Tagged: Sweatshirt
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
Heaven Can Wait: Warren Beatty’s Gray Sweats
Warren Beatty as Joe Pendleton in Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Vitals
Warren Beatty as Joe Pendleton, ill-fated quarterback
Los Angeles, Fall 1977
Film: Heaven Can Wait
Release Date: June 28, 1978
Directed by: Warren Beatty & Buck Henry
Costume Designer: Richard Bruno
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Warren Beatty and Elaine May collaborated on the screenplay for this cool and charming retelling of Harry Segall’s original play Heaven Can Wait, which was first adapted for the screen in the 1940s as Here Comes Mr. Jordan. The 1978 film retains Segall’s original title, re-imagining our hero Joe Pendleton as a football player, specifically a skilled backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams who looks forward to leading his team to the Super Bowl. Despite taking great care of his physique through exercise and meals like his liver-and-whey shake, Joe can’t avoid catastrophe when a reckless van driver crashes into his bicycle.
Joe wakes up in the clouds with his soprano sax in hand, escorted by a bespectacled guardian angel (Buck Henry) into the afterlife. Believing he’s merely dreaming, Joe performs a coin trick (“the only trick I know!”) and some impromptu push-ups while the escort’s supervisor, the urbane Mr. Jordan (James Mason), intervenes to try to urge Joe’s cooperation—until he determines that the overzealous escort fumbled his first assignment by extracting Joe from his earthly body too soon, as the late Mr. Pendleton wasn’t scheduled to die for another half-century, surviving until 10:17 a.m. PDT on March 20, 2025.
R.I.P., Joe! Continue reading
Tough Guys Don’t Dance: Ryan O’Neal in Denim
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
Cape Cod, Fall 1986
Film: Tough Guys Don’t Dance
Release Date: September 18, 1987
Director: Norman Mailer
Costume Designer: Michael Kaplan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Oh man! Oh God, oh man! Oh God, oh man! Oh God, oh man! Oh God, oh man! Oh God…!
While some recognize Ryan O’Neal from 1970s classics like Love Story, Paper Moon, and Barry Lyndon and others know him for his supporting role on Bones, the above poetry has immortalized the actor’s performance from the baffling 1987 neo-noir Tough Guys Don’t Dance, adapted and directed by Norman Mailer from his own novel of the same name.
Today is the first anniversary of O’Neal’s April 20, 1941 birthday since his death in December 2023 at the age of 82. Continue reading
The Last of Sheila: James Coburn’s White Yachting Gear
James Coburn in The Last of Sheila (1973)
Vitals
James Coburn as Clinton Greene, eccentric Hollywood producer
French Riviera, Late summer 1972
Film: The Last of Sheila
Release Date: June 14, 1973
Director: Herbert Ross
Costume Designer: Joel Schumacher
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
If you’re the sort of person who follows such sartorial conventions, Labor Day on Monday makes this the last weekend where it’s “acceptable” to wear white. Of course, there are many who take umbrage to being told what’s acceptable to wear and when—such as Clinton Greene, the flamboyant film producer at the center of The Last of Sheila‘s sun-bleached mystery. Clinton was played by James Coburn, the versatile Nebraska-born actor born 95 years ago today on August 31, 1928.
Recently widowed after his wife Sheila was killed during a mysterious hit-and-run accident near their Hollywood home, Clinton commemorates the one-year anniversary of Sheila’s death by inviting his six closest frenemies—most of whom had been present during the party at their home the night Sheila was killed—to spend a week playing high-stakes puzzles on his luxury yacht off the coast of southern France. Continue reading
The Rocky IV Hugo Boss Sweatshirt
Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV (1985)
Vitals
Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, two-time heavyweight world champion boxer
Las Vegas, Fall 1985
Film: Rocky IV
Release Date: November 27, 1985
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Costume Designer: Tom Bronson
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
If he dies, he dies.
Cold-hearted Russian boxing champion and Soviet Army captain Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) has little remorse for the brutal clobbering he delivers to Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) during their exhibition fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. As Apollo indeed dies in the arms of his respected rival-turned-friend Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), Rocky takes it upon himself to avenge his fallen friend… and essentially defend the very concept of American freedom and all things red, white, and blue.
After the groundbreaking global success of Rocky (1976) propelled Stallone to stardom, the actor-and-writer added directing to his plate, making his debut with the 1940s-set Paradise Alley (1978) which—like Rocky—he also wrote and starred in. He continued feeding the franchise that made him, writing, directing, and starring in three Rocky sequels throughout the 1980s. (Stallone would not direct the 1990 sequel, Rocky V, though he did direct the 2006 continuation Rocky Balboa.)
The third highest-grossing movie of 1985, Rocky IV has remained a pop culture touchstone of the decade’s patriotic excess, as illustrated during the Creed vs. Drago match, where the flag-bedecked Apollo made his entrance surrounded by showgirls and James Brown singing “Living in America” while his three trainers—Rocky, Duke (Tony Burton), and Paulie (Burt Young) observe in their red, white, and blue Hugo Boss sweatshirts.
Jaws: Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper
Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper in Jaws (1975)
Vitals
Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper, oceanographer
Amity Island, July 1974
Film: Jaws
Release Date: June 20, 1975
Director: Steven Spielberg
Costume Design: Louise Clark, Robert Ellsworth, and Irwin Rose
Background
As this summer’s headlines are dominated by stories of orcas reclaiming the sea, now is as good a time as any to revisit the 1975 blockbuster Jaws that thrilled audiences upon its release 48 years ago this month.
Based on Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel of the same name, Jaws centers around the hunt for a man-eating shark terrorizing the beach of a New England resort town. The hunters include aquaphobic police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), fearless shark hunter and USS Indianapolis survivor Quint (Robert Shaw), and the intense, serious-minded marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), visiting from the Oceanic Institute. Continue reading
Sneakers: Redford’s Varsity Jacket and Karmann Ghia
Robert Redford as Martin Bishop, seated in his Karmann Ghia in Sneakers (1992)
Vitals
Robert Redford as Martin Bishop (formerly Martin Brice), digital security consultant and fugitive hacker
San Francisco, Fall 1991
Film: Sneakers
Release Date: September 11, 1992
Director: Phil Alden Robinson
Costume Designer: Bernie Pollack
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Robert Redford looks like he’s having a great time in Sneakers, Phil Alden Robinson’s 1992 crime comedy about a gang of professional computer hackers. Redford stars as Martin Brice, a digital “sneaker” who has spent more than 20 years on the lam legitimizing his talent to become a security consultant, re-christened Martin Bishop. His background leads to recruitment by two men claiming to work for the NSA, forcing Martin and his team to take on a dubiously legitimate job.
Despite its subject matter, Sneakers never feels excessively dated as it focuses less on the technical aspects of digital hacking and more on the camaraderie among Redford’s motley band, consisting of Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, David Strathairn, River Phoenix, and Mary McDonnell. Redford’s character zips through the City by the Bay in a classic Karmann Ghia convertible, weathered but reliable like the then-56-year-old actor himself. Continue reading
Judas and the Black Messiah: Fred Hampton’s Corduroy Coat
Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Vitals
Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party
Chicago, Fall 1968
Film: Judas and the Black Messiah
Release Date: February 12, 2021
Director: Shaka King
Costume Designer: Charlese Antoinette Jones
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This year, Daniel Kaluuya won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his charismatic portrayal of Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, born 73 years ago today on August 30, 1948. Kaluuya’s Oscar marked one of many accolades for Judas and the Black Messiah, which was also nominated for Best Picture and won Kaluuya himself at least 15 additional acting awards. Continue reading
Richard Burton’s Casual Big Sur Weekend in The Sandpiper
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor at Big Sur during production of The Sandpiper (1965)
Vitals
Richard Burton as Dr. Edward Hewitt, self-righteous Episcopal boarding school headmaster
Big Sur, California, Spring 1965
Film: The Sandpiper
Release Date: June 23, 1965
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Costume Designer: Irene Sharaff
Background
After fighting his own urges for the better part of the movie, uptight headmaster Dr. Edward Hewitt succumbs to romantic temptation. Edward tells his loving wife Claire (Eva Marie Saint) that he must depart for San Francisco to conduct a fundraising drive for his church but instead arrives at the beach home of Laura Reynolds (Elizabeth Taylor), the Bohemian mother of one of his students and the object of his obvious affections, and the two embark on a three-day romantic interlude against the stunning backdrop of Big Sur. Continue reading
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