Tagged: Single-Breasted Suit
The Conversation: Gene Hackman’s Puppytooth Suit and Raincoat
Gene Hackman as Harry Caul in The Conversation (1974)
Vitals
Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, anxious audio surveillance expert and saxophonist
San Francisco, December 1972
Film: The Conversation
Release Date: April 7, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Aggie Guerard Rodgers
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Released today in 1974, The Conversation featured a characteristically great starring performance from the late Gene Hackman. Hackman stars as San Francisco surveillance specialist Harry Caul, a paranoid loner described by one of his few pals as “the best bugger on the West Coast.”
Director Francis Ford Coppola later shared that, though Hackman initially struggled to connect with the repressed and introspective Caul due to their contrasting personalities, he ultimately came to regard the role as one of his personal favorites. Continue reading
Heat: Val Kilmer’s Gray Glen Plaid Bank-Robbery Suit
Val Kilmer in Heat (1995)
Vitals
Val Kilmer as Chris Shiherlis, professional armed robber
Los Angeles, Spring 1995
Film: Heat
Release Date: December 15, 1995
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
R.I.P. Val Kilmer (1959-2025)
After becoming the youngest student ever accepted into Juilliard’s prestigious Drama Division at the time, Kilmer rose to fame through a streak of memorable ’80s hits like Top Secret! (1984), Real Genius (1985), and Top Gun (1986). The ’90s saw Kilmer take on a range of leading roles, from his magnetic turn as Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991) to donning the cape in Batman Forever (1995), as well as his scene-stealing performance as the sardonic and tubercular Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993).
Kilmer followed that success with another standout role in Heat (1995), Michael Mann’s masterful crime epic that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Kilmer plays Chris Shiherlis, a reliable criminal but not-so-reliable husband, part of a tight-knit crew led by the calculating Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). Hoping that one last big score will salvage his unraveling marriage, Shiherlis throws in on a high-stakes heist at the Far East National Bank in downtown Los Angeles. “The bank is worth the risk. I need it, brother,” he tells McCauley. Continue reading
Stray Dog: Toshirô Mifune’s Summer Suit
Toshirô Mifune in Stray Dog (1949)
Vitals
Toshirô Mifune as Murakami, homicide detective
Tokyo, Summer 1949
Film: Stray Dog
(Japanese title: 野良犬, Nora inu)
Release Date: October 17, 1949
Director: Akira Kurosawa
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Considered one of the greatest actors of all time, Toshirô Mifune was born 105 years ago today, on April 1, 1920. Before his Hollywood debut in Grand Prix (1966), Mifune starred in sixteen films directed by Akira Kurosawa. Their third collaboration was the 1949 drama Stray Dog, a film that blends elements of film noir with themes of disillusionment in postwar Japan and is now regarded as an early example of the police procedural.
The story begins on “an unbearably hot day” in Tokyo, where Mifune’s newly promoted homicide detective Murakami reports the theft of his sidearm. After recounting the incident—including his failed pursuit of the pickpocket—Murakami partners with veteran detective Satō (Takashi Shimura) to track the weapon into the depths of Tokyo’s underworld. Their investigation leads to a desperate small-time crook named Yusa (Isao Kimura), whose escalating crime spree weighs heavily on Murakami, forcing him to confront difficult questions about guilt, duty, and justice. Continue reading
Michael Scott in The Office’s First Episode
Steve Carell as Michael Scott on The Office (Episode 1.01: “Pilot”)
Vitals
Steve Carell as Michael Scott, paper sales regional manager
Scranton, Pennsylvania, February 2005
Series: The Office
Episode: “Pilot” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: March 24, 2005
Director: Ken Kwapis
Creator: Greg Daniels
Costume Designer: Carey Bennett
Background
The American adaptation of The Office debuted 20 years ago today on NBC, bringing viewers into the everyday monotony of the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company. Led by the cringe-worthy but eventually endearing salesman-turned-manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell), the show quickly established Michael’s desperate need for affection, which only becomes more apparent with each passing episode. Continue reading
John Cazale in Dog Day Afternoon
John Cazale as Sal in Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Vitals
John Cazale as Sal Naturile, desperate bank robber and ex-convict
Brooklyn, Summer 1972
Film: Dog Day Afternoon
Release Date: September 21, 1975
Director: Sidney Lumet
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On August 22, 1972, an attempted bank robbery in Brooklyn became a media circus as dozens of police and spectators surrounded the Gravesend branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank where armed bandits John “Sonny” Wojtowicz and Salvatore “Sal” Naturile spent nearly 14 hours holed up with the handful of bank employees they held hostage. The stranger-than-fiction story was the basis for P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore’s Life feature “The Boys in the Bank”, which was then adapted by screenwriter Frank Pierson and director Sidney Lumet into Dog Day Afternoon, starring Al Pacino and John Cazale as Sonny and Sal, respectively.
Before he died of lung cancer 47 years ago today on March 13, 1978, Cazale’s brief but brilliant screen career was batting a thousand. He had memorably co-starred in The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter—all of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Despite his contemporary acclaim and generational influence, Cazale’s sole screen award recognition was a Golden Globe nomination for his tragicomic and characteristically intense performance in Dog Day Afternoon. Continue reading
In the Mood for Love: Tony Leung’s Gray Silk Suit
Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love (2000)
Vitals
Tony Leung as Chow Mo-wan, sensitive journalist
Hong Kong, Spring 1962
Film: In the Mood for Love
(Chinese title: 花樣年華)
Release Date: September 29, 2000
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Costume Designer: William Chang
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Valentine’s Day feels like the appropriate time to discuss In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar-wai’s lush and compelling exploration of loneliness, loss, and love set in Hong Kong’s Shanghainese community in 1962. Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung), live with their respective spouses in neighboring apartments but each often find themselves alone in their rooms, venturing out only for noodles from a street stall where they occasionally make contact. As the two connect over their oft-absent spouses, Chow and Su slowly come to the realization that his wife and her husband are engaged in an affair. Continue reading
Casino: Ace Rothstein’s Blue Plaid 1970s Suit
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Spring 1973
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
For my first post in several years about Robert De Niro’s colorfully memorable style in Casino as it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, it feels appropriate on this mid-February #MafiaMonday to revisit the scene when the otherwise rational “Ace” Rothstein gets blinded by love upon meeting the vivacious hustler Ginger (Sharon Stone) while she’s causing commotion at the craps tables. Continue reading
Save the Tiger: Jack Lemmon’s Italian Silk Suit
Jack Lemmon in Save the Tiger (1973)
Vitals
Jack Lemmon as Harry Stoner, cynical businessman and World War II veteran
Los Angeles, Spring 1972
Film: Save the Tiger
Release Date: February 14, 1973
Director: John G. Avildsen
Wardrobe Credit: John A. Anderson
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of my favorite actors, Jack Lemmon was born 100 years ago today on February 8, 1925 in Newton, Massachusetts.
After serving in the U.S. Navy as communications officer aboard an aircraft carrier during World ar II, Lemmon rose to fame playing comedic roles in the 1950s, such as his back-to-back pairings with Judy Holliday in the early 1950s and his performance as the wily Ensign Pulver in Mister Roberts (1955) that earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Lemmon’s successful streak continued when he teamed with director Billy Wilder in the classic comedy Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment (1960), followed by five more movies together over the next quarter-century.
Lemmon’s talent in serious roles was widely demonstrated in Blake Edwards’ 1962 drama Days of Wine and Roses, though it wasn’t until a decade later when the middle-aged actor returned to drama as the disillusioned veteran Harry Stoner in Save the Tiger (1973), a film he was so dedicated to bringing to the screen that he waived his usual salary to work at union scale—which was $165 per week—and a percentage of the gross. Lemmon ultimately received his second Oscar—this time the Academy Award for Best Actor—for his poignant portrayal of a man trapped by his past and the hollow promises of the so-called American Dream, perfectly playing the weariness of a lifetime of war-torn cynicism battling that characteristic twinkle in his eye. Continue reading
The Godfather, Part II: Michael Corleone’s Black Pinstripe Suit
Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974)
Vitals
Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, calculating Mafia boss
Washington, D.C., Winter 1959
Film: The Godfather Part II
Release Date: December 12, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Just over a week after its New York City premiere on December 12th, The Godfather Part II was widely released 50 years ago today on December 20, 1974. The follow-up to Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 epic continued chronicling the ambitions of underworld boss Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) following his ascension to power after the death of his father and the orchestrated murders of his enemies.
By the latter half of Part II, the tension between Michael’s public persona and private life reach a boiling point as he’s faced with the consequences of his ruthlessness. Called to testify in front of a Senate subcommittee investigating organized crime, he maintains composure while defending his reputation—starkly contrasted by the emotionally charged confrontation with his wife Kay (Diane Keaton).
Kay’s revelations about the loss of what would have been their third child strains their already fragile marriage to a pivotal breaking point that underscores Michael’s increasing isolation and the personal cost of his choices. Continue reading
Joseph Cotten in The Third Man
Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins in The Third Man (1949)
Vitals
Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, moderately successful writer
Vienna, Fall/Winter 1948
Film: The Third Man
Release Date: September 1, 1949
Director: Carol Reed
Wardrobe Credit: Ivy Baker
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I’m lurking in the shadows of moody, war-torn Vienna today to kick off #Noirvember with The Third Man, one of my favorite films noir. Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, The Third Man was directed by Carol Reed from a screenplay by Graham Greene.
American pulp novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) travels to the British sector of Allied-occupied Vienna to accept a job working for his old pal Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to learn upon his arrival that “the best friend he ever had” is reported dead and buried after an automobile accident on his street. (“Is that what you say to people after death? ‘Goodness, that’s awkward’,” Holly responds to a new acquaintance’s platitudinous condolences.)
As a mostly penniless writer of “cheap novelettes”, Holly has little else to do but remain in Vienna and try to discover what happened to Harry, whom he soon learns from Royal Military Police officer Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) was “about the worst racketeer to ever make a living in this city.” Despite a contentious relationship with the major, Holly discovers he has a fan in his assistant, Sergeant Paine (Bernard Lee), who apologizes for having to subdue the writer and assures him that he’s read a few of his Western novels after helping him back to his feet. His personal investigation plunges him into the duplicitous underworld of the Austrian black market with characters ranging from Harry’s shady colleagues to his refugee girlfriend Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli).
With its iconic score by zither player Anton Karas, Welles’ memorable performance with his “cuckoo clock” monologue, and Academy Award-winning black-and-white cinematography by Robert Krasker, The Third Man remains not just one of the most acclaimed examples of classic film noir but also considered one of the greatest movies of all time. Continue reading
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