Tagged: 1990s
The Limey: Peter Fonda’s Layered Shirts at Big Sur
Peter Fonda as Terry Valentine in The Limey (1999)
Vitals
Peter Fonda as Terry Valentine, shady rock producer/promoter
Big Sur, California, Fall 1998
Film: The Limey
Release Date: October 8, 1999
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Steven Soderbergh’s stylish 1999 crime film The Limey follows paroled English career criminal Wilson (Terence Stamp) on a quest for revenge after his daughter’s mysterious death, leading him to her final boyfriend—L.A. rock promoter Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda). As Wilson’s pursuit grows increasingly deadly, Terry high-tails it to his Big Sur beach house, where he holes up with his latest girlfriend Adhara (Amelia Heinle) and a handful of boyguards, including security chief Jim Avery (Barry Newman).
Soderbergh filmed The Limey on location in Big Sur, a picturesque region on California’s Central Coast. Spanish settlers originally named this unexplored coastal expanse “el sur grande” (“the big south”). As more English-speaking inhabitants arrived over the following decades, the name was simplified to the Spanglish “Big Sur”. This name was officially adopted 100 years ago today when the U.S. Postal Service approved a petition to rename the local post office from Arbolado to Big Sur on March 6, 1915. Continue reading
The World Is Not Enough: Pierce Brosnan’s Midnight Brioni Tuxedo as Bond
Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in The World is Not Enough (1999).
Photo by Keith Hamshere/Sygma via Getty Images.
Vitals
Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, sophisticated English spy
Baku and Istanbul, December 1999
Film: The World Is Not Enough
Release Date: November 8, 1999
Director: Michael Apted
Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming
Tailored by: Brioni
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On the 00-7th of November, today’s post celebrates Pierce Brosnan’s third and penultimate movie as James Bond—The World Is Not Enough—which premiered 25 years ago tomorrow on November 8, 1999 at the Fox Bruin Theater in Los Angeles.
With most of Ian Fleming’s original material already adapted by the end of Timothy Dalton’s tenure, Brosnan’s Bond films relied on original storylines with nods to earlier works in the franchise. In the case of The World Is Not Enough, this applies to the title itself—the English translation of the Bond family coat of arms (“Orbis non sufficit”) mentioned in the novel and film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Bruce Feirstein crafted the original screenplay for The World Is Not Enough, centered around Bond’s assignment to protect heiress Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) from Renard (Robert Carlyle), an international terrorist who had kidnapped her years earlier. As the stakes of his mission grow, he recruits the help of an old enemy-turned-friend Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane) and the improbably named—and improbably cast—nuclear physicist Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards).
A hallmark of the Bond franchise are its aspirational sequences that highlight both the danger and elevated lifestyle of James Bond’s missions, exemplified in The World Is Not Enough as he strides into a swanky casino in an exotic locale, clad as usual in an impeccable tuxedo with a Walther holstered under his arm and a dry martini in his hand. After a Bollinger-soaked romantic interlude with an impossibly beautiful woman, Bond’s back on the trail of his dangerous foe, who only narrowly escapes as Bond saves the life of yet another impossibly beautiful woman following a gunfight. 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
The Limey: Terence Stamp’s Harrington Jacket and Black Jeans
Terence Stamp as Wilson in The Limey (1999)
Vitals
Terence Stamp as David Wilson, hardened English professional criminal
Los Angeles to Big Sur, California, Fall 1998
Film: The Limey
Release Date: October 8, 1999
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The Limey was released 25 years ago today on October 8, 1999, months after its debut at the 52nd Cannes Film Festival. Terence Stamp stars as the titular Englishman, a crook known simply as Wilson*, who arrives in Los Angeles to investigate his own suspicions after his daughter Jenny’s death in a mysterious car accident. Continue reading
Point Break: Keanu Reeves’ Plaid Shirt and Jeans
Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah in Point Break (1991)
Vitals
Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah, ambitious FBI agent
Los Angeles, Summer 1991
Film: Point Break
Release Date: July 12, 1991
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Costume Supervisors: Colby P. Bart & Louis Infante
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 60th birthday to Keanu Reeves, the Canadian actor born in Beirut on September 2, 1964. After his breakthrough performance in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), Reeves continued his path to stardom as the OSU quarterback-turned-FBI agent Johnny Utah pursuing a gang of bank-robbing surfers in Point Break (1991). Continue reading
Cape Fear (1991): Robert De Niro’s White Terrycloth Shirt as Max Cady
Robert De Niro as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1991)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Max Cady, psychopathic parolee
New Essex, North Carolina, Summer 1991
Film: Cape Fear
Release Date: November 15, 1991
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Rita Ryack
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy birthday to Robert De Niro, born August 17, 1943. One of the prolific actor’s less-discussed but still acclaimed performances is his Academy Award-nominated characterization of the dangerously psychotic Max Cady in Cape Fear, Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake of the 1962 thriller and the 7th of ten collaborations to date between De Niro and Scorsese. Continue reading
Bill Paxton in Twister
Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt in Twister (1996)
Vitals
Bill Paxton as Bill Harding, experienced storm chaser-turned-weatherman
Oklahoma, Summer 1996
Film: Twister
Release Date: May 10, 1996
Director: Jan de Bont
Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
With its standalone sequel Twisters starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell now arriving in theaters, let’s revisit the original Twister, Jan de Bont’s 1996 blockbuster centered around a group of storm-chasers pursuing and researching tornadoes across Oklahoma.
Our lead storm-chasers are the star-crossed Jo (Helen Hunt) and Bill Harding (Bill Paxton), in the midst of a divorce as Bill seeks to leave his dangerous storm-chasing days as “The Extreme” and settle into a more comfortable life as a TV weatherman with his new fiancée Dr. Melissa Reeves (Jami Gertz). “New job, new truck, new wife, it’s like a whole new you!” Jo observes as Bill arrives in his new Dodge Ram truck to request that she sign the papers to finalize their divorce.
In the meantime, Jo and her team are preparing to deploy their innovative tornado-measuring device—the realized execution of Bill’s original concept, nicknamed “Dorothy”—into the record-breaking storms wreaking havoc through Oklahoma. Continue reading
Kramer’s Cabana Shirts on Seinfeld
Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld (Episode 7.05: “The Hot Tub”)
Vitals
Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer, eccentric “hipster doofus”
New York City to the Hamptons, Spring 1994
Series: Seinfeld (Seasons 5-9)
Created by: Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
Costume Designer: Charmaine Nash Simmons
Costumer: Stephanie Kennedy
Background
As we begin planning summer getaways, it’s time to start getting your vacation clothes out of storage… and making sure your son didn’t sell them!
Puffy shirts, Gore-Tex, and “morning mist” had already established the comedic significance of costumes woven into Seinfeld‘s humor by the time the fifth-season episode “The Raincoats” aired 30 years ago today on April 28, 1994. In addition to the eponymous beltless trench coats referenced by the episode’s title, this two-parter directed by Tom Cherones also introduced a new wardrobe staple for the series: Kramer’s terry-lined cabana shirts. Continue reading
Jackie Chan in Rush Hour
Jackie Chan in Rush Hour (1998)
Vitals
Jackie Chan as Yan Naing Lee, athletic Hong Kong Police Force detective
Los Angeles, Fall 1997
Film: Rush Hour
Release Date: September 18, 1998
Director: Brett Ratner
Costume Designer: Sharen Davis
Background
Happy 70th birthday, Jackie Chan! Born April 7, 1954 in Hong Kong, Chan grew to fame for his impressive stunts and his ability to blend such acrobatic fighting with comic timing—a skill exemplified throughout the action-packed 1998 buddy comedy Rush Hour, a DVD that my high school friends must have watched dozens of times.
After a Chinese diplomat’s daughter is kidnapped in Los Angeles, the consul calls on a devoted friend from the Hong Kong Police Force to assist the investigation. Unwilling to accept the foreign detective’s help, the FBI passes Inspector Lee off to the LAPD—specifically the loquacious and foolhardy Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker), who resents being tasked with a babysitting assignment. While the feds follow the investigation by-the-book, Tucker’s unorthodox methods and Lee’s familiarity with those involved give the mismatched pair an advantage as they track down Soo Yung’s kidnappers… much to the FBI’s chagrin. Continue reading
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