Tagged: Pullover Sweater
The Four Seasons: Alan Alda’s Après-ski Sweater in Winter
Alan Alda in The Four Seasons (1981)
Vitals
Alan Alda as Jack Burroughs, married lawyer
Stowe, Vermont, Winter 1980
Film: The Four Seasons
Release Date: May 22, 1981
Director: Alan Alda
Costume Designer: Jane Greenwood
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 90th birthday to Alan Alda, the movie and TV icon born January 28, 1936. Alda rose to prominence through the 1970s playing Army surgeon “Hawkeye” Pierce in the TV adaptation of M*A*S*H—an early style inspiration for yours truly, as I was particularly obsessed with Hawkeye’s rakish pairing of aloha shirts with his G.I.-issue OG-107 fatigue trousers.
In addition to being the only cast member to appear in all 256 episodes, Alda also ignited his talents behind the camera, ultimately writing 17 and directing 32 episodes during the series’ eleven-season run. Even before M*A*S*H ended, Alda penned his screenwriting debut, The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), starring as the eponymous fictional senator. As Alda’s own grandson Jake would summarize in his Letterboxd review: “My grandpa has an affair with a young Meryl Streep… what more can I ask for?”
Two years later, Alda released his directorial debut, The Four Seasons (1981), which he also wrote and—of course—starred in. Alda portrays New York lawyer Jack Burroughs who, along with his wife Kate (Carol Burnett), join two other middle-aged couples for quarterly getaways: one for each of the titular four seasons, and thus framed by Vivaldi’s violin concerti of the same name. Continue reading
Chilly Scenes of Winter: John Heard’s Moth-eaten Maroon Sweater
John Heard in Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)
Vitals
John Heard as Charles Richardson, obsessive state analyst
Salt Lake City, Winter 1979/80
Film: Chilly Scenes of Winter
Release Date: October 19, 1979
Director: Joan Micklin Silver
Costume Designer: Rosanna Norton
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The wintry weather this first full week of the year feels appropriate to slip into John Heard’s deceptively cozy wardrobe in Joan Micklin Silver’s 1979 comedy Chilly Scenes of Winter. Originally marketed by United Artists as a zany, lighthearted rom-com that the studio re-titled Head Over Heels (much to its cast and crew’s dismay), Chilly Scenes of Winter is actually an all-too-real exploration of the depths to which a seemingly sane person can fall when tortured by their concept of love.
Heard plays Charles Richardson, a seemingly normal Utah State Department of Development report analyst who begins dating his colleague Laura (Mary Beth Hurt), only to grow increasingly and desperately obsessed with winning back her affection after she ends their relationship. Continue reading
Rocky: Sylvester Stallone’s Black Leather Jacket
Sylvester Stallone in Rocky (1976)
Vitals
Sylvester Stallone as Robert “Rocky” Balboa, ambitious boxer and mob enforcer
Philadelphia, Fall/Winter 1975
Film: Rocky
Release Date: December 3, 1976
Director: John G. Avildsen
Costumer: Robert Campbel
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy New Year! Fifty years ago tonight, scrappy southpaw Rocky Balboa went the distance against the heavyweight champ, turning a Philadelphia club fighter into an American myth—so, in the spirit of “new year, new you”—let’s punch into the style of Sylvester Stallone’s era-defining breakthrough role. Continue reading
My Night at Maud’s: Jean-Louis Trintignant’s Sheepskin Jacket
Jean-Louis Trintignant in My Night at Maud’s (1969)
Vitals
Jean-Louis Trintignant as Jean-Louis, serious-minded engineer and conflicted Catholic
Clermont-Ferrand, France, Christmas 1968
Film: My Night at Maud’s
(French title: Ma nuit chez Maud)
Release Date: June 4, 1969
Director: Éric Rohmer
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Considered one of the best French actors of the post-war era, the late Jean-Louis Trintignant was born 95 years ago today on December 11, 1930. Trintignant worked with many prolific directors but his sole collaboration with Éric Rohmer was the Nouvelle Vague drama My Night at Maud’s—the fourth-released of Rohmer’s “Six Moral Tales”.
My Night at Maud’s premiered at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival and would be nominated for two Academy Awards. Trintignant portrays the ambitious engineer Jean-Louis, deeply in love with the young biology student Françoise (Marie-Christine Barrault) he has seen at his church, until just before Christmas when his friend Vidal (Antoine Vitez) introduces him to the eponymous Maud (Françoise Fabian). The night of their first meeting features intense discussions ranging from ethics to existence until, at Maud’s existence, Jean-Louis spends an awkward—and initially platonic—night in her bed, acting only on his newfound attraction by kissing her before he leaves in the morning.
Through their subsequent interactions, Jean-Louis’ faith conflicts with his growing attraction to the outspoken, divorced atheist as he and Maud recognize the tragic unlikelihood of lasting love between them. Continue reading
The Amityville Horror: James Brolin’s Corduroy Jacket and Cargo Pants
James Brolin and Margot Kidder in The Amityville Horror (1979)
Vitals
James Brolin as George Lutz, surveyor and stepdad
Long Island, New York, Fall 1975
Film: The Amityville Horror
Release Date: July 27, 1979
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Men’s Costumes: Richard Butz
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Fifty years ago next month, George Lutz and his family moved into 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville on the south shore of Long Island. Amity, as you know, means friendship (as the mayor in Jaws has made clear), but there’s nothing friendly about the paranormal activity that drove the Lutz family from that Dutch Colonial Revival house after only 28 days.
Though the veracity of the events have been called into question (and, I believe, generally debunked), they remain in the forefront of public consciousness thanks to Jay Anson’s 1977 book The Amityville Horror and its subsequent film adaptations—the best-known and best-regarded of which being the 1979 horror thriller of the same name starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder as George and Kathy Lutz. Continue reading
Trap: Josh Hartnett’s Chore Coat and Striped Sweater
Josh Hartnett in Trap (2024)
Vitals
Josh Hartnett as Cooper Abbott, firefighter, family man, and fugitive killer
Philadelphia, Fall 2023
Film: Trap
Release Date: August 2, 2024
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Costume Designer: Caroline Duncan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I’ve been eager to see Josh Hartnett’s career renaissance after a fascinating arc, from late-’90s heartthrob turned prestige TV lead on Penny Dreadful to his triumphant reemergence on the silver screen with a supporting role in Oppenheimer and his crispy leading role in Trap, M. Night Shyamalan’s darkly comic psychological thriller Trap that was released last summer.
Hartnett stars in the latter as Cooper Abbott, a Philadelphia firefighter who takes his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a sold-out pop concert headlined by superstar Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan)… only for the entire show to be the titular trap designed by law enforcement to ensnare him, as it turns out the minivan-driving family man has a dark, deadly secret under his affable persona. Continue reading
Tough Guys Don’t Dance: Ryan O’Neal’s Party Sweater
Ryan O’Neal in Tough Guys Don’t Dance (1987)
Vitals
Ryan O’Neal as Tim Madden, ex-convict and aspiring writer prone to blackouts
Provincetown, Massachusetts, Summer 1986
Film: Tough Guys Don’t Dance
Release Date: September 18, 1987
Director: Norman Mailer
Costume Designer: Michael Kaplan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
My family’s vacation in New England this week has me reflecting on my questionable decision last year to watch Norman Mailer’s self-directed adaptation of his own Cape Cod-set novel Tough Guys Don’t Dance.
The Truman Show: Jim Carrey’s Brown Plaid Jacket and Yellow Sweater
Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank in The Truman Show (1999)
Vitals
Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, affable insurance salesman and unsuspecting reality TV star
“Seahaven Island”, Spring 1997
Film: The Truman Show
Release Date: June 5, 1998
Director: Peter Weir
Costume Designer: Marilyn Matthews
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Four days after its Los Angeles premiere, The Truman Show was released widely on this day in 1998. A critical and commercial success, the film earned three Academy Award nominations and marked a major turning point for Jim Carrey, who until then had been known almost exclusively for comedy. Though Carrey carried over elements of his elastic comic persona, his performance as Truman Burbank signaled a shift toward more serious roles, paving the way for later dramatic turns in Man on the Moon (1999) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).
We meet 29-year-old Truman Burbank on Wednesday, May 14, 1997—the 10,909th day of his life… and the 10,909th day of a massively successful TV show secretly documenting every moment of it, 24/7. Continue reading
Christopher Plummer in The Silent Partner
Christopher Plummer in The Silent Partner (1978)
Vitals
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.
When Harry Met Sally: Harry’s Leather Flight Jacket
Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Vitals
Billy Crystal as Harry Burns, sarcastic political consultant and recent divorcée
New York City, Fall 1987
Film: When Harry Met Sally…
Release Date: July 14, 1989
Director: Rob Reiner
Costume Designer: Gloria Gresham
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of the most aesthetically pleasing fall movies, Rob Reiner’s romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally celebrated its 35th anniversary earlier this year. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan—who celebrates her 63rd birthday today—star as the titular enemies-turned-friends-turned lovers. Continue reading
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