Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight

Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight (2015)

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Samuel L. Jackson as Maj. Marquis Warren, bounty hunter and veteran Union Army cavalry officer

Wyoming Territory, Winter 1877

Film: The Hateful Eight
Release Date: December 25, 2015
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Courtney Hoffman

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy birthday to Samuel L. Jackson! Born December 21, 1948, the actor hustled for two decades before his breakthrough performance as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction (1994), his first of six collaborations with Quentin Tarantino, and he is currently the highest-grossing actor of all time with his films having collectively grossed more than $27 billion worldwide.

The actor’s most recent prominent role in a QT joint was the wintry western The Hateful Eight, released ten years ago this month on Christmas 2015, and an appropriate watch for tonight’s winter solstice.

Jackson leads the ensemble cast as Major Marquis Warren, a former Union Army cavalry officer now working as a bounty hunter who prides himself on his deadly reputation:

My bounties never hang, ’cause I never bring ’em in alive.

Continue reading →

The Killer Elite: James Caan’s Brown Suede Jacket

James Caan in The Killer Elite (1975)

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James Caan as Mike Locken, government mercenary

San Francisco, Spring 1975

Film: The Killer Elite
Release Date: December 19, 1975
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Costume Designer: Ray Summers

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The Godfather co-stars and real-life friends James Caan and Robert Duvall reunited as rival mercenaries in The Killer Elite, widely released fifty years ago today on December 19, 1975, following its L.A. premiere two days earlier. Adapted by Marc Norman and Stirling Silliphant from Robert Syd Hopkins novel Monkey in the Middle, the film’s mixed reception hasn’t improved much with age, and Caan himself considered it a dud that he took merely to work with director Sam Peckinpah—even if Peckinpah’s creative control was limited by United Artists.

The Killer Elite takes a lighter, action-oriented hand to the anti-government paranoia that defined ’70s thrillers, capitalizing on the easy chemistry between Caan and Duvall who portray the friends-turned-foes on opposing sides in a San Francisco proxy war. They begin the story as Mike Locken (Caan) and George Hansen (Duvall), colleagues in ComTeg—a private intelligence network often hired by the government. “What’s that? ‘Circumsized Italian Americans’?” Mike jokes when they’re asked if they work for the CIA. Continue reading →

Rob Reiner in This is Spinal Tap

Rob Reiner as Marty Di Bergi in This is Spinal Tap (1984)

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Rob Reiner as Marty Di Bergi, documentary filmmaker

Across the United States, Fall 1982 to Spring 1983

Film: This is Spinal Tap
Release Date: March 2, 1984
Director: Rob Reiner
Costume Stylist: Renee Johnston

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

To celebrate the life of the late Rob Reiner following his and his wife Michele’s tragic deaths over the weekend, today’s post turns it up to eleven with his directorial debut: the 1984 mockumentary—if you will, rockumentary—This is Spinal Tap.

As the son of comedy legends Carl and Estelle Reiner, Rob established his own career on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family as Mike “Meathead” Stivic, whose passion for political activism mirrored the actor’s own. “I could win the Nobel Prize and they’d write ‘Meathead wins the Nobel Prize’,” the two-time Emmy-winning Reiner once commented of the nickname’s lasting association. Though he continued to act, Reiner pivoted behind the camera with a prolific and wide-ranging filmography as the director of genre-spanning modern classics like Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Misery (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), and The American President (1995)—adept at everything from rom-coms and courtroom drama to fantasy and suspense.

Designed to satirize more hagiographical music documentaries, This is Spinal Tap popularized—if not effectively launched—the mockumentary: a comedic format that continues to thrive through titles like Abbott Elementary, Borat, Documentary Now!, The Office, Parks & Recreation, and What We Do in the Shadows.

Reiner allows Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer to shine as the fictional metal band Spinal Tap, also appearing on screen as Marty Di Bergi, a filmmaker tasked with chronicling the titular band’s American comeback tour. Continue reading →

The Silent Partner: Elliott Gould’s Navy Blazer at Christmas

Elliott Gould as Miles Cullen in The Silent Partner (1978)

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Elliott Gould as Miles Cullen, mild-mannered bank teller

Toronto, Christmas 1977 to Summer 1978

Film: The Silent Partner
Release Date: September 7, 1978
Director: Daryl Duke
Wardrobe Credit: Debi Weldon

Background

Daryl Duke’s often darkly comic thriller The Silent Partner was just mentioned by Letterboxd among its list of twenty underseen holiday favorites, and you’ll know right from the description if it’s the sort of thing that would interest you: Elliott Gould plays a bank teller (alongside a young John Candy) who foils the robbery plans of a sadistic mall Santa played by Christopher Plummer, pocketing several thousand for himself, only for “Santa” to swear his violent revenge. Continue reading →

The Menswear of Clue

Film: Clue
Release Date: December 13, 1985
Director: Jonathan Lynn
Costume Designer: Michael Kaplan

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today marks the 40th anniversary since the release of Clue, which overcame an underwhelming initial release to become perhaps the most successful cinematic adaptation of a board game. The Parker Brothers classic formed the foundation for John Landis and Jonathan Lynn’s zany murder mystery, framed against the backdrop of the post-World War II “Red Scare” though, ultimately, communism was just a red herring.

Clue was released with three separate endings (a fourth was dropped during production), intended to be varied at each showing. In addition to reflecting the spirit of the original game, Landis had hoped that multiple endings would bring audiences back for multiple showings, but the gimmick unfortunately backfired as the public. It wasn’t until Clue was released to home video with all three endings presented sequentially that it gained a cult following.

Tim Curry, Lesley Ann Warren, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Martin Mull, Michael McKean, and Eileen Brennan in Clue (1985)

The movie is set over a rainy New England night in June 1954, as the game’s six colorfully named suspects—Mr. Green (Michael McKean), Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull), Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd), Miss Scarlet (Lesley Ann Warren), and Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn)—are summoned to dinner at the foreboding Hill House mansion, where each are greeted by the butler Wadsworth (Tim Curry). Continue reading →

My Night at Maud’s: Jean-Louis Trintignant’s Sheepskin Jacket

Jean-Louis Trintignant in My Night at Maud’s (1969)

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Jean-Louis Trintignant as Jean-Louis, serious-minded engineer and conflicted Catholic

Clermont-Ferrand, France, Christmas 1968

Film: My Night at Maud’s
(French title: Ma nuit chez Maud)
Release Date: June 4, 1969
Director: Éric Rohmer

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Considered one of the best French actors of the post-war era, the late Jean-Louis Trintignant was born 95 years ago today on December 11, 1930. Trintignant worked with many prolific directors but his sole collaboration with Éric Rohmer was the Nouvelle Vague drama My Night at Maud’s—the fourth-released of Rohmer’s “Six Moral Tales”.

My Night at Maud’s premiered at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival and would be nominated for two Academy Awards. Trintignant portrays the ambitious engineer Jean-Louis, deeply in love with the young biology student Françoise (Marie-Christine Barrault) he has seen at his church, until just before Christmas when his friend Vidal (Antoine Vitez) introduces him to the eponymous Maud (Françoise Fabian). The night of their first meeting features intense discussions ranging from ethics to existence until, at Maud’s existence, Jean-Louis spends an awkward—and initially platonic—night in her bed, acting only on his newfound attraction by kissing her before he leaves in the morning.

Through their subsequent interactions, Jean-Louis’ faith conflicts with his growing attraction to the outspoken, divorced atheist as he and Maud recognize the tragic unlikelihood of lasting love between them. Continue reading →

Salt and Pepper: Sammy Davis Jr. in Green Suede

Sammy Davis Jr. in Salt and Pepper (1968)

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Sammy Davis Jr. as Charles Salt, nightclub singer and co-owner

London, Spring 1968

Film: Salt and Pepper
Release Date: June 21, 1968
Director: Richard Donner
Costume Designer: Cynthia Tingey
Tailor: Charles Glenn

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Multi-talented entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. was born 100 years ago today on December 8, 1925. Davis started performing on stage at only three years old when he joined his father and godfather in a touring act named after the latter: the Will Mastin Trio. After serving in the Army during World War II and maintaining his stardom through the ’50s, Davis developed an informal but enduring association with fellow entertainers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford that has become immortalized as the “Rat Pack”. (It was reportedly at Davis’ insistence that Sinatra changed the group’s initial name from “the Clan” to “the Summit”.)

The Rat Pack’s heyday was through the early 1960s, consisting primarily of stage shows and feature films like Ocean’s 11 (1960), playing a group of Army vets teaming up to rob five Vegas casinos. But as Dino’s character declares in that flick, “old times are only good when you’ve had ’em,” and the group’s cultural domination began to sizzle within a few short years. Sinatra had spent a small fortune to renovate part of his Palm Springs estate in anticipation of a visit from Lawford’s brother-in-law—who happened to be then-President John F. Kennedy—until Attorney General RFK advised his brother to limit his association with the mob-connected Ol’ Blue Eyes… so both JFK’s visit and Lawford’s upcoming role in 4 for Texas went to Bing Crosby instead.

Ever the diplomat, Davis maintained professional ties with Lawford as the two pallies starred in three more films through the end of the ’60s, adapting their Rat Pack personas to the times in Salt and Pepper (1968) and the Jerry Lewis-directed sequel, One More Time (1970).

Salt and Pepper was the second film directed by Richard Donner, who would more successfully revisit the black-and-white buddy comedy subgenre two decades later with the Lethal Weapon series. Davis and Lawford play swingin’ London nightclub operators-turned-spies Charlie Salt and Christopher Pepper, respectively, who uncover a plot to overthrow the British government. Continue reading →

Marriage on the Rocks: Dino’s Red Sweater and Green Slacks

Dean Martin in Marriage on the Rocks (1965)

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Dean Martin as Ernie Brewer, playboy advertising executive

Los Angeles, Fall 1965

Film: Marriage on the Rocks
Release Date: September 24, 1965
Director: Jack Donohue
Costume Designer: Walter Plunkett

Background

As we’re gliding through December, my playlist is increasingly loaded with Christmas classics—often sung by the great mid-century entertainers like Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Rat Pack icons Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

After the Rat Pack’s heyday in the early ’60s had all but ended, the latter two pallies co-starred in Marriage on the Rocks, released sixty years ago in September 1965 amidst their career highs that included Sinatra recording September of My Years and appearing in an Emmy-winning documentary about his life and career, while Martin had just debuted his long-running variety show on NBC after knocking the Beatles from the top of the charts with “Everybody Loves Somebody”. Continue reading →

Hell or High Water: Jeff Bridges’ Texas Ranger Western-wear

Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water (2016)

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Jeff Bridges as Marcus Hamilton, experienced Texas Ranger nearing retirement

West Texas, Summer 2016

Film: Hell or High Water
Release Date: August 12, 2016
Director: David Mackenzie
Costume Designer: Malgosia Turzanska

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

One of the best to ever do it, Jeff Bridges turns 76 today. Born December 4, 1949, the actor was born into a family of talent including his parents Lloyd and Dorothy and older brother Beau, but he established his own path when he received his first Academy Award nomination for The Last Picture Show, released two months before his 22nd birthday. Bridges’ seventh and latest Oscar nod recognized his more grizzled, elegiac performance in the Taylor Sheridan-penned neo-Western crime thriller, Hell or High Water. Continue reading →

Clark Griswold’s Christmas Tree-Hunting Parka and Sweater

Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

Vitals

Chevy Chase as Clark W. Griswold Jr., festive family man and food additive executive

Chicago*, December 1989

Film: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Release Date: December 1, 1989
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Costume Designer: Michael Kaplan

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Let’s officially launch the Christmas season and continue this winter’s Car Week with the Griswold family in their “ol’ front-wheel-drive sleigh” in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, released 36 years ago today on December 1, 1989!

After the first two films took the Griswolds traveling across the United States and Europe, the family spends the holidays at home, where “the last true family man” Clark (Chevy Chase) and his wife Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) are trying to spread yuletide cheer to their kids Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and Rusty (Johnny Galecki) with a snowy Saturday afternoon trek into the most mountainous region of rural Illinois* in search of “that most important of Christmas symbols.”

Audrey: We’re not driving all the way out here so you can get one of those stupid ties with the Santa Clauses on it, are we Dad?
Clark: No, I have one of those at home.

Rather than neckwear, the family is embracing the frosty majesty of the winter landscape to find the perfect tree that will anchor the “fun, old-fashioned family Christmas” envisioned by Clark, foregoing the pre-cut trees offered in Jolly Jerry’s lot to chop one down himself… despite forgetting a saw. Continue reading →