Tagged: Georgia
Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit
Burt Reynolds as the Trans Am-driving “Bandit” in Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
Vitals
Burt Reynolds as Bo “the Bandit” Darville, daredevil driver
Texarkana to Atlanta, Summer 1976
Film: Smokey and the Bandit
Release Date: May 27, 1977
Director: Hal Needham
Background
♫ You’ve heard about the legend of Jesse James and John Henry just to mention some names,
Well, there’s a truck-drivin’ legend in the South today, a man called Bandit from Atlanta, GA… ♫
After seven years of biannual Car Week features, how did it take me this long get around to what might be the most famous “car movie” of all? On a day commemorating the anniversary of American independence, it feels appropriate to celebrate Burt Reynolds bedecked in red, white, and blue (or at least red and blue) as he speeds across half the country in a muscle car, all in the name of beer… or as the Bandit himself declares:
For the money, for the glory, and for the fun… but mostly for the money.
Happy birthday, America… from Burt Reynolds and BAMF Style.
Gator McKlusky’s Navy Gingham Shirt
Burt Reynolds as “Gator” McKlusky in Gator (1976)
Vitals
Burt Reynolds as Bobby “Gator” McKlusky, paroled moonshine runner
Dunston County, Georgia, Summer 1975
Film: Gator
Release Date: August 25, 1976
Director: Burt Reynolds
Costume Designer: Norman Salling
Background
September 6 marks the sad one-year anniversary since Burt Reynolds’ death. One of the star’s most famous roles was that of “Gator” McKlusky, the “good ol’ boy” moonshiner introduced in White Lightning (1973) who was revisited, this time with Burt’s iconic mustache, in the Reynolds-directed Gator (1976). Continue reading
Catch Me If You Can – Unique Orange Knitwear
Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale, Jr. in Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Vitals
Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale, Jr., teenage con artist
Atlanta, Summer 1965
Film: Catch Me If You Can
Release Date: December 25, 2002
Director: Steven Spielberg
Costume Designer: Mary Zophres
Background
Having made a fortune from passing his forged checks posing as a Pan Am pilot, 17-year-old Frank Abagnale Jr. is living the high life, hosting a fondue party in his swanky Atlanta condo full of era-specific goodies like The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” on the Hi-Fi and Nesbitt’s soda in the hand of every giggling go-go dancer present.
What’d He Wear?
Christ, Terry! This is Italian knit!
Frank Underwood’s Blue Suit at the DNC
Kevin Spacey as President Frank Underwood in “Chapter 48” of House of Cards (2016).
Vitals
Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, ruthless and calculating U.S. President
Atlanta, July 2016
Series: House of Cards
Episode: “Chapter 48” (Episode 4.09)
Streaming Date: March 4, 2016
Director: Robin Wright
Costume Designer: Johanna Argan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Tomorrow is Election Day here in the U.S. and hopefully the end of one of the ugliest campaign seasons in modern American politics.
In the political world of House of Cards, voters tomorrow would be choosing between Democratic incumbent Frank Underwood and Republican candidate Will Conway (Joel Kinnaman). In Chapter 48 of the series, Underwood notes about his opponent:
You’re a New York Republican. That’s an attractive fiction, isn’t it?
Chapter 48 spans the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta from Monday, July 25 through Wednesday, July 27. (The actual 2016 DNC was held in Philadelphia, in case you’d forgotten, and was quite dramatic in itself… which I’m sure you hadn’t forgotten.) President Underwood’s team seemingly makes a play for Secretary of State Catherine Durant (Jayne Atkinson) to be chosen as his running mate while secretly working behind the scenes to secure the spot for the First Lady, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright, who also directed this installment.)
One of the episode’s more outstanding scenes finds the unlikely situation of both candidates meeting alone, sifting through the heavy haze of dirty politics permeating the air while channeling their opposition into a discussion of video games. Continue reading
Gator McKlusky’s Red, White, and Blue
Burt Reynolds as “Gator” McKlusky in Gator (1976).
Vitals
Burt Reynolds as Bobby “Gator” McKlusky, paroled moonshine runner
Dunston County, Georgia, Summer 1975
Film: Gator
Release Date: August 25, 1976
Director: Burt Reynolds
Costume Designer: Norman Salling
Background
To celebrate yesterday being the Fourth of July here in the United States, BAMF Style is breaking down a red, white, and blue look from that most American movie star… Burt Reynolds.
Sterling Archer and I disagree on which of Burt Reynolds’ two cinematic outings as Gator McKlusky is superior… or at least “less bad”. I prefer the darker White Lightning that cast a grittier line on Arkansas moonshiners, while Archer claims that the Reynolds-directed sequel Gator is the stronger choice. While I could make the argument that White Lightning has an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes while Gator currently enjoys a 0%, it’s also worth pointing out that Archer falsely attributes many scenes from White Lightning to Gator. (It’s also likely that Archer just appreciates Gator more because Burt had grown his now-iconic mustache for the role; his upper lip had been tragically bare in White Lightning.) Continue reading
Bo Duke (and the General Lee)
John Schneider as Bo Duke on the set of The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985).
Vitals
John Schneider as Bo Duke, race car driver & former moonshine runner
Hazzard County, Georgia, Fall 1978
Series: The Dukes of Hazzard
Creators: Gy Waldron & Jerry Rushing
Men’s Costume Supervisors: Bob Christenson & Joseph Roveto
Background
Picture a cool fall day in 2005 on a suburban road just north of Pittsburgh. A young – and charming, if I may say – 16-year-old is out with his dad, taking his red 1992 Plymouth Acclaim for a spin with his learner’s permit freshly in his wallet. After about a half hour of learning how to obey basic traffic laws, the father turns to his son and says: “Okay, let’s turn it around and go home.”
The son nods obediently, yanks the emergency brake release, taps the column shifter into neutral, and – without reducing speed – jams his foot onto the emergency brake. The rear tires of the Acclaim lock up, the steering wheel is yanked to the left, and within seconds, the surprisingly powerful V6 engine roars as the Acclaim is shifted back into gear to head home.
The son smiles smugly with his perfectly-executed first attempt at a bootleggers’ turn while the father breaks his steadfast rule about cursing around the kids:
You’re not Bo fucking Duke!
Luke Duke
Tom Wopat as Luke Duke in “High Octane”, Episode 1.05 of The Dukes of Hazzard.
Vitals
Tom Wopat as Luke Duke, ex-Marine & moonshiner
Hazzard County, Georgia*, Fall 1978
* best represented by Newton County, 35 miles east of Atlanta
Series: The Dukes of Hazzard
Creators: Gy Waldron & Jerry Rushing
Men’s Costume Supervisors: Bob Christenson & Joseph Roveto
Background
I know I said I wouldn’t do it, but the pull of the General Lee was too strong, and I finally decided enough car week posts had been written before I could officially sell out and write about my dream car, the 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, and the show that immortalized it… The Dukes of Hazzard. Continue reading