Synopsis

In 2017, during the Second American Civil War, bounty hunter and nightclub owner Barb Wire lives in Steel Harbor, the last free city in America. When her former lover returns with a scientist carrying information about a deadly bioweapon, Barb is drawn into a dangerous escape plot involving corrupt authorities, retinal-scanning technology, and a desperate flight to Canada.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film adapts the Barb Wire character from Dark Horse Comics. The comic version debuted in 1993, while the movie reimagines Steel Harbor as a futuristic city during a civil war.

• The story deliberately echoes the structure of *Casablanca*, with a nightclub owner, a former lover, a resistance figure, and an escape route to Canada. Roger Ebert specifically described the movie as a futuristic recycling of the classic film.

• Principal photography took place from April 28 to August 3, 1995. Dockyard sequences were filmed in Long Beach, California, while additional production took place in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

• The production budget was approximately $9 million, but the film earned less than $3.8 million in U.S. theaters.

• Pamela Anderson performed some of her own action work, including motorcycle riding, fight choreography, and weapons handling. The character's restrictive leather costumes, corset, and high heels made the action scenes particularly demanding.

• The film's publicity prominently featured a Triumph Thunderbird 900 motorcycle, giving the then-new model considerable screen exposure.

• A soundtrack album was released on April 23, 1996. The film also received a Golden Raspberry nomination for its original song, "Welcome to Planet Boom!"

• Dark Horse Comics published a 48-page movie adaptation in May 1996.

• A video game adaptation was announced for PlayStation, Saturn, personal computers, and Macintosh, but it was never released.

• The film received five Golden Raspberry nominations and won for Worst New Star. Despite its poor initial reception, it has developed a cult following.