Tagged: Black Turtleneck
The Yakuza: Ken Takakura in Gray Herringbone
Ken Takakura as Ken Tanaka in The Yakuza (1974)
Vitals
Ken Takakura as Ken Tanaka, disciplined ex-Yakuza
Tokyo, Spring 1974
Film: The Yakuza
Release Date: December 28, 1974
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
Background
The Yakuza was the first screenplay credited to either Paul Schrader or Leonard Schrader, whose experiences in Japan inspired his brother to write the story. Leonard returned to the United States, where he spend the holiday season in Venice co-writing the screenplay’s first draft with Paul, who would later famously collaborate with Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver and Raging Bull among others. While the brothers watched many yakuza films for inspiration, what impressed them the most was the stoic screen presence of Ken Takakura, the Nakama-born actor who’d made his screen debut two decades earlier.
David Niven’s Skiwear in The Pink Panther
David Niven and Claudia Cardinale in The Pink Panther (1963)
Vitals
David Niven as Sir Charles Lytton, urbane master jewel thief
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Winter 1963
Film: The Pink Panther
Release Date: December 18, 1963
Director: Blake Edwards
Wardrobe Supervisor: Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Going skiing this weekend? A surprisingly stylish look at elegant mid-century ski culture comes from The Pink Panther, the 1963 comedy crime caper starring David Niven that would spur a series of sequels focused on the bumbling Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers). Continue reading
Jack Lemmon as “Bash Brannigan”
Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford (in his “Bash Brannigan” persona) in How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
Vitals
Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford, comic strip artist and dedicated bachelor
New York City, Summer 1964
Film: How to Murder Your Wife
Release Date: September 20, 1965
Director: Richard Quine
Wardrobe: Izzy Berne & Marie Osborne
Background
Happy birthday to Jack Lemmon, a class act and one of my all-time favorite actors.
One of the first Jack Lemmon movies I had ever seen was the problematically titled How to Murder Your Wife, a VHS tape belonging to my grandma that she had I must have watched a dozen times during my childhood. Lemmon played Stanley Ford, an artist dedicated to two things: his espionage comic strip Bash Brannigan and remaining an unattached bachelor. The latter ambition is quelled during a drunken stag party when he meets and immediately marries a beautiful blonde stripper (Virna Lisi) who, as luck would have it, doesn’t know a word of English. Continue reading
Jack Nicholson’s Corduroy Blazer in Five Easy Pieces
Jack Nicholson as Robert “Bobby” Dupea in Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Vitals
Jack Nicholson as Bobby Dupea, aimless oil worker and classical piano prodigy
Puget Sound, Fall to Winter 1970
Film: Five Easy Pieces
Release Date: September 12, 1970
Director: Bob Rafelson
Wardrobe Credit: Bucky Rous
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Bobby Dupea’s homecoming leads to an existential crisis in Five Easy Pieces, one of the many triumphant highlights of Jack Nicholson’s early filmography and the second of his 12 Academy Award-nominated roles.
“When we sense the boy, tormented and insecure, trapped inside the adult man, Five Easy Pieces becomes a masterpiece of heartbreaking intensity,” reviewed Roger Ebert, who rated this four-star film to be his favorite of 1970 and went on to name it “one of the best American films.” Continue reading
Bond’s Black “Tactileneck” in Live and Let Die
Roger Moore as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).
Vitals
Roger Moore as James Bond, debonair British secret agent
“San Monique” (actually Jamaica), Spring 1973
Film: Live and Let Die
Release Date: June 27, 1973
Director: Guy Hamilton
Costume Designer: Julie Harris
Background
Despite today being April 1st, this post isn’t timed to be an April Fool’s Day post; instead, BAMF Style is celebrating the return of Archer last night by analyzing the “tactileneck” that started it all—Roger Moore’s all-black assault attire in Live and Let Die.
After the love of his life his temporary lust object is kidnapped, James Bond packs some heavy heat to return to Jamaica San Monique and retrieve her… though he manages to really bungle things up and—although he lands a henchman in a coffin of poisonous snakes—ends up captured right alongside of Solitaire. Continue reading
Terry Leather’s Herringbone Coat in The Bank Job
Jason Statham as Terry Leather in The Bank Job (2008).
Vitals
Jason Statham as Terry Leather, fledging bank robber and former car salesman
East London, September 1971
Film: The Bank Job
Release Date: February 29, 2008
Director: Roger Donaldson
Costume Designer: Odile Dicks-Mireaux
Background
Based partially on some possibly true events (or at least theories) surrounding the famous Baker Street robbery of 1971, The Bank Job is a fun caper flick from 2008 that stars Jason Statham in a decidedly less Statham-esque role than usual, leading a team of non-violent petty criminals chosen by the British government to burglarize a bank.
Of course, it’s not that simple as Statham’s crew isn’t even aware that they’re working for the government and wedging themselves between a sadistic London gangster and a militant revolutionary. Continue reading
The Last Run: Harry’s Leather Jacket and BMW 503
George C. Scott as Harry Garmes, next to a BMW 503 convertible in The Last Run (1971).
Vitals
George C. Scott as Harry Garmes, washed-up expatriate getaway driver
Portugal, Spring 1971
Film: The Last Run
Release Date: July 7, 1971
Director: Richard Fleischer
Wardrobe Supervisor: Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca
Background
Car Week continues today with a recommendation from Craig, a great BAMF Style commenter who also was kind enough to send a DVD copy my way this year!
The Last Run finds George C. Scott, freshly awarded for his Oscar-winning performance as General George S. Patton, playing an aging ex-mob driver living in seclusion in Portugal. He is tapped for “one last job” – as so many retired movie criminals are – to drive a fugitive and his young girlfriend into France. What follows is an underrated action piece that was accurately tagged “In the spirit of Hemingway and Bogart”. Continue reading
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