Tagged: Chukka Boots
The Panic in Needle Park: Al Pacino’s Deck Jacket and Layers
Al Pacino and Kitty Winn in The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
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Al Pacino as Bobby, desperate drug addict
New York City, Fall 1970
Film: The Panic in Needle Park
Release Date: July 13, 1971
Director: Jerry Schatzberg
Costume Designer: Jo Ynocencio
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On Al Pacino’s 85th birthday, let’s look back at the Manhattan-born actor’s first leading screen role that launched his prolific career.
Born April 25, 1940, Pacino studied acting through the ’60s at the HB Studio and Actors Studio, which led to a handful of acclaimed stage roles. His manager, Martin Bregman, then helped him land what would become his breakout film performance as hustler and heroin addict Bobby in The Panic in Needle Park, directed by Bregman’s fellow client Jerry Schatzberg, a photographer who had just completed his directorial debut Puzzle of a Downfall Child.
“I had made my theater bones playing these types of street characters, so I was grateful to have that choice for a first film,” Pacino later recalled in his 2024 memoir Sonny Boy. “The Panic in Needle Park turned out to be a showcase for me. It’s still lauded today, and Jerry Schatzberg did such a magnificent job.”
Written by John Didion and John Gregory Dunne, The Panic in Needle Park centers around Bobby and his girlfriend Helen (Kitty Winn), navigating their worsening heroin addictions among a network of fellow junkies whose presence in a section of New York’s Upper West Side resulted in the titular “Needle Park” nickname. 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
Oppenheimer: Cillian Murphy’s Charcoal-Blue 1950s Suit
Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer (2023).
Photo credit: Melinda Sue Gordon.
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Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, theoretical physicist and “father of the atomic bomb”
Washington, D.C., Spring 1954
Film: Oppenheimer
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Director: Christopher Nolan
Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Among its seven Oscar wins including Best Picture (as seen by Al Pacino’s eyes), last year’s blockbuster Oppenheimer received the Academy Award for Best Actor for Cillian Murphy’s spectacular performance as the eponymous J. Robert Oppenheimer, born 120 years ago today on April 22, 1904.
The latter portions of Oppenheimer‘s chronography are set across his security clearance hearings throughout the spring 1954. Between April 12th and May 6th, the United States Atomic Energy Commission investigated 24 allegations questioning Oppie’s allegiance, loyalty, and Communist affiliations, as well as his opposition to the hydrogen bomb despite his influential development in nuclear weaponry that resulted in his nickname as the “father of the atomic bomb.” Continue reading
On the Waterfront: Marlon Brando’s Buffalo Plaid Jacket
Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954)
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Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy, dockworker and former prize fighter
Hoboken, New Jersey, Fall 1953
Film: On the Waterfront
Release Date: July 28, 1954
Director: Elia Kazan
Wardrobe Supervisor: Anna Hill Johnstone
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Screen legend Marlon Brando was born 100 years ago today on April 3, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska. After studying under Stella Adler in the 1940s, Brando shot to stardom with his iconic performances in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and The Wild Ones (1953) before receiving his first Academy Award for his powerful portrayal of longshoreman Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954), released 70 years ago this summer.
Including Brando’s recognition, On the Waterfront won in eight of its 12 nominated Oscar categories, including Best Picture, Best Story and Screenplay, and Best Director for Elia Kazan, who would later write of Brando’s work as Terry: “If there is a better performance by a man in the history of film in America, I don’t know what it is.” Continue reading
Oppenheimer: Cillian Murphy’s Brown Suits at Los Alamos
Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer (2023). Photo credit: Melinda Sue Gordon.
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Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, theoretical physicist and “father of the atomic bomb”
Los Alamos, New Mexico, Spring 1943 through Summer 1945
Film: Oppenheimer
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Director: Christopher Nolan
Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Released last summer (on my 34th birthday!), Oppenheimer has been deservedly sweeping accolades this year, including seven BAFTAs, five Golden Globes, and 13 Academy Award nominations ahead of the ceremony this Sunday, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Christopher Nolan, a trio of acting nominations, and Best Costume Design for Ellen Mirojnick.
Adapted by Nolan from Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s biography American Prometheus, this epic cinematic portrait of J. Robert Oppenheimer chronicles the prolific physicist’s career from his 1920s studies in Europe through his work on the Manhattan Project during World War II and the ultimate revocation of his security clearance in the 1950s, depicted as the result of Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss’ petty resentment. Continue reading
The Pink Panther: Clouseau’s Après-ski Sweater
Peter Sellers with Claudia Cardinale in The Pink Panther (1963)
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Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau, bumbling Sûreté investigator
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Winter 1963
Film: The Pink Panther
Release Date: December 18, 1963
Director: Blake Edwards
Wardrobe Supervisor: Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca
Background
Four months after it premiered in Italy on December 18, 1963 (the same day that Brad Pitt was born, for what it’s worth), The Pink Panther was released in the United States sixty years ago this March, introducing audiences to the inept Inspector Clouseau portrayed by Peter Sellers.
Though future installments would focus more intentionally on Sellers’ pratfall-laden performance as Clouseau, The Pink Panther was initially more of a stylish, star-studded caper, set in the favorite winter destination for Camelot-era jet-setters: Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Italian Alps.
Clouseau is in the midst of his investigation into a prolific jewel thief known only as “the Phantom” when joining his wife Simone (Capucine) in Cortina, where we learn Simone had been planning to meet her lover, the dashing Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven)—who happens to be the mysterious Phantom that Clouseau had been chasing. Adding to the complication is the unexpected arrival of Sir Charles’ mischievous nephew and protege George (Robert Wagner) and the target of Charles and Simone’s next heist: the glamorous Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale) and her princess gem called “The Pink Panther”.
Of course, Clouseau never suspects any of the intrigue happening right under his nose as he joins the buttoned-up insurance investigator Tucker (Colin Gordon) and the elegant après-ski set in the hotel lounge during a random but Fran-tastic performance of Henry Mancini’s samba “It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio stasera)”. Continue reading
The Adam Project: Ryan Reynolds’ Rogue Territory Jacket
Ryan Reynolds as Adam Reed in The Adam Project (2022)
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Ryan Reynolds as Adam Reed, time-traveling fighter pilot
Washington State, Spring 2022… then fall 2018
Film: The Adam Project
Release Date: March 11, 2022
Director: Shawn Levy
Costume Designer: Jenny Eagan
Background
For four weeks after it premiered, The Adam Project remained the #1 most streamed movie on Netflix, only recently surpassed. This adventure comedy incorporates elements of sci-fi and action into a fun and often touching celebration of nerdom, summed up by a character stating that “sometimes it pays to be a nerd, guys.” Continue reading
The Gambler: James Caan’s Houndstooth 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
A meditation on self-destruction, The Gambler was based on James Toback’s semi-autobiographical script that was the first to be produced from the soon-to-be-prolific screenwriter. Toback had incorporated his own gambling addiction that plagued him while he lectured at City College of New York. Robert De Niro was an early contender for the leading role of Axel Freed, but director Karel Reisz opted to cast another Corleone: James Caan, who explained the challenge of the role that would reportedly be one of his favorites from own his filmography: “It’s not easy to make people care about a guy who steals from his mother to pay gambling debts.” Continue reading
Casino Royale: Bond’s Navy Linen Pre-Credits Suit
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006). Photo by Greg Williams.
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Daniel Craig as James Bond, tough British government agent
Lahore, Pakistan, Summer 2005
Film: Casino Royale
Release Date: November 14, 2006
Director: Martin Campbell
Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming
Background
On the 00-7th of August, with just two months until Daniel Craig’s final Bond movie will [likely] be released, I wanted to reflect on the start of his tenure and also include some insights from my friend Caleb Daniels, who many in the Bond fan-iverse know as the creator of the @CommandoBond Instagram and blog, discussing the then-significant return of 007’s trademark Walther PPK! Continue reading
Matt Damon in Jason Bourne
Matt Damon in Jason Bourne (2016)
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Matt Damon as Jason Bourne/David Webb, amnesiac ex-CIA assassin
Athens, Berlin, London, and Las Vegas, Fall 2015
Film: Jason Bourne
Release Date: July 11, 2016
Director: Paul Greengrass
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 50th birthday, Matt Damon! Nearly 15 years after the actor first kicked cinematic ass as the amnesiac assassin, Damon again stepped into Jason Bourne’s globe-trotting boots for one more installment of the spy franchise extolled for its relative realism, intriguing narrative, and expertly choreographed fight scenes.
I remember… I remember everything.
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