Wire owns the Hammerhead, a nightclub in Steel Harbour, "the last free city" in a United States ravaged by the war. She brings in extra cash working as a mercenary and bounty hunter.This is a cheesy sleazy action movie made in 1995, still worth a watch today if you love these old school action movies, its basically a movie starring Pamela Anderson's boobs, Based on the Dark Horse comic book series, its a reasonably fun movie with an ok cast, plenty of action with shootouts and car chases and explosions etc, Pamela was a hit on Baywatch due to her huge assets, going into movies maybe wasn't a great idea but hell this movie as cheesy as it is can be fun at times, something to go back too now and again for a bit of no brainer fun. And because we all love Pam from back in the day! Whatever you do.. Don't call her babe!This review is on the UNRATED German Blu-ray import. And for what it is, its a decent release.The picture quality is pretty decent for an old movie in HDThe features include an extended piece of footage from the opening sequence of the movie where she is dancing in the club. (basically 9mins of topless getting wet dancing) A making of featurette 15mins, an original 1996 promo featurette 6mins, and three trailers.Running time on the movie is 100mins, Region B (Plays fine on UK players) 1996/2018The movie plays with the full original English audio, subtitles can also be turned off.The features also play with full English audio, subtitles can be turned off.The movie comes presented in a clear case with reversible sleeve art including the original poster art on the black background, The back cover only features German language text.

Der Film ist ganz unterhaltsam aber 1 mal ansehen reicht.

Trash vom Feinsten, der ohne Pam jedoch kaum Reiz hätte. Der Film ist ganz auf die Sex-Göttin zugeschnitten, ohne sie wäre die Ablenkung vom schwachen Drehbuch nicht stark genug.Immerhin: Die Schlussszene ist Granate!