Saturday, September 2 & Sunday, September 10 | Famed cinematographer Cardiff (THE RED SHOES, THE AFRICAN QUEEN) directs this hypnotic and oh-so-60s road trip on two wheels that stars Marianne Faithfull as the titular girl, Rebecca. After waking up next to her impotent husband Raymond, Rebecca, bored and dreaming of her former lover Daniel (Alain Delon), dons a black leather catsuit (and nothing else) and jumps on her motorbike to reunite with him. As she rides, she indulges in erotic, psychedelic reveries about her relationship with the two men, and the power she feels as a desirable woman. THE GIRL ON THE MOTORCYCLE holds the distinction of being the first film to receive an X rating from the MPAA, and was released in the United States under the far more evocative and suggestive title, NAKED UNDER LEATHER. Considered soft porn by some (though the film is, even by 1968 standards, decidedly tame), and exploitation cinema by others, the film is a hazy, sexually liberated joyride.
Contra/Banned Series: As a disturbing wave of bans—on books, on bodies, on identities—continues to sweep across the United States, the Film Center declares: get your censorship off our cinema. With Contra/Banned, we present 10 films that have experienced, in varying absurd degrees, their own bans and outcries, their own protests and regulations. The films of Contra/Banned are at times subversive, controversial, taboo, provocative, and shocking. Sounds like a good time at the movies to us. View full series.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu