Tagged: Explorer
Brendan Fraser in The Mummy
Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell in The Mummy (1999)
Vitals
Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell, American adventurer and former Legionnaire
Egypt, Summer 1926
Film: The Mummy
Release Date: May 7, 1999
Director: Stephen Sommers
Costume Designer: John Bloomfield
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
A quarter-century after its release, The Mummy is finding renewed love among audiences, no doubt due to star Brendan Fraser who has been enjoying a own career renaissance following his Oscar-nominated turn in The Whale that has already won the actor more than two dozen awards.
Directed and written by Stephen Sommers, The Mummy updated Karl Freund’s 1932 thriller of the same name, released among a wave of Universal’s now-iconic horror films including Dracula and Frankenstein. Sommers’ adaptation retained the supernatural elements while playing down the horror in favor of a more lighthearted adventure story inspired by Errol Flynn’s screen swashbucklers and the classic serials that influenced the character of Indiana Jones, to whom Fraser’s roguish Rick O’Connell has been likened. Continue reading
Steve Zissou
Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Vitals
Bill Murray as Steve Zissou, vengeful oceanographer and documentarian
Mediterranean Sea, Fall 2003
Film: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Release Date: December 25, 2004
Director: Wes Anderson
Costume Designer: Milena Canonero
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Much as action movies through the ’90s were often pitched as “Die Hard on a…”, the plot for Wes Anderson’s cult classic The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou could be overly simplified as “what if Moby-Dick was about Jacques Cousteau?” though fans know there’s so much more to it than that!
With Bill Murray’s characterization weaving between homage and affectionate parody, Zissou was clearly Anderson’s ode to the iconic oceanographer and diving pioneer, right down to the red ribbed beanies worn by the crew of Zissou’s research ship Belafonte. Continue reading
Clint Eastwood’s Climbing Outfit in The Eiger Sanction
Clint Eastwood as Dr. Jonathan Hemlock in The Eiger Sanction (1975) (Source: MovieStillsDB.com)
Vitals
Clint Eastwood as Dr. Jonathan Hemlock, college art professor and former assassin
Swiss Alps, Summer 1974
Film: The Eiger Sanction
Release Date: May 21, 1975
Director: Clint Eastwood
Costume Supervisor: Glenn Wright
Background
December 11 is International Mountain Day, an observance established by the United Nations in 2003 to encourage sustainable development of mountains and recognize the importance of protecting the resources they provide and the populations that depend on them.
One of the most famous movies about mountain climbing is The Eiger Sanction, directed by Clint Eastwood who also stars as former assassin and expert climber Jonathan Hemlock. Continue reading
Jurassic Park: Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant
Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park (1993)
Vitals
Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant, top paleontologist
“Isla Nublar”, 120 miles west of Costa Rica, Summer 1993
Film: Jurassic Park
Release Date: June 11, 1993
Director: Steven Spielburg
Costumes: Mitchell Ray Kenney, Sue Moore, Kelly Porter, and Eric H. Sandberg
Background
Happy birthday, Sam Neill! The actor—born 72 years ago today on September 14, 1947—racked up plenty of BAMF Style points early in his career for his depiction of real-life spy Sidney Reilly in Reilly: Ace of Spies, a stylish mini-series that established Neill as a strong contender to succeed Roger Moore as James Bond. Neill’s greatest commercial success as a star was arguably his role of esteemed paleontologist Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, the 1993 blockbuster that needs no introduction.
Clint Eastwood’s Derby Jacket in The Eiger Sanction
Clint Eastwood as Dr. Jonathan Hemlock in The Eiger Sanction (1975)
Vitals
Clint Eastwood as Dr. Jonathan Hemlock, college art professor and former assassin
Switzerland, Summer 1974
Film: The Eiger Sanction
Release Date: May 21, 1975
Director: Clint Eastwood
Costume Supervisor: Glenn Wright
Background
Happy birthday to Clint Eastwood, the actor and director who combined his talents in dozens of films, beginning with Play Misty for Me in 1971. Based on Trevanian’s 1972 novel, The Eiger Sanction was Eastwood’s third directorial effort. While criticized for his story, the thrilling climbing scenes and stunning mountain cinematography—namely, Monument Valley and Zion National Park—remain standouts of the espionage thriller.
Mogambo: Clark Gable on Safari
Clark Gable with Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly in Mogambo (1953)
Vitals
Clark Gable as Victor Marswell, big game hunter
Kenya, Summer 1952
Film: Mogambo
Release Date: October 9, 1953
Director: John Ford
Costume Designer: Helen Rose
Tailor: H. Huntsman & Sons, London
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In my home state of Pennsylvania, the Monday after Thanksgiving is considered an unofficial holiday among hunters as the opening day of the state’s firearms deer season, a day when hunters are expected to bag approximately 25% of the season’s harvest, according to the Tribune-Review.
The 1953 adventure Mogambo stars Clark Gable as a hunter on safari in Africa with his eyes on even bigger game than deer: the hearts of Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly.
Indiana Jones’ Tweed Jacket for Dinner
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Vitals
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, adventurer and archaeology professor
India, Summer 1935
Film: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Release Date: May 23, 1984
Director: Steven Spielberg
Costume Designer: Anthony Powell
Background
A memorable scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom finds the titular archaeologist and his two newly introduced companions, Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), invited to a banquet at Pankot Palace hosted by the young Majarajah Zalim Singh (Raj Singh). The trio doesn’t take warmly to the feast, which includes such delicacies as “snake surprise” and chilled monkey brains.
One of my favorite aspects of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is the alternative costumes that Indy sports when not in his signature leather jacket and fedora. In addition to a Casablanca-inspired (but ’80s-executed) white dinner jacket at the film’s outset, Indy uses this dinner as an opportunity to dress up his usual bush shirt and “pinks” trousers by donning a tweed sport jacket and bow tie.
Indiana Jones’s Tweed “Raiders” Suit
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Vitals
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, “professor of archeology, expert on the occult, and – how does one say it? – obtainer of rare antiquities”
New England, Fall 1936
Film: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Release Date: June 12, 1981
Director: Steven Spielberg
Costume Designer: Deborah Nadoolman
Background
Following the exciting opening scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the film transitions from a South American jungle to the genteel setting of the fictional Marshall College in Connecticut where Dr. Jones is introduced as a highly popular instructor of the college’s Archaeology 101 course. Continue reading
And Then There Were None (2015): Philip Lombard’s Blue Chalkstripe Suit
Aidan Turner as Philip Lombard in And Then There Were None (2015)
Vitals
Aidan Turner as Philip Lombard, adventurer and ex-mercenary
Devon, England, August 1939
Series Title: And Then There Were None
Air Date: December 26-28, 2015
Director: Craig Viveiros
Costume Designer: Lindsay Pugh
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie’s classic mystery thriller, finds ten strangers summoned to a mysterious island off the English coast. Aside from the married couple hired to serve as butler and cook, the newcomers are all unknown to each other and are quickly thrown into a spiral of suspicion and death that would engulf them all.
The action in the novel lasted three days, beginning on August 8, 1939, making it 78 years ago to the day that the last survivors of the weekend were forced into a fatal confrontation of their own dangerous pasts. Continue reading
And Then There Were None: Lombard’s Tuxedo
Aidan Turner as Philip Lombard in And Then There Were None (2015)
Vitals
Aidan Turner as Philip Lombard, adventurer and ex-mercenary
Devon, England, August 1939
Series Title: And Then There Were None
Air Date: December 26-28, 2015
Director: Craig Viveiros
Costume Designer: Lindsay Pugh
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
As we get closer to St. Patrick’s Day, BAMF Style is focusing on another Irishman, Aidan Turner, the Dublin-born actor who many are suggesting as a possibility for taking over the James Bond mantle as the prospects of Daniel Craig’s return seem dwindling.
Of course, an important aspect of the 007 role is how well an actor sports a dinner suit, so we’re checking out the period black tie ensemble that Turner wore as Philip Lombard in the BBC’s 2015 miniseries And Then There Were None. Continue reading