ebiros2 I saw this movie when I was around 12 years old in Tokyo. I went to the theater by myself fully aware of its adult theme. Back then there were no rating system for the movies. It was either a full on porn or a regular movie. This was classified as a regular movie. The movie's title was in Japanese and was called "Into his chest once more" or "Ano mune ni mouichido".I understood the actresses' name was Marianne Faithful. The last name Faithful caught my attention. I knew another Faithful from a song I liked called "As tears go by". Later I made the connection that they were one and the same person. I only heard the song on a radio, so I didn't know what she looked like. Those were the days before music videos.This was also the first movie I've seen of Alain Delon. He was different from my idea of a heart throb. I've seen better looking men like Van Williams from the Green Hornet, and Troy Donahue in Surfside 6. When I saw the movie, I thought Marianne Faithful was pretty, but not gorgeous like many of the American actresses. My ideal at the time was Jane Fonda. So you can tell that my preference were more towards American actors. She was my first exposure to European actor (or from that area more or less).The movie was my first exposure to Harley Davidson. The bike was a monster. But I didn't make the connection that the police bikes in American movies were all Harleys. I was still a kid back then. I thought the helmet she wore was weird.I understood that the movie's theme was about a woman that had a husband who lacked masculinity, and she found sexual attraction in Daniel (Alain Delon). He had the same feelings for her. So she rides her bike to go and see him.The movie was beyond me at the time. I felt that I finally bit off more than I can chew. I thought the ending was crap, and the movie was meaningless. I didn't understand what the point of the movie was. It wasn't such a good movie for me. Back then my taste was very American. This movie didn't have the glamor that I liked.Now 44 years later how do I feel ? I'm glad to say that whatever I thought wasn't so cool about the movie back then still holds, and the things that I thought were superb about the movie still holds. So even through all the experience, and education I had over the years, my eyes were correct when I was 12 years old. It's the only movie that features Marianne Faithful, and that's significant. I felt that Marianne Faithful herself was uncomfortable with her own beauty and sex symbol status. She became herself when she gained weight, and more comfortable about herself as well. When I see this movie now, I can see what a good looking lady she was. It's an important film in some way. It was important to me back then, and I'm glad that it's still a cool movie not by its story, but in an artsy way. I'm also glad that I saw it in all its glory at the age that I saw it at. I did the perfect thing.I'm really glad that I went to see this movie in my formative years. You know, you should ignore what the adults say about what you shouldn't do, and follow your heart. Your heart instinctively know what's important for you.It's a daringly cool one of a kind movie, and I'm rather proud that I had enough wit to understand its value at the age of 12.

jotix100 The great Jack Cardiff was an exceptional cinematographer before his career as a director. "The Girl on a Motorcycle", which came out in 1968, was an attempt to work on a genre that was popular at the time. After all, everything back then was psychedelic and mod. The film is based on a French novel that probably was better than the adaptation by the director and Ronald Duncan.Starting with the opening credits, we are taken along for a ride through some of the most scenic areas of France, Germany and Switzerland. At the center of the story is Rebecca, a luscious young woman trapped into a loveless marriage. Her recollection of the great love affair she had with Daniel, is the excuse for the road trip. In flashbacks we are told the missing details of Rebecca and Daniel's romance and torrid encounters. Unfortunately, there is little substance to the story because the road trip is more interesting than the sum of its parts.It has been noted that Alain Delon was given top billing in the film, when the real star is Marianne Faithful, a singer with an attractive face and gorgeous body. Ms. Faithful's Rebecca comes across as a woman who has no clue as to what to do with her life. The Daniel of Alain Delon is not one of his best creations because the director makes him an interesting figure, which in reality, he is not. Marius Goring has nothing to do as the father of Rebecca.

allamo This 1968 film is often dismissed as being a joke, but compare a lot of the scenes, filmed by Jack Cardiff of 'The Vikings' fame, to the now legendary 'Easy Rider', filmed a year later. The similarities are too close to be accidental, especially at the end where the camera pans back and up into the air, surveying the autobahn crash scene from above, to the ending of 'Easy Rider' alongside the Florida levy. Another scene features Marianne roaring her Harley-Davidson Electra Glide past horses, coincidental with scenes from 'Easy Rider'. It's not beyond reason that seasoned motorcyclists like Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper would have seen 'Girl on a motorcycle', and been influenced by the cinematography. If you are a Harley-Davidson enthusiast, you will probably cherish this film for the fine motorcycles featured, namely the aforementioned 1967 Harley-Davidson, while smirking at the ludicrous upright posture of Marianne while apparently riding the motorcycle. I own a very similar machine, and can only marvel at the skill of the stuntman who actually bullied the brute through twisty, damp, oily country lanes, at a real speed that makes my socks roll up and down in panic just watching it!

moonspinner55 Jack Cardiff co-wrote, directed and photographed this low-rent film about a girl (on a motorcycle!) rushing to see her former lover on a whim after being unhappily married to a milquetoast teacher for two months (Cardiff shows us a snippet of the teacher at work; he can't control his pre-teen students and trembles when they get rowdy). Wretched script combines the usual rebel pretensions with the young woman's wistful thoughts about Life, some of which are fairly funny (while passing a cemetery, she thinks, "Not everyone who is buried is dead!"). Padded with flashbacks and dream-sequences, which are also amusing, we do get to see Marianne Faithful nude, which seems to have been Cardiff's Modus Operandi (so much for his classy reputation). The picture does have a moody, misty-morning feel which, despite being somewhat enervating, is certainly fascinating, but the slim budget and the lack of real imagination keeps this "Girl" grounded. *1/2 from ****