Vitals

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, ex-CIA assassin on the run

Europe (Berlin & Moscow), Winter 2004

Film: The Bourne Supremacy
Release Date: July 23, 2004
Director: Paul Greengrass
Costume Designer: Dinah Collin

Background

By this point in The Bourne Supremacy, Bourne has already witnessed a tragic death, been in a car chase, beat up two U.S. Consulate officials, and stolen an old BMW. The complacent Bourne who, in his own words “got sloppy”, is now replaced by the professional Bourne.

It is important to recognize the parallels of the “two Bournes” used in the first two films: At the beginning of both, he is in a state of relative inactivity. In The Bourne Identity, he is searching for his identity (duh), and in The Bourne Supremacy, he has set up a home for Marie and himself in India. During these early parts of each film, Bourne is in more colorful clothes than usual.

After he is plunged into action (the Paris apartment realization in The Bourne Identity and Marie’s death in The Bourne Supremacy), he switches into his “Professional Badass” attire of long dark coat, sweater, dark jeans, and boots. This look has even become recognized as a common trait of fictional badasses, as noted on the excellent website TV Tropes, and this parallel is even mentioned in the screenplay for The Bourne Supremacy:

And now we see the old BOURNE, in his long black coat, purposely striding out of the building.

What’d He Wear?

After returning to Europe and the traditional Bourne we came to know in the first film, Bourne is back in his “uniform”: a long black coat, sweater, and black jeans with boots. The main pieces of the outfit can be found on Prop Archives, which describes it as “a long navy blue pea coat, black LEE jeans and black cable knit sweater.” While the dark coat may in fact be a midnight shade of blue, it is arguably not a pea jacket.

Bourne debuts his new black napped wool overcoat in Munich when he goes to confront Jarda (Marton Csokas), an ex-Treadstone assassin. This knee-length topcoat has a single-breasted, three-button front and three non-functioning cuffs at the end of each set-in sleeve. The hip pockets are covered with flaps and, unlike the previous coat, there is no contrasting lining.

Underneath, Bourne layers a lightweight dark gray ribbed long-sleeve crew-neck shirt over a dark navy T-shirt which, according to Premiere Props, was made by Dolce & Gabbana.

His other staples are there as well: the TAG Heuer Link Chronograph watch on his left wrist, the black Lee jeans worn sans belt, and black socks under his black leather bicycle-toe hiking boots. Though I had first read these to be Timberland Euro Hikers, the distinctive shape and the subtle “T” stitched into each side suggests a Tommy Hilfiger model manufactured in the early 2000s.

After the Munich incident, Bourne arrives in Berlin wearing a heavier cable-knit sweater in charcoal wool, made by Ralph Lauren (again, according to Premiere Props.)

This layering is a very efficient way to look good and be active during winter. A large puffy down jacket is unnecessary; if you have an overcoat that just long enough without being cumbersome, layer as many sweaters and T-shirts underneath as needed.

Go Big or Go Home

In addition to being a capable fighter and master escape artist, Bourne is very resourceful. For example, after being shot through the shoulder, Bourne has several objectives:

• Ease the pain in his wound
• Get a car to drive to an address out of the city
• Evade the Moscow police and the FSB agent who shot him

Rather than going to a hospital or a car rental agency, Bourne decides to take an easier path. He goes directly into a supermarket, grabbing a map, a set of rags, and a bottle of Stolichnaya vodka. As a security guard rounds the corner, Bourne whips up the SIG-Sauer P225 from his right pocket, disarms and knocks down the guard, then exits through the rear. Now he has everything he needs. Time to use it.

A group of taxi drivers convene with their cabs in the back of the store. Bourne takes a mouthful of vodka—the sole time in the series we see him drink any booze—and stumbles up to a cab, opening the driver’s door. The cabbie comes up to him, shouting in Russian: “Hey, get away from my cab, asshole!”

A police car pulls up behind them. Bourne takes it all in: the police car and the approaching officers, the angry cabbie, the contents of his pockets. With lightning speed, he spins around, spitting vodka in one officer’s face and disabling the other with two hits. He then looks up at the cabbies: clearly he is not some drunk and, even more clearly, he is not to be fucked with. The cab is now his.

Bourne shifts it into gear, shifting up as he makes his getaway and opens the map to see where the hell he is going. At this point, two police cars and an FSB assassin in a “borrowed” Mercedes SUV are after him. Most people would focus on the getaway, keeping their eyes on the road. Not Bourne. After pressing the route into his memory, he cleanses the wound with Stoli and uses one of the rags to control the blood. Now, he can worry about getting away. Although it may not sound like it, Bourne puts safety first, wearing his seat belt throughout the entire chase.

Naturally, the best accompaniment for this action is John Powell’s excellent soundtrack, specifically “Moscow Wind Up” and “Bim Bam Smash”. (Although not featured in this scene, “To the Roof” is a personal favorite track from the album.)

The Gun

Bourne’s weapon of choice throughout The Bourne Supremacy is a SIG-Sauer P225, a 9×19 mm Parabellum semi-automatic handgun taken from U.S. Consulate agent John Nevins after Bourne disarmed him and knocked him unconscious in Naples. Bourne had previously carried a P225 in The Bourne Identity after disarming two Swiss policemen in a park. He quickly disassembled the pistol, showing familiarity and comfort with the weapon.

The P225 was a compact derivative of the earlier SIG-Sauer P220, a Swiss service pistol developed in 1975. The P225 was introduced later in the decade, following its predecessor’s example as a double-action recoil-operated handgun. It uses an 8-round magazine of 9×19 mm Parabellum ammunition and found use among many police and military forces, including the Swiss Army and several American police departments.

Where to Get the Stuff

Although thematically similar to his Paris attire in The Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne’s “uniform” in the second act of The Bourne Supremacy is more lethal-looking and professional:

• Black wool knee-length single-breasted 3-button overcoat with notch lapels, straight flapped hip pockets, and 3-button cuffs
• Charcoal gray cable-knit wool crew-neck sweater
• Dark gray ribbed crew-neck long-sleeve T-shirt
• Dark navy short-sleeve T-shirt
• Black denim Lee jeans
• Black leather bicycle-toe Tommy Hilfiger hiking boots
• Black socks
• TAG Heuer Link Quartz Chronograph CT1111.BA0550 steel wristwatch with a steel bezel, round black dial, and steel link bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

The Quote

A week ago, I was 4,000 miles away, in India, watching Marie die. They came for me, and they killed her instead. This ends now.