Tagged: Pink Shirt
Back to the Future: Doc Brown’s Snakeskin Robe for a Scientific Breakthrough
Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown in Back to the Future (1985)
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Emmett “Doc” Brown, eccentric inventor and amateur chronophysicist
Hill Valley, California, November 5, 1955
Film: Back to the Future
Release Date: July 3, 1985
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
If my calculations are correct… 70 years ago today was a red-letter date in the history of science: November 5, 1955. For those who haven’t seen Back to the Future, this was the day that Hill Valley’s resident mad scientist Emmett “Doc” Brown slipped from standing on his toilet to hang a clock, hitting his head on the bathroom sink—triggering his concept of the flux capacitor, which would make time travel possible.
Even a freshly bandaged Doc (Christopher Lloyd) seems unaware of that day’s significance when he’s visited by Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox)—not a space man from Pluto but a high school student from 1985 who was flung thirty years into the past by the DeLorean that Doc had transformed into a time machine. Continue reading
The Godfather, Part II: Fredo Corleone’s Pink in Havana
John Cazale as Fredo Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974)
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John Cazale as Fredo Corleone, insecure mob family sibling
Havana, Cuba, December 1958
Film: The Godfather Part II
Release Date: December 12, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
John Cazale was born 90 years ago today on August 12, 1935 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Though his career was heartbreakingly brief, John Cazale—born 90 years ago today on August 12, 1935 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts—remains considered as one of the finest actors of his generation. Incredibly, all five feature films he appeared in during the 1970s were nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Among these unforgettable roles, his most enduring may be Fredo Corleone—the insecure, overmatched middle brother of the Corleone crime family. Cazale first played Fredo in The Godfather (1972), but it was The Godfather Part II (1974) that gave him the tragic spotlight as Fredo, desperate for power and recognition, betrays his younger and more successful brother Michael (Al Pacino), setting off a slow-burning familial powder keg that mirrors the revolutionary unrest simmering around them in the streets of Havana. Continue reading
Casino: Ace Rothstein’s Pink Golf Sweater
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995)
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Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Spring 1979
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
It’s still early enough in spring for sweaters to be appropriate—especially when worn lightly and layered in bright, seasonal colors, like the pastels that costume designers Rita Ryack and John A. Dunn worked into Robert De Niro’s vibrant wardrobe in Casino, Martin Scorsese’s neon-lit 1995 crime epic celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. De Niro stars as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a meticulous gambler and mob-connected gaming executive based on real-life figure Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust Hotel and Casino from the 1960s through the early ’80s.
With an array of period-detailed pastel suits, silk shirts, and coordinated ties lining his closet, Ace rarely appears on screen in casual attire, but Ryack shared in 2002 that one of her favorite of Ace’s outfits from among her and Dunn’s costume design was “a pink bouclé golf sweater and trouser ensemble,” as cited in a 2002 New York Post article by Megan Turner. Continue reading
Maestro: Bradley Cooper’s Tan Sport Suit as Leonard Bernstein
Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein on the set of Maestro (2023)
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Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein, acclaimed conductor
New York City, Summer 1977
Film: Maestro
Release Date: November 22, 2023
Director: Bradley Cooper
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 50th birthday to Bradley Cooper! The actor followed his acclaimed 2018 directorial debut A Star is Born with Maestro, chronicling the life of iconic American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. In addition to directing and co-writing the screenplay, Cooper starred as Bernstein opposite Carey Mulligan as his stylish, talented, and outspoken wife, Felicia Montealegre.
Maestro was frequently nominated in the Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and acting categories recognizing Cooper’s and Mulligan’s performances by award bodies including the Academy Awards, BAFTAs, Critics’ Choice, Golden Globes, and Satellite Awards. Continue reading
Paris, Texas: Travis Borrows a Cream Suit
Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas (1984)
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Harry Dean Stanton as Travis Henderson, once-wandering drifter
Los Angeles, Fall 1983
Film: Paris, Texas
Release Date: September 19, 1984
Director: Wim Wenders
Costume Designer: Birgitta Bjerke
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Exactly four months after its Palme d’Or-winning debut at the 37th Cannes Film Festival, Paris, Texas was officially released in France forty years ago today on September 19, 1984.
Directed by Wim Wenders, this reflective film provided a rare leading role for stalwart character actor Harry Dean Stanton, who portrayed the lost Travis Henderson, who attempts to reconnect with his family after four years of aimless wandering, following the dissolution of his increasingly troubled relationship with his estranged wife.
Travis’ brother Walt (Dean Stockwell)—who had been raising Travis’ young son Hunter (Hunter Carson)—brought a disconnected Travis back from the west Texas desert to Los Angeles, where he confronts his own past and works on rebuilding a relationship with his son as part of his profound desire for redemption. Continue reading
And Then There Were None (2015): Anthony Marston’s Pink Terry Shirt
Douglas Booth as Anthony Marston in And Then There Were None (2015)
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Douglas Booth as Anthony Marston, irresponsible socialite
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
A recent rewatch of the 2015 BBC One series And Then There Were None brought to mind the exquisite parade of interesting menswear designed by Lindsay Pugh for the half-dozen gents summoned to the mysterious Soldier Island off the coast of Devon. The series is set during a late summer weekend in August 1939 on the brink of World War II, a specter that hauntingly looms over the darkly faithful series which is the first English-language adaptation to restore Agatha Christie’s original ending.
The story centers around ten strangers—eight guests and a married couple to serve as their staff—invited to the island by the enigmatic U.N. Owen, whom it is quickly established none of the ten have ever met… nor will they meet him, as their unknown host only makes his presence known by a recording accusing each of the ten of murder. All but two of the attendees respond with horrified denials, with the roguish adventurer Philip Lombard (Aidan Turner) and brash socialite Anthony Marston (Douglas Booth) being the only two to instantly own up to their past crimes. Continue reading
Jaws: Mayor Vaughn’s Colorful Striped Blazer
Murray Hamilton as Mayor Larry Vaughn in Jaws (1975)
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Murray Hamilton as Larry Vaughn, ineffective mayor of Amity Island
Amity Island, July 1974
Film: Jaws
Release Date: June 20, 1975
Director: Steven Spielberg
Costume Design: Louise Clark, Robert Ellsworth, and Irwin Rose
Background
Today would have been the 101st birthday of Murray Hamilton, the marvelous character actor whose talents were perhaps best showcased as the hopelessly stubborn mayor of Amity Island, the fictional New England beach town being terrorized by a great white shark in Steven Spielberg’s iconic 1975 blockbuster Jaws. Continue reading
Gene Kelly in It’s Always Fair Weather
Gene Kelly in It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)
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Gene Kelly as Ted Riley, dancing gambler and World War II veteran
New York City, Fall 1955
Film: It’s Always Fair Weather
Release Date: September 2, 1955
Directed by: Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen
Costume Designer: Helen Rose
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy first day of spring! As fairer weather sets in across the Northern Hemisphere, let’s flash back to the 1950s as the marvelously multi-talented Gene Kelly tap-danced on roller-skates in the MGM musical satire It’s Always Fair Weather.
The Big Chill: William Hurt’s Tan Corduroy Jacket
William Hurt in The Big Chill (1983)
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William Hurt as Nick Carlton, former radio psychologist and war veteran
Beaufort, South Carolina, Fall 1983
Film: The Big Chill
Release Date: September 28, 1983
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Costume Designer: April Ferry
Background
Today is the 40th anniversary of the release of The Big Chill, Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 comedy-drama centered around seven friends from college (played by Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, and JoBeth Williams) who reunite after more than a decade for the funeral of a fellow UMich alum who committed suicide.
Scored by the rock and R&B hits from their late ’60s college heyday, the movie focuses on the ennui of adulthood as this handful of baby boomers are forced to reconcile their current realities with the idealistic visions they had for their future when they were young, energetic, and relatively free of responsibility.
It was easy back then, no one ever had a cushier berth than we did… it’s only out here in the world that it gets tough.
Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin
Colin Farrell as Pádraic Súilleabháin in The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
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Colin Farrell as Pádraic Súilleabháin, simple-minded pub regular
Ireland, Spring 1923
Film: The Banshees of Inisherin
Release Date: October 21, 2022
Director: Martin McDonagh
Costume Designer: Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One hundred years ago today on April Fool’s Day 1923, aging musician Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) abruptly stopped talking to his erstwhile best friend Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell), like some fool of a moody schoolchild. Despite the timing and the fact that they weren’t rowing (though it does seem like they were rowing), this ignites a tragicomic personal drama of donkeys and amputated fingers that—at least for the sparse residents of the fictional isle of Inisherin—outweighs the bloody conflict across the sea on the Irish mainland.
Either a “happy lad” or “limited man” depending on who you ask, Pádraic is happy to eke out his simple life with his more intelligent sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon), his donkey Jenny, and drinking buddies like Colm and Dominic (Barry Keoghan), with little more characterizing his life than the occasional two-hour chat describing what was in his little donkey’s pony’s shite… until Colm strangely decides he wants more from his remaining years.
“More fool me?” Pádraic is in for a rude awakening after he briefly allows himself to consider Colm’s disavowal of their friendship to be a mere April Fool’s Day prank.
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