''The Girl on a Motorcycle'' (
French: ''La motocyclette'') is a 1968 British-French
erotic
Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...
romantic drama
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...
film directed by
Jack Cardiff
Jack Cardiff, (18 September 1914 – 22 April 2009) was a British cinematographer, film and television director, and photographer. His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor, to fi ...
, starring
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...
and
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...
and featuring Roger Mutton,
Marius Goring
Marius Re Goring, (23 May 191230 September 1998) was a British stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' and as Julian Cr ...
and
Catherine Jourdan
Catherine Jourdan (12 October 1948 – 18 February 2011) was a French actress. She appeared in 22 films and television shows between 1967 and 1989. She starred in the 1970 film '' Eden and After'', which was entered into the 20th Berlin Inte ...
. It was listed to compete at the
1968 Cannes Film Festival but the festival was cancelled due to the
May 1968 events in France
Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which ha ...
.
''The Girl on a Motorcycle'' redefined the
leather jacket
A leather jacket is a jacket-length coat that is usually worn on top of other apparel or item of clothing, and made from the tanned hide of various animals. The leather material is typically dyed black, or various shades of brown, but a wide ra ...
for motorcyclists into a
catsuit
A catsuit is a one-piece form-fitting garment that covers the torso and the legs, and frequently the arms. They are usually made from stretchable material, such as lycra, chiffon, spandex (after 1959), latex, or velour, but may use less elasti ...
that Faithfull wore in the film. It was the first film to receive an
X rating
An X rating is a rating used in various countries to classify films that have content deemed suitable only for adults. It is used when the violent or sexual content of a film is considered to be potentially disturbing to general audiences.
Aust ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Edited by Warner Brothers to get an "R" rating, the film was released as ''Naked Under Leather'' in the United States.
Plot
The film is set in France and Germany.
Newly married Rebecca leaves her husband Raymond's bed on her prized motorbike—her symbol of freedom and escape. During her ride to visit Daniel, her lover in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, she indulges in
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
and erotic reveries as she relives her changing relationship with the two men. Her flashback scenes reveal the background story. Rebecca met Daniel while working at her father's bookshop a few weeks before her marriage to Raymond, a school teacher. Daniel gives Rebecca motorcycle driving lessons on a
Norton Norton may refer to:
Places
Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada
*Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan
*Norton Parish, New Brunswick
**Norton, New Brunswick, a ...
motorcycle. They quickly become lovers. She asks him if he will marry her, and he simply says "No". She tells him that she is soon to be married, and he says he will give her a wedding present. A
Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle is delivered to Rebecca at the bookshop. Her father says she should refuse it, but she asks Raymond what she should do and he says she should do what will make her happy. She rides the motorcycle from France to Germany to be with Daniel. On the return trip, after having several drinks of
kirsch
Kirschwasser (, ; , German for "cherry water") or kirsch is a clear, colorless brandy traditionally made from double distillation of morello cherries, a dark-colored cultivar of the sour cherry. It is now also made from other kinds of cherries. ...
in a small village bar, she decides to go back to Daniel rather than Raymond. She drives fast and recklessly, and although she wears leathers she has no helmet. Her ride to Daniel ends prematurely when she collides with a truck which swerves in front of her, throwing her head-first through the windscreen of an oncoming car, which then crashes into the truck.
Cast
*
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...
as Daniel
*
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...
as Rebecca
*
Roger Mutton as Raymond
*
Marius Goring
Marius Re Goring, (23 May 191230 September 1998) was a British stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' and as Julian Cr ...
as Rebecca's Father
*
Catherine Jourdan
Catherine Jourdan (12 October 1948 – 18 February 2011) was a French actress. She appeared in 22 films and television shows between 1967 and 1989. She starred in the 1970 film '' Eden and After'', which was entered into the 20th Berlin Inte ...
as Catherine
*
Jean Leduc as Jean
*
Jacques Marin
Jacques Marin (9 September 1919 – 10 January 2001) was a French actor on film and television. Marin's fluency in English and his instantly recognisable features made him a familiar face in some major American and British productions (''Cha ...
as Pump Attendant
*
André Maranne
André Maranne (14 May 1926 – 12 April 2021) was a French-English actor best known for playing roles in English-language films beginning in the mid-1950s.
Life and career
Born André Gaston Maillol in Toulouse, France, Maranne's best known r ...
as French Superintendent
*
Bari Jonson as First French Customs Officer
*
Arnold Diamond
Arnold Diamond (18 April 1915 – 18 March 1992) was an English character actor, regularly cast in small parts on television.
He graduated from RADA in 1936, and his stage work included the RSC, and three years in Agatha Christie's ''The Mo ...
as Second French Customs Officer
*
John G. Heller as German Customs Officer
*
Marika Rivera
Marika Rivera (13 November 1919 – 14 January 2010) was a French-born film and stage actress and dancer.
Biography
Rivera was born in Paris, France, the daughter of the Mexican artist Diego Rivera and his mistress, the Russian-born painter Mar ...
as German Waitress
*
Richard Blake as 1st Student
* Chris Williams as 2nd Student
*
Colin West
Colin West (born 13 November 1962) is an English former footballer who is now the assistant manager at club Hartlepool United. He played as a forward and scored 158 goals in 555 league and cup games in the English Football League, Conference ...
as 3rd Student
Cast notes
*Faithfull's riding double in medium to distant shots was
Bill Ivy
William David Ivy (27 August 1942 – 12 July 1969) was an English professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Maidstone, Kent. He died during practice for a race in East Germany.
The Early Years
Ivy started racing motorbikes at Brands Hat ...
, British GP champion and former world champion motorcyclist.
Production
The film was made on locations in France (including
Haguenau
Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture.
It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the ...
), Germany (including
Neulauterburg
Berg is a municipality in the district of Germersheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the border with France. The ''Ortsteil'' Neulauterburg, 2 km west of the centre of Berg, is contiguous with the French town Lauterbour ...
), Switzerland (including
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
), and Belgium. The bookshop scenes were filmed at a bookshop in Geneva. In many of the scenes where Marianne Faithfull is seen driving the Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle at high speeds, she was seated on the motorcycle which was attached to a platform that was being pulled by a vehicle in front of it. Many of the scenes were filmed in the English language and then again in the French language. Cardiff received extensive cooperation from the police in blocking the roads, so many scenes show only the lone motorcycle and no other vehicular traffic. The final crash scene was staged on an abandoned airstrip in England. The "psychedelic" colour effects were achieved by
solarizing the film during post-production.
Reception
The film was the sixth most popular movie in general release in Britain during 1968.
["John Wayne-money-spinner" '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' (31 December 1968)
Home media releases
''The Girl on a Motorcycle'' was released on
VHS in 1998 and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
in 1999 by
Starz
Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...
/
Anchor Bay. A remastered edition on DVD and
Blu-ray Disc
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
was released in 2012 by
. Both versions contain the same film material, commentary by director Jack Cardiff, and original theatrical trailer. However, the earlier version is approximately 91 minutes long, while the later, remastered version, is approximately 88 minutes long. This time discrepancy is due to the earlier version playing at a slightly slower speed.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girl On A Motorcycle, The
1968 films
1960s romance films
1960s English-language films
British romance films
French romance films
Adultery in films
Motorcycling films
Films based on short fiction
Films set in Heidelberg
Films set in West Germany
Films directed by Jack Cardiff
English-language French films
1960s British films
1960s French films