Tagged: Summer
The Handmaiden: Ha Jung-woo’s Tan Solaro Suit as Count Fujiwara
Ha Jung-woo as Count Fujiwara in The Handmaiden (2016)
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Ha Jung-woo as Count Fujiwara, conniving con artist
Japanese-occupied Korea, Summer 1930
Film: The Handmaiden
(Korean title: 아가씨)
Release Date: June 1, 2016
Director: Park Chan-wook
Costume Designer: Jo Sang-gyeong
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Considered one of the best South Korean movies of all time, The Handmaiden premiered nine years ago this month during the 69th Cannes Film Festival in May 2016, just weeks before it was released to theaters on June 1st. Director and co-screenwriter Park Chan-wook was inspired by Sarah Waters’ 2002 novel Fingersmith, reimagining the setting from Victorian-era England to Japanese-occupied Korea in the years leading up to World War II.
The eponymous handmaiden is Nam Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), a Korean pickpocket recruited by the smooth con artist known as “Count Fujiwara” (Ha Jung-woo) to work for the aloof Japanese heiress Izumi Hideko (Kim Min-hee), helping the Count gain Hideko’s favor so she ultimately agree to marry him—only for him to commit her to an asylum and inherit her fortune. Continue reading
Niagara: Joseph Cotten in Shades of Gray
Joseph Cotten as George Loomis in Niagara (1953)
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Joseph Cotten as George Loomis, former sheep rancher and Korean War veteran
The Canadian side of Niagara Falls, Summer 1952
Film: Niagara
Release Date: January 21, 1953
Director: Henry Hathaway
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of 20th Century Fox’s biggest box-office hits of 1953, Niagara is one of the most accessible movies to be described with the seemingly oxymoronic “color noir,” blending elements of dark film noir with stunning three-strip Technicolor, photographed by cinematographer Joseph MacDonald.
The action is set at picturesque Niagara Falls—specifically on the Canadian side, though the American side became New York’s first state park 140 years ago today when Governor David B. Hill signed legislation creating the Niagara Reservation on April 30, 1885. The tradition of newlyweds journeying to Niagara Falls dates back to at least 1801, when Aaron Burr’s daughter Theodesia joined her new husband Joseph Alston at the falls.
The destination’s self-dubbed reputation as the “Honeymoon Capital of the World” inspired producer Charles Brackett, who co-wrote the script for Niagara with Richard Breen and Walter Reisch. The story centers around the honeymooning Cutlers—Ray (Max Showalter) and Polly (Jean Peters)—who arrive at the Rainbow Cabins, only to find their reserved suite still occupied by George Loomis (Joseph Cotten) and his sultry wife Rose (Marilyn Monroe), who explains to the couple that George was recently discharged from an Army mental hospital. Continue reading
The Towering Inferno: William Holden’s Red Silk Dinner Jacket
William Holden in The Towering Inferno (1974)
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William Holden as James Duncan, commercial real estate developer
San Francisco, Summer 1974
Film: The Towering Inferno
Release Date: December 14, 1974
Director: John Guillermin
Costume Designer: Paul Zastupnevich
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Born 107 years ago today on April 17, 1918, charismatic actor William Holden was one of the biggest stars of the 1950s with landmark performances in Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17 (1953), Sabrina (1954), and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).
Though his screen presence continued into the next decade, Holden revitalized his career as the grizzled lead in Sam Peckinpah’s violent revisionist Western The Wild Bunch (1969), which led to several prominent roles through the 1970s—including Clint Eastwood’s artful romance Breezy (1973) and his final Oscar-nominated turn in Sidney Lumet’s media satire Network (1976).
Between those films, Holden joined the star-studded ensemble of The Towering Inferno (1974), Irwin Allen’s fiery follow-up to The Poseidon Adventure that earned eight Academy Award nominations—including Best Picture. And what better way to celebrate this fire-sign icon’s April 17th birthday than spotlighting his standout wardrobe in a disaster epic that quite literally turns up the Aries heat? Continue reading
The White Lotus: Lochlan’s Tombolo “Reptile Dysfunction” Full Moon Party Shirt
Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff on The White Lotus, Episode 3.04: “Hide or Seek”. Photo credit: Fabio Lovino.
Vitals
Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff, timid and self-questioning high school senior
Ko Pha-ngan, Thailand, Spring 2024
Series: The White Lotus
Episodes:
– “Hide or Seek” (Episode 3.04, aired 3/9/2025)
– “Full-Moon Party” (Episode 3.05, aired 3/16/2025)
– “Denials” (Episode 3.06, aired 3/23/2025)
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This weekend, revelers gathered on the Thai island of Ko Pha-ngan for the monthly Full Moon Party, a celebration that coincided this month with the start of Songkran—the vibrant three-day festival observing the Thai New Year. While the April Full Moon Party is often the biggest of the year for this reason, the 2025 celebration is especially significant as it markst he 40th anniversary of the first Full Moon Party on Haad Rin Beach in 1985.
The intersection of Songkran and the Full Moon Party was depicted on the most recent season of The White Lotus, which ended last Sunday. While most characters from the ensemble cast were removed from the central Songkran action, the privileged Ratliff brothers Lochlan (Sam Nivola) and Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) joined their new friends Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) and Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) on the island for a night of neon-lit chaos and self-discovery.
Among The White Lotus‘ characteristically excellent ensemble cast, the third season offered a breakout performance for 21-year-old Sam Nivola as Lochlan, the shy youngest sibling navigating the uncertain space between adolescence and adulthood and the masculine and feminine forces in his family. Continue reading
Stray Dog: Toshirô Mifune’s Summer Suit
Toshirô Mifune in Stray Dog (1949)
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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
John Cazale in Dog Day Afternoon
John Cazale as Sal in Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
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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
The White Lotus: Walton Goggins’ Crane-Printed Aloha Shirt
Walton Goggins on The White Lotus, Episode 3.03: “The Meaning of Dreams”
Photo credit: Fabio Lovino
Vitals
Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett, troubled tourist
Koh Samui, Thailand, Spring 2024
Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “The Meaning of Dreams” (Episode 3.03)
Air Date: March 2, 2025
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Whether you’ve been a fan of Walton Goggins since his intensity on The Shield and Justified or his comic turns on Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, it’s great to see the 53-year-old emerging as an unlikely heartthrob thanks to his back-to-back TV performances as the noseless Ghoul on Fallout and the moody Rick Hatchett on this season of The White Lotus. Continue reading
Something Wild: Jeff Daniels Goes Wild in a New Blue Silk Suit
Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith in Something Wild (1986)
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Jeff Daniels as Charlie Driggs, buttoned-up investment banker
From Pennsylvania to Virginia, June 1986
Film: Something Wild
Release Date: November 7, 1986
Director: Jonathan Demme
Costume Designer: Norma Moriceau
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 70th birthday to Jeff Daniels, the versatile actor who may be one of the few talents that could effectively transition from playing a decorated Civil War general one year to Harry Dunne in Dumb and Dumber the next. The actor rose to prominence through the ’80s with back-to-back Golden Globe-nominated performances in The Purple Rose of Cairo and Something Wild.
“Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild is a lot of things—Renoirian screwball, Gen-X The Odd Couple, defense for the reggae mixtape—but it’s a road movie first and foremost, and it introduces its lead, Charlie Driggs, as a man untraveled. Played with dopey precision by Jeff Daniels, Charlie is a golden retriever of a Reaganite, eager to climb the ranks of his job on Wall Street and content with the grass on his side of the fence. Building a career in the big city implies some degree of worldliness, but Manhattan can be deceptively hermetic,” writes Christian Craig at Bright Wall/Dark Room. Continue reading
The White Lotus: Ethan’s Cream Jacket and Navy Cap in Sicily
Will Sharpe as Ethan Spiller on The White Lotus (Episode 2.01: “Ciao”)
Vitals
Will Sharpe as Ethan Spiller, prosperous tech entrepreneur
Sicily, Summer 2022
Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “Ciao” (Episode 2.01)
Air Date: October 30, 2022
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The White Lotus returns tonight with the premiere of its third season, set in Thailand. Each season of Mike White’s darkly comic anthological series is loosely connected, following different casts of characters across exotically located resorts under the fictional White Lotus hospitality chain. The first season was set in Hawaii, chosen as its seclusion provided ideal conditions for filming under safety protocols informed by the then-new COVID-19 restrictions. Following the success of the premiere season, the sophomore season took the action to Sicily, retaining the themes of illicit drugs, romantic intrigue, and unexpected violence.
The appropriately named second-season premiere “Ciao” welcomed the guests arriving at the White Lotus resort in Taormina for the week, including the newly wealthy but emotionally unfulfilled Ethan Spiller (Will Sharpe) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza), a haughty lawyer initially repulsed by his gauche college pal Cameron Sullivan (Theo James). A gregarious finance-bro to Ethan’s sullen tech-bro, Cam and his trophy wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy) approach life with more outward enthusiasm, though Harper initially pushes through to discover the imperfect cracks of the Sullivans’ surprisingly complex union. Continue reading
Magnum, P.I.: Tom Selleck’s Red Jungle Bird Aloha Shirt
Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum on Magnum, P.I.
Based on his red “jungle bird”-printed aloha shirt having a breast pocket—as well as his personalized belt buckle, MIA/POW bracelet, and Rolex—this promotional photo was likely taken sometime during the final seasons of the show’s eight-year run.
Vitals
Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, private investigator and former Navy SEAL
Hawaii, 1980s
Series: Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988)
Creator: Donald P. Bellisario & Glen Larson
Costume Designer: Charles Waldo (credited with first season only)
Costume Supervisor: James Gilmore
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 80th birthday, Tom Selleck! Born January 29, 1945 in Detroit, the actor rose to stardom as the Hawaii-dwelling private investigator Thomas Magnum across all eight seasons of Magnum, P.I.
In addition to highlighting Magnum’s aspirational life on a lush Oahu estate with a red Ferrari at his disposal, the series further humanized Vietnam veterans and addressed their post-war struggles and successes.
Frequently nominated by both groups, Selleck was awarded an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Magnum. His familiar appearance of ubiquitous mustache and the usual aloha shirt and Detroit Tigers baseball cap has kept Magnum a recognizable character even among folks who haven’t seen the series.
Among Magnum’s dozens of aloha shirts, the red “jungle bird” print that appeared in more than two dozen episodes remains the most iconic—to the extent that Selleck donated his screen-worn shirt to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History after the series ended in 1988. Continue reading
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