Tagged: Cold Climate
Insomnia: Al Pacino’s Leather Jacket in the Alaskan Midnight Sun
Al Pacino as Will Dormer in Insomnia (2002)
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Al Pacino as Will Dormer, shrewd but increasingly sleepy LAPD detective
Northern Alaska, June 2002
Film: Insomnia
Release Date: May 22, 2002
Director: Christopher Nolan
Costume Designer: Tish Monaghan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
By this time in mid-May, towns like Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) in the northern tip of Alaska are experiencing the midnight sun, typically lasting 83 days from May 10th or 11th through the beginning of August. The mid-June setting of Insomnia—to date, the only film Christopher Nolan directed without an official writing credit—is set during this phenomenon, to the initial puzzlement of legendary LAPD homicide detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino), visiting on request to help solve the murder of young high school student. Continue reading
The Grey: Liam Neeson’s Winter Survival Gear
Liam Neeson in The Grey (2011). Photo credit: Kimberley French.
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Liam Neeson as John Ottway, world-weary oil company sharpshooter
Alaskan Wilderness, Winter 2011
Film: The Grey
Release Date: December 11, 2011
Director: Joe Carnahan
Costume Designer: Courtney Daniel
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
After a few reader requests that piqued my interest in survival stories, I recently watched The Grey, which premiered 14 years ago n January 2012 following its debut the previous month during the annual “Butt-Numb-a-Thon” film marathon in Austin.
Adapted by director Joe Caranhan and Ian MacKenzie Jeffers from the latter’s short story “Ghost Walker”, The Grey centers around Liam Neeson as the spiritually exhausted John Ottway, who describes his situation in the opening voiceover:
A job at the end of the world: a salaried killer for a big petroleum company. I don’t know why I did half the things I’ve done, but I know this is where I belong, surrounded by my own: ex-cons, fugitives, drifters, assholes. Men unfit for mankind.
Kenneth Branagh’s Antarctic Exploration Gear as Ernest Shackleton
Kenneth Branagh in Shackleton (2002)
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Kenneth Branagh as Sir Ernest Shackleton, prolific polar explorer
Antarctica, December 1914 to August 1916
Series: Shackleton
Air Dates: January 2-3, 2002
Director: Charles Sturridge
Costume Designer: Shirley Russell
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The Channel 4 series Shackleton aired in two parts during the first week of January 2002, winning Emmy Awards in two of the seven categories for which it was nominated among nods from the BAFTA Awards and Golden Globes. Kenneth Branagh stars as the titular Sir Ernest Shackleton, specifically depicting his leadership of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition toward the end of what many call the “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration”. Though the specific expedition failed in its scientific objective, his leadership and the resourceful group’s survival have become legendary as a feat of, well, endurance. Despite this, Shackleton wisely avoids hagiography as it presents the titular adventurer with virtues and flaws intact.
After securing funding and approval from the British Admiralty despite looming war across Europe, Shackleton’s crew departed from Plymouth in August 1914 aboard the Endurance. Shackleton had purchased this Norwegian-built three-masted schooner, which was originally christened Polaris before he renamed it from his family motto (“By endurance, we conquer”), thus its journey from England through the South Atlantic was its maiden voyage. Following stops in Buenos Aires and South Georgia Island, Shackleton and his crew of 28 men—and 69 dogs—finally departed for the Antarctic on December 5th.
The real Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922), photographed aboard the Endurance by Frank Hurley, circa 1914-1915.
Shackleton commanded the Endurance through the Weddell Sea, while Aeneas Mackintosh helmed a supporting party aboard the Aurora through the Ross Sea. Hoping to make landfall by Christmas, the seagoing expedition stretched into January 1915 when the Endurance became beset in pack ice. To conserve fuel for a potential return to South Georgia, Shackleton cut the engines and began drifting in the ice… for nine months.
110 years ago today on October 27, 1915—one year and a day after the Endurance left Buenos Aires—Shackleton finally gave his crew the orders to abandon ship, establishing a camp on the ice after—aside from Frank Hurley’s photographs and Leonard Hussey’s banjo—each man was instructed to dump all but two pounds of personal possessions from aboard the ship. Endurance finally sank just over three weeks later on November 21, 1915, starting a new chapter as the crew realized their mission shifted from science to survival.
My job now is to make sure you all live: every single one of you. To do that, I cannot afford to be sentimental. If I am, you will die—die starving, die frozen, die mad. I’ve seen it before, I do not intend to see it again.
Severance: Milchick’s White Winter Gear at Woe’s Hollow
Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick on Severance (Episode 2.04: “Woe’s Hollow”)
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Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick, devoted Lumon Industries floor manager
“Dieter Eagan National Forest”, Winter 2024
Series: Severance
Episode: “Woe’s Hollow” (Episode 2.04)
Air Date: February 7, 2025
Director: Ben Stiller
Creator: Dan Erickson
Costume Designer: Sarah Edwards
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Now more than midway through its second season, Severance fans know shit’s about to get real when Milchick pulls up in a turtleneck. Whether it’s spinning defiant jazz for our first on-screen music dance experience (MDE) or asserting his power after a promotion, Milcheck’s roll-necks are his defining sartorial signature to distinguish him from the everyday short-sleeved white shirts and ties he wore in his lower supervisory position.
“I really wanted to tap into this ten-toes-down, more locked-in character, this energy that he has,” Tramell Tillman explained of his character to Killian Faith-Kelly for GQ UK ahead of the second season premiere. “His hair is more quaffed. He’s no longer in the short-sleeve shirts and the tie anymore. Now he’s wearing turtlenecks. His clothes are a bit darker. His approach is darker. I think he’s enjoying this new place of leadership that he’s in.”
One of the most chilling episodes—if you’ll forgive the pun—illustrates Milchick’s leadership style as he hosts the first-ever Outdoor Retreat and Team Building Occurence (ORTBO) for the four troublesome macrodata refiners: Mark S. (Adam Scott), Helly R. (Britt Lower), Dylan G. (Zach Cherry), and Irv B. (John Turturro). Continue reading
The Bourne Identity: Tim Dutton as Eamon
Tim Dutton as Eamon in The Bourne Identity (2002)
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Tim Dutton as Eamon, wealthy family man
French countryside, Winter 2002
Film: The Bourne Identity
Release Date: June 14, 2002
Director: Doug Liman
Costume Designer: Pierre-Yves Gayraud
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Poor Eamon, seemingly always having to get his half-sister Marie (Franka Potente) out of jams!
The latest finds Eamon and his two kids driving up to his Christmas-decorated French country home (actually filmed in the Czech Republic), only to find that Marie and her new boyfriend have broken in, apparently in some kind of trouble and seeking refuge. The next morning, he learns that “some kind of trouble” centers around that boyfriend being Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), a trained killer whose amnesia has made him a target for a rogue branch of the CIA specializing in assassinations. Continue reading
Avalanche: Rock Hudson’s Plaid Jacket
Rock Hudson in Avalanche (1978)
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Rock Hudson as David Shelby, stubborn ski resort developer
Colorado, Winter 1978
Film: Avalanche
Release Date: August 30, 1978
Director: Corey Allen
Wardrobe Credit: Jane Ruhm
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In the spirit of another snowy weekend, today’s post focuses on one of the lesser-discussed (and for good reason!) disaster movies of the 1970s. After the disaster genre conquered air (Airport), water (The Poseidon Adventure), and fire (The Towering Inferno), what was left but… snow?
Thus, Corey Allen—no relation to “Master of Disaster” Irwin Allen—took it upon himself to direct and co-write Avalanche, a harrowing tale of a ski resort built on hubris and soft-focus shots of Mia Farrow. Farrow stars as Caroline Brace, invited to the grand opening of a ski resort owned by her ex-husband David Shelby (Rock Hudson). While there, she finds herself drawn to earnest environmental photographer Nick Thorne (Robert Forster), who repeatedly tries to warn David about the threat that heavy snowfall would pose to his resort.
Of course, Nick’s premonitions are tragically realized when a rogue plane crash triggers the titular avalanche that threatens not only Mia’s burgeoning romances but also the lives of everyone at the resort—including a chef who dies covered in his own soup. Who else will perish during the avalanche? Will it be soup or snow that claims additional victims? And, most importantly, which man will Mia choose?? Continue reading
A View to a Kill: Roger Moore’s White Bogner Ski Clothes
Roger Moore as James Bond in A View to a Kill (1985). Photo by Keith Hamshere, sourced from Thunderballs archive.
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Roger Moore as James Bond, British government agent
Siberia, Winter 1985
Film: A View to a Kill
Release Date: May 22, 1985
Director: John Glen
Costume Designer: Emma Porteous
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On this snowy 00-7th of January, let’s hit the slopes with Roger Moore—and his stunt doubles John Eaves and Martin Grace—in Sir Roger’s swan song as James Bond, A View to a Kill, celebrating its 40th anniversary this May.
Though the title originated from one of Ian Fleming’s short stories, the movie demonstrates how far the franchise had drifted from the source material, exemplified by this pre-credits sequence, which introduces a cringe-worthy “California Girls” needle drop as Moore’s stuntman skis through the mountains of Siberia—though actually filmed at Piz Palü in Switzerland and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in Iceland. Continue reading
Christopher Plummer in The Silent Partner
Christopher Plummer in The Silent Partner (1978)
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Christopher Plummer as Harry Reikle, sadistic armed robber
Toronto, Christmas 1977 through Summer 1978
Film: The Silent Partner
Release Date: September 7, 1978
Director: Daryl Duke
Wardrobe Credit: Debi Weldon
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today would have been the 95th birthday of Christopher Plummer, born December 13, 1929. To celebrate the Toronto-born actor’s birthday amidst the holiday season, today’s post centers around Daryl Duke’s Canadian Christmas-centric 1978 thriller, The Silent Partner.
Plummer appears as Harry Reikle, a ruthless criminal who begins terrorizing Miles Cullen (Elliott Gould), a mild-mannered teller who foiled Harry’s earlier attempt to rob a branch of the First Bank of Toronto within Eaton Centre, a then-new shopping mall filled with bustling holiday shoppers who may have expected long lines but certainly would not expect to see Santa Claus exchanging shots with a bank security guard.
The real Bad Santa.
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
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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
Fargo, Season 5: Jon Hamm’s Shearling Coat and Ranchwear as Sheriff Roy Tillman
Jon Hamm as Sheriff Roy Tillman on Fargo (Episode 5.02: “Trials and Tribulations”). Photo credit: Michelle Faye/FX.
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Jon Hamm as Roy Tillman, ranch-owning sheriff of Stark County, North Dakota, and “a hard man… for hard times”
North Dakota, Fall 2019
Series: Fargo, Season 5
Air Dates: November 21, 2023 – January 16, 2024
Creator: Noah Hawley
Costume Designer: Carol Case
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Celebrating his 53rd birthday today, Jon Hamm recently co-starred on the fifth season of Fargo as Roy Tillman, an “unorthodox” sheriff who runs Stark County, North Dakota with an iron fist backed by Old Testament-sounding guidance, “bound by duty, blood, and tradition,” though this—more often than not—just means bullying constituents and outsiders alike. To solidify his position, Roy doesn’t shy away from dangerous alliances, including a local militia of reactionaries that he supplies with arms and support. Continue reading
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