The Girl on a Motorcycle
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Related e |
Featured: |
The Girl on a Motorcycle (French: La motocyclette), also known as Naked Under Leather, is a 1968 British-French film starring Alain Delon, Catherine Jourdan and Marianne Faithfull.
It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was canceled due to the events of May 1968 in France.
It redefined the leather jacket for motorcyclists into a full body suit that Marianne Faithfull wore in the film.
It is based on the La Motocyclette (1963) by André Pieyre de Mandiargues.
Contents |
Plot
Newly married Rebecca leaves her husband's Alsatian bed on her prized motorbike—symbol of freedom and escape—to visit her lover, Daniel, in Heidelberg. En route, she indulges in psychedelic and erotic reveries as she relives her changing relationship with the two men, before crashing into a truck at the film's conclusion.
It is based on the novella La Motocyclette by André Pieyre de Mandiargues. In the medium to distant shots, the rider was the British GP champion Bill Ivy, wearing a blonde wig. Ivy died in a motorcycle accident in July 1969.
Cast
- Alain Delon as Daniel
- Marianne Faithfull as Rebecca
- Roger Mutton as Raymond
- Marius Goring as Rebecca's Father
- Catherine Jourdan as Catherine
- Jean Leduc as Jean
- Jacques Marin as Pump Attendant
- André Maranne as French Superintendent
- Bari Jonson as First French Customs Officer
- Arnold Diamond as Second French Customs Officer
- John G. Heller as German Customs Officer
- Marika Rivera as German Waitress
- Richard Blake as 1st Student
- Chris Williams as 2nd Student
- Colin West as 3rd Student
Reception
The film was the 6th most popular movie in general release in Britain during 1968.
Home media releases
The Girl on a Motorcycle was released on VHS in 1998 and DVD in 1999 by Starz/Anchor Bay. A remastered edition on DVD and Blu-ray Disc was released in 2012 by Redemption Films.