Joseph Cotten in The Third Man

Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins in The Third Man (1949)

Vitals

Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, moderately successful writer

Vienna, Fall/Winter 1948

Film: The Third Man
Release Date: September 1, 1949
Director: Carol Reed
Wardrobe Credit: Ivy Baker

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

I’m lurking in the shadows of moody, war-torn Vienna today to kick off #Noirvember with The Third Man, one of my favorite films noir. Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, The Third Man was directed by Carol Reed from a screenplay by Graham Greene.

American pulp novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) travels to the British sector of Allied-occupied Vienna to accept a job working for his old pal Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to learn upon his arrival that “the best friend he ever had” is reported dead and buried after an automobile accident on his street. (“Is that what you say to people after death? ‘Goodness, that’s awkward’,” Holly responds to a new acquaintance’s platitudinous condolences.)

As a mostly penniless writer of “cheap novelettes”, Holly has little else to do but remain in Vienna and try to discover what happened to Harry, whom he soon learns from Royal Military Police officer Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) was “about the worst racketeer to ever make a living in this city.” Despite a contentious relationship with the major, Holly discovers he has a fan in his assistant, Sergeant Paine (Bernard Lee), who apologizes for having to subdue the writer and assures him that he’s read a few of his Western novels after helping him back to his feet. His personal investigation plunges him into the duplicitous underworld of the Austrian black market with characters ranging from Harry’s shady colleagues to his refugee girlfriend Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli).

With its iconic score by zither player Anton Karas, Welles’ memorable performance with his “cuckoo clock” monologue, and Academy Award-winning black-and-white cinematography by Robert Krasker, The Third Man remains not just one of the most acclaimed examples of classic film noir but also considered one of the greatest movies of all time. Continue reading →

Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street

In the spirit of Halloween tomorrow and following a suggestion received from a BAMF Style reader earlier this year, today’s post explores the costume of a cinematic horror icon who needs little introduction.

Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Vitals

Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, supernatural serial killer

Suburban Ohio, Spring 1981

Film: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Release Date: November 9, 1984
Director: Wes Craven
Costume Designer: Dana Lyman

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Next month will mark the 40th anniversary of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven’s iconic slasher film that introduced the world to the terrifying Freddy Krueger, the pizza-faced killer who can target his victims through their dreams—a concept inspired by the mysterious deaths among Hmong refugees who mysteriously died in their sleep following disturbing nightmares.

Craven embodied the terror of a monster who can attack people at their most vulnerable in the form of Freddy Krueger, the undead spirit of a vindictive child murderer. I have to respect Craven’s own vindictiveness, borrowing the name from his childhood bully Fred Krueger and immortalizing it as one of the most grotesque monsters in horror cinema history. Continue reading →

Kris Kristofferson’s Brown Suede Jacket as Cisco Pike

Kris Kristofferson on the cover of his 1971 album The Silver Tongued Devil and I, photographed by Baron Wolman the previous year while in costume for Cisco Pike (1973).

Vitals

Kris Kristofferson as Cisco Pike, down-on-his-luck musician and former drug dealer

Venice Beach, California, Fall 1970

Film: Cisco Pike
Release Date: January 14, 1972
Director: Bill L. Norton
Costume Designer: Rosanna Norton

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

eighth note He’s a poet, he’s a picker, he’s a prophet, he’s a pusher, he’s a pilgrim and a preacher and a problem when he’s stoned. He’s a walkin’ contradiction—partly truth and partly fiction—takin’ every wrong direction on his lonely way back home. eighth note

In tribute to the late outlaw country icon who died one month ago today at the age of 88, I recently received a great suggestion from a BAMF Style reader to cover the style that Kris Kristofferson wore in Bill L. Norton’s directorial debut Cisco Pike. Continue reading →

The Last American Hero: Jeff Bridges in Denim

Jeff Bridges in The Last American Hero (1973)

Vitals

Jeff Bridges as Elroy “Junior” Jackson, Jr., moonshine runner and aspiring race car driver

Gaston County, North Carolina, Fall 1972

Film: The Last American Hero
Release Date: July 27, 1973
Director: Lamont Johnson
Wardrobe Credit: Alan Levine

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Amid the playoffs ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race at Martinsville a week from today on November 3, today’s post celebrates one of the more underdiscussed “mooonshine movies” that also draws on the link between Appalachain bootleggers and stock car racing.

Photographed by cinematographer George Silano against an authentic North Carolina autumn in late 1972, The Last American Hero was adapted from Tom Wolfe’s Esquire essay about moonshiner-turned-NASCAR star Robert “Junior” Johnson, represented on screen by Jeff Bridges (in one of his first starring roles) as Elroy “Junior” Jackson, Jr., who speeds through the mountains of North Carolina in his ’67 Mustang to run moonshine for his father Elroy (Art Lund) and brother Wayne (Gary Busey). Continue reading →

Dillinger (1973): Ben Johnson’s Stone Summer Suit as Melvin Purvis

Ben Johnson as Melvin Purvis in Dillinger (1973)

Vitals

Ben Johnson as Melvin Purvis, experienced federal agent

Memphis, Tennessee, September 1933

Film: Dillinger
Release Date: July 20, 1973
Director: John Milius
Costume Designer: James M. George

Background

My most recent post commemorated the 90th anniversary of outlaw “Pretty Boy” Floyd’s death following a brief manhunt through rural Ohio led by federal agent Melvin Purvis, as portrayed by Christian Bale in Michael Mann’s 2009 drama Public Enemies. Two days later, on what would have been his 121st birthday, agent Purvis has inspired his second consecutive BAMF Style post—this time via Ben Johnson’s more grizzled characterization in John Milius’ bullet-riddled 1973 film Dillinger. Continue reading →

Public Enemies: Christian Bale’s Hunting Gear as Melvin Purvis

Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis in Public Enemies (2009)

Vitals

Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, ambitious FBI agent

Columbiana County, Ohio, October 1934

Film: Public Enemies
Release Date: July 1, 2009
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Ninety years ago today, a law enforcement team combined of local police and federal agents led by Melvin Purvis cornered and killed the Depression-era desperado Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd on a farm outside of Clarkson in western Ohio. Purvis had risen to national prominence for his role in the death of bank robber John Dillinger three months earlier in Chicago, an incident that propelled the Oklahoma-born outlaw Floyd to the top of J. Edgar Hoover’s list of “Public Enemies”.

Based on Bryan Burrough’s nonfiction volume of the same name, Michael Mann’s 2009 film Public Enemies centered primarily around Purvis’ hunt for Dillinger, following Mann’s formula from films like Manhunter, Heat, and Collateral that reflects the unique mirror between two professionals on opposing sides of the law—in this case represented by the charismatic criminal Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and more laconic lawman Purvis (Christian Bale).

As a result, lip service is paid to Floyd’s notoriety but the circumstances of his October 1934 death are actually positioned a year earlier so that Bale’s Purvis leads the hunt and fires the fatal shot into “Pretty Boy” Floyd (Channing Tatum) before he’s even recruited into the Dillinger manhunt. Continue reading →

Stop Making Sense: David Byrne’s Big Suit

David Byrne models the famous “big suit” he introduced in Stop Making Sense (1984)

Vitals

David Byrne, eccentric Talking Heads frontman

Los Angeles, December 1983

Film: Stop Making Sense
Release Date: October 19, 1984
Director: Jonathan Demme
Costume Designer: Gail Blacker

Background

Widely regarded as one of the best concert films ever made, Stop Making Sense was released 40 years ago today on October 19, 1984. Independently produced by Gary Goetzman and directed by Jonathan Demme, Stop Making Sense captures Talking Heads performing over four nights in December 1983 at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, during their tour promoting the album Speaking in Tongues.

As the lead singer and chief songwriter, frontman David Byrne defined much of the band’s quirky personality, energetically dancing across the stage and rotating between his Martin D-35 acoustic guitar, sunburst ’63 Fender Stratocaster, and dual-humbucker Roland guitars.

In a 2020 Newsweek interview with Samuel Spencer, Byrne shared that he maintained a cohesive visual effect by “[asking] everyone to wear medium grey outfits, whatever style they preferred (a questionable decision there), but always in medium grey. It worked—this consistency meant the effects of the various lighting cues and gags were more seamless.” However, drummer Chris Frantz had to break from this neutral formula after his laundry wasn’t returned following the first night’s performance, opting for a turquoise-blue polo shirt each night to maintain continuity.

Still, it’s not Frantz’s splash of color that steals the sartorial spotlight in Stop Making Sense. After Tina Weymouth and Frantz perform “Genius of Love” from their side project Tom Tom Club, Byrne rejoins his band on stage ahead of “Girlfriend is Better”, now dressed in an absurdly oversized business suit. Continue reading →

Richard Farnsworth in The Straight Story

Richard Farnsworth as Alvin Straight in The Straight Story (1999)

Vitals

Richard Farnsworth as Alvin Straight, septuagenarian retiree

Across the Midwest from Iowa to Wisconsin, Fall 1994

Film: The Straight Story
Release Date: October 15, 1999
Director: David Lynch
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris

Background

Perhaps the most accessible and mainstream entry in David Lynch’s electric filmography (and the only one to be rated G), The Straight Story was released 25 years ago this week on October 15, 1999.  The film depicts the real-life journey undertaken by Alvin Straight, a retired laborer who rode a lawn mower for 240 miles from Laurens, Iowa to Mount Zion, Wisconsin to visit and make amends with his ailing older brother after the latter’s stroke.

Born 104 years ago today on October 17, 1920, Alvin Straight had served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War, but diabetes and emphysema had taken their toll on his health over the following decades to the point where he couldn’t see well enough to receive a driver’s license. Undeterred, the 73-year-old widower set out eastward in July 1994 on an old John Deere riding mower with a homemade trailer in tow, sticking to highway shoulders and side roads at a top speed of five miles per hour. Continue reading →

Pulp Fiction: Travolta’s Black Suit and Tie as Vincent Vega

John Travolta as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Vitals

John Travolta as Vincent Vega, laidback mob hitman and self-described “Elvis man”

Los Angeles, Summer 1992

Film: Pulp Fiction
Release Date: October 14, 1994
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Pulp Fiction was released 30 years ago today on October 14, 1994, establishing Quentin Tarantino’s trademarks like a nonlinear narrative, many references to older movies and TV, and even the “trunk shot” from the POV of an open car trunk.

In addition to establishing Tarantino as a serious filmmaker after his impressive debut Reservoir Dogs, the movie also revitalized John Travolta’s career. The actor received an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Vincent Vega, the canonical brother to Michael Madsen’s psychotic killer Vic Vega—aka “Mr. Blonde”—in Reservoir Dogs. Continue reading →

Society of the Snow: Numa Turcatti’s Corduroy Trucker Jacket

Enzo Vogrincic as Numa Turcatti in Society of the Snow (2023)
Photo by Quim Vives

Vitals

Enzo Vogrincic as Numa Turcatti, Uruguayan law student and college soccer player

Andes Mountains, Fall 1972

Film: Society of the Snow
(Spanish title: La sociedad de la nieve)
Release Date: December 13, 2023
Director: J.A. Bayona
Costume Designer: Julio Suárez

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

On October 13th, 1972, an Uruguayan plane crashed in the Andean mountain range. Forty of us passengers and five crew members were on board the plane. Some say it was a tragedy, others call it a miracle. What really happened? What happens when the world abandons you? When you have no clothes and you’re freezing? When you have no food and you’re dying? The answer is in the mountain. We have to go back to the past to understand that the past is what changes the most…

Society of the Snow begins with the narration of Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic), a 24-year-old law student and footballer encouraged by friends to buy a cheap plane ticket to Chile on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, joining his friend Gastón Costemalle (LOUTA) who was traveling with the Old Christians Rugby Club to play a match in Santiago. The flight departed from Montevideo 52 years ago today, followed by an overnight stop in Mendoza, Argentina.

The following day—Friday the 13th of October, 1972—Numa became one of 33 initial survivors when this FH-227D crashed into the Andes just inside the Argentinian side of the Chilean border. Numa’s narration describes this inhospitable pocket of nature where the temperature plunges to −22 °F at night as “a place where life is impossible.”

While official search efforts were called off after the first eight days, the young men endured a total of 72 days through an inspiring mix of fierce determination, resourcefulness, and teamwork, all while continually facing hardships like injury, disease, extreme weather, and avalanches that reduced them to less than half of their number. With an already dwindling food supply exhausted, the small group of remaining survivors resorted to cannibalism of their dead companions to stay alive—an unimaginable decision yet one that almost certainly saved the lives of the sixteen who were ultimately rescued in December 1972.

Skillfully directed by J.A. Bayona, Society of the Snow doesn’t shy away from these more disturbing facts of the incident while remaining a tasteful retelling that celebrates the survival of these sixteen while simultaneously honoring the memory of the dead. Wendy Ide of ScreenDaily cited the latter as one of the film’s greatest strengths, applauding that “Bayona is at pains to ensure that the voices that are foregrounded are not necessarily those of the crash victims who eventually make it home.” Continue reading →