Bill Paxton’s Sea Exploration Style in Titanic

Bill Paxton as Brock Lovett in Titanic (1997)

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Bill Paxton as Brock Lovett, deep-sea treasure hunter

North Atlantic Ocean, Spring 1996

Film: Titanic
Release Date: December 19, 1997
Director: James Cameron
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

This week marks the 113th anniversary of the RMS Titanic sinking in April 1912, a tragedy that has captivated generations—and resurfaced in the public consciousness with every new discovery or disaster, including the OceanGate submersible incident that dominated headlines (and memes) in June 2023.

Forty years ago in the summer of 1985, the wreck of Titanic was discovered by Dr. Robert Ballard, reigniting global fascination and eventually inspiring James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster. For Cameron, the shipwreck was more than a cinematic setting; it was, as he described, “the Mount Everest of shipwrecks.” Despite being “almost past the point” of considering a real undersea expedition, Cameron sought Hollywood funding for what was, at its heart, a chance to dive to the wreck. “Secretly, what I wanted to do was I wanted to dive to the real wreck of Titanic. And that’s why I made the movie,” he admitted to laughter and applause during a 2010 TED Talk, earning laughter and applause. Across 12 dives, Cameron spent more time with Titanic than most of her actual passengers.

Cameron’s longtime friend and collaborator Bill Paxton embodied this pursuit of the ship in his role as Brock Lovett, the modern-day treasure hunter leading the expedition to find a priceless necklace rumored to be buried aboard the ship. Charismatic yet opportunistic, Brock could be a stand-in for Cameron himself, driven by both adventure and the promise of a big payday—be that a sunken treasure or a billion-dollar box office. Paxton’s character even mirrors history; his reaction upon discovering Jack’s drawing of Rose (“I’ll be goddamned”) echoes Dr. Ballard’s exact words upon locating the wreck in 1985. Continue reading →

The Great Gatsby at 100: Warner Baxter’s Monogrammed Blazer as Gatsby

Warner Baxter as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby (1926)

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Warner Baxter as Jay Gatsby, mysterious millionaire

Long Island, New York, Summer 1926

Film: The Great Gatsby
Release Date: November 21, 1926
Director: Herbert Brenon

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s generation-defining novel of the Jazz Age, was first published by Scribner’s 100 years ago tomorrow on April 10, 1925. While it’s often claimed that the novel flopped on release, Gatsby was actually fairly well received; the real tragedy is that Fitzgerald died in 1940 believing his greatest work had been forgotten. One can only wonder how he’d have reacted knowing that, decades later, Gatsby’s yellow touring car would become the subject of countless high school essays on symbolism.

The novel’s rich themes and lush imagery have inspired multiple screen adaptations, the best-known being the lavish 1974 and 2013 versions starring Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio, respectively. Less prominent are the 2000 made-for-TV version starred Toby Stephens as the doomed millionaire and a curiously sanitized 1949 adaptation with noir regular Alan Ladd in the title role. But the story’s screen legacy actually dates back much earlier—nearly to the novel’s initial publication.

Just a year after Gatsby hit shelves, George Cukor’s stage adaptation premiered on Broadway in February 1926. Famous Players—Lasky Corporation and Paramount Pictures purchased the rights and adapted it into a silent film that same year, with writers Becky Gardiner and Elizabeth Meehan shaping the screenplay. Continue reading →

The Conversation: Gene Hackman’s Puppytooth Suit and Raincoat

Gene Hackman as Harry Caul in The Conversation (1974)

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Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, anxious audio surveillance expert and saxophonist

San Francisco, December 1972

Film: The Conversation
Release Date: April 7, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Aggie Guerard Rodgers

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Released today in 1974, The Conversation featured a characteristically great starring performance from the late Gene Hackman. Hackman stars as San Francisco surveillance specialist Harry Caul, a paranoid loner described by one of his few pals as “the best bugger on the West Coast.”

Director Francis Ford Coppola later shared that, though Hackman initially struggled to connect with the repressed and introspective Caul due to their contrasting personalities, he ultimately came to regard the role as one of his personal favorites. Continue reading →

Johnny Depp as Cry-Baby

Johnny Depp in Cry-Baby (1990)

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Johnny Depp as Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker, rebellious high school hellcat and rockabilly singer

Baltimore, Spring 1954

Film: Cry-Baby
Release Date: April 6, 1990
Director: John Waters
Wardrobe & Makeup Designer: Van Smith

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Just over three weeks after its premiere in John Waters’ native Baltimore where the film—among so many of his others—is set, Cry-Baby was more widely released 35 years ago tomorrow on April 5, 1990 in more than 1,200 theaters across North America—an unprecedented opening for the offbeat director.

This wider release indicated the film’s more mainstream appeal, lacking the more scatological elements of Waters’ prior works like Pink Flamingos (1972) while retaining enough of the director’s signatures to make it an effective introduction to his work. Despite this increased accessibility and some critical acclaim, Waters’ camped-up tribute to ’50s teen romances (think Grease for weirdos) still failed to find a solid audience at the outset. It wasn’t until years after its initial release that Cry-Baby developed a cult following among much of Waters’ other movies. Continue reading →

Heat: Val Kilmer’s Gray Glen Plaid Bank-Robbery Suit

Val Kilmer in Heat (1995)

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Val Kilmer as Chris Shiherlis, professional armed robber

Los Angeles, Spring 1995

Film: Heat
Release Date: December 15, 1995
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

R.I.P. Val Kilmer (1959-2025)

After becoming the youngest student ever accepted into Juilliard’s prestigious Drama Division at the time, Kilmer rose to fame through a streak of memorable ’80s hits like Top Secret! (1984), Real Genius (1985), and Top Gun (1986). The ’90s saw Kilmer take on a range of leading roles, from his magnetic turn as Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991) to donning the cape in Batman Forever (1995), as well as his scene-stealing performance as the sardonic and tubercular Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993).

Kilmer followed that success with another standout role in Heat (1995), Michael Mann’s masterful crime epic that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Kilmer plays Chris Shiherlis, a reliable criminal but not-so-reliable husband, part of a tight-knit crew led by the calculating Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). Hoping that one last big score will salvage his unraveling marriage, Shiherlis throws in on a high-stakes heist at the Far East National Bank in downtown Los Angeles. “The bank is worth the risk. I need it, brother,” he tells McCauley. Continue reading →

Stray Dog: Toshirô Mifune’s Summer Suit

Toshirô Mifune in Stray Dog (1949)

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Toshirô Mifune as Murakami, homicide detective

Tokyo, Summer 1949

Film: Stray Dog
(Japanese title: 野良犬, Nora inu)
Release Date: October 17, 1949
Director: Akira Kurosawa

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Considered one of the greatest actors of all time, Toshirô Mifune was born 105 years ago today, on April 1, 1920. Before his Hollywood debut in Grand Prix (1966), Mifune starred in sixteen films directed by Akira Kurosawa. Their third collaboration was the 1949 drama Stray Dog, a film that blends elements of film noir with themes of disillusionment in postwar Japan and is now regarded as an early example of the police procedural.

The story begins on “an unbearably hot day” in Tokyo, where Mifune’s newly promoted homicide detective Murakami reports the theft of his sidearm. After recounting the incident—including his failed pursuit of the pickpocket—Murakami partners with veteran detective Satō (Takashi Shimura) to track the weapon into the depths of Tokyo’s underworld. Their investigation leads to a desperate small-time crook named Yusa (Isao Kimura), whose escalating crime spree weighs heavily on Murakami, forcing him to confront difficult questions about guilt, duty, and justice. Continue reading →

Casino: Ace Rothstein’s Pink Golf Sweater

Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995)

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Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate

Las Vegas, Spring 1979

Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn

Background

It’s still early enough in spring for sweaters to be appropriate—especially when worn lightly and layered in bright, seasonal colors, like the pastels that costume designers Rita Ryack and John A. Dunn worked into Robert De Niro’s vibrant wardrobe in Casino, Martin Scorsese’s neon-lit 1995 crime epic celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. De Niro stars as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a meticulous gambler and mob-connected gaming executive based on real-life figure Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust Hotel and Casino from the 1960s through the early ’80s.

With an array of period-detailed pastel suits, silk shirts, and coordinated ties lining his closet, Ace rarely appears on screen in casual attire, but Ryack shared in 2002 that one of her favorite of Ace’s outfits from among her and Dunn’s costume design was “a pink bouclé golf sweater and trouser ensemble,” as cited in a 2002 New York Post article by Megan Turner. Continue reading →

The Gambler: James Caan’s Tan Cardigan

James Caan as Axel Freed in The Gambler (1974)

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James Caan as Axel Freed, gambling-addicted English professor

New York City, Fall 1973

Film: The Gambler
Release Date: October 2, 1974
Director: Karel Reisz
Costume Designer: Albert Wolsky

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today’s post honors the late James Caan, born 85 years ago on March 26, 1940. Just after his star-making performance in The Godfather, Caan starred as Axel Freed in The Gambler (1974), the eponymous English professor whose crippling addiction lands him deep in debt.

Axel’s struggle to climb out of the $44,000 hole he’s dug for himself is central to the film. Early on, Axel joins his mother at the beach where, upon learning of the extent of his debt, she bemoans her failure in raising a son “with the morals of a snail.” As Axel spirals further, he seeks out ways to cover the debt, meeting with his girlfriend Billie (Lauren Hutton) before attempting a desperate plan to hustle cash. Continue reading →

Michael Scott in The Office’s First Episode

Steve Carell as Michael Scott on The Office (Episode 1.01: “Pilot”)

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Steve Carell as Michael Scott, paper sales regional manager

Scranton, Pennsylvania, February 2005

Series: The Office
Episode: “Pilot” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: March 24, 2005
Director: Ken Kwapis
Creator: Greg Daniels
Costume Designer: Carey Bennett

Background

The American adaptation of The Office debuted 20 years ago today on NBC, bringing viewers into the everyday monotony of the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company. Led by the cringe-worthy but eventually endearing salesman-turned-manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell), the show quickly established Michael’s desperate need for affection, which only becomes more apparent with each passing episode. Continue reading →

Blood Diamond: Leo’s Khaki Bush Shirt, Breitling, and Field Jacket

Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer in Blood Diamond (2006)

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Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer, arms dealer and diamond smuggler

Freetown, Sierra Leone to Cape Town, South Africa, January 1999

Film: Blood Diamond
Release Date: December 8, 2006
Director: Edward Zwick
Costume Designer: Ngila Dickson

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Blood Diamond has been requested by several BAMF Style readers through the years. The movie is set during the brutal Sierra Leonean Civil War, which began 34 years ago tomorrow on March 23, 1991, when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebelled against Joseph Momoh’s government.

In his third Oscar-nominated performance, Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of Rhodesian gun runner and diamond smuggler Danny Archer has been cited among his appearances in The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006) as a breakthrough into more mature roles for the actor. Continue reading →