| Elizabethan |
| Elizabeth |
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| The early years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth
I of England. It ends at the point when she decides to style herself the
Virgin Queen, painted chalk-white, the way we know her from the state portraits.
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| Shakespeare in Love |
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| Shakespeare's younger years - quite amusing.
And romantic, too. |
| Baroque |
| Cyrano de Bergerac |
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| The tragic story of a big-nosed poet whose
optical deficiencies keep him from confessing his love to beautiful, beauty-loving
Roxane. He lends his wit, feeling and talent with words to a handsome but
somewhat simple-minded gallant, writing poetic love letters in his stead.
Elegant, witty, romantic, amusing, sad - all in one film. The costumes aren't
perfect, but quite good, end even if they weren't: It's one of my favourite
films. |
| Restoration |
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| The ups and downs of a doctor in the very
late 17th century, from the king's palace to the slums and back. Good costumes,
good story. |
| Rococo |
| Dangerous Liaisons |
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| Based on a novel by Choderlos de Lenclos
set in the 1780s, this film (with Glenn Close and John Malkovic) transports
the story into the 1750s. The plot, in short, is one of schemes, seduction,
pride, treachery and revenge. Very elegant and well-made costumes. The dressing
scene at the very beginning is a treasure. In one scene, Close wears a perfect
(save for the colour) copy of the famous green
Pompadour dress. |
| Valmont |
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| Same story as above. Some like Valmont better,
others the Liaisons. I hated Valmont: The costuming was so awful that it
completely distracted me from the story. |
| Ridicule |
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| A member of the provincial French nobility
travels to the court to ask for funding for a land development project.
He becomes quite disgusted with the squabbling, scheming courtiers and their
"art" of ridiculing people. The costumes are the usual "looks
about right" rubbish, but the story isn't half bad. |
| Aristocrats |
|
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| A BBC mini-series about the lives of a noble
English family, passing through all of the second half of the 18th century.
The BBC seem to pride themselves on good costuming, and that's what you
get to see. |
| Tom Jones |
|
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| Another BBC mini-series, based on Henry
Fielding's 1749 novel abot the life and adventures of a foundling. Good
costuming again. |
| Amadeus |
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| The life and times of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
directed by Milos Forman - the same that did "Valmont". It's been
a while since I've seen the flick, but a while ago I've caught part of it
oin the telly and was quite disappointed by the costumes. |
| Sleepy Hollow |
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| A historical horror film - quite unusual.
Set in the late 1790s North America. Very atmospheric. The costumes, however,
are often part fantasy (as befits the magic-and-ghost story), part from
the wrong era (the famous black-and-white striped dress is in the style
of the 1780s). |
| Pact of the Wolves |
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| Another historical horror film, set in the
1760s. More fantasy than history: A bit like Mad Max meets Matrix. It shows
in the costumes: From an authenticity viewpoint, they are horrible. If you
forget all about history, the film as such is quite good. |
| Jefferson in Paris |
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| Empire & Regency |
| Sense & Sensibility |
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| A family piece based on a Jane Austen novel.
With Emma Thompson. Good costumes. |
| Pride & Prejudice |
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DVD |
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| Another Jane Austen adaptation. Haven't
seen it. |
| Other |
| Orlando |
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| Based on Virginia Woolfe's novel of the
same title. The plot starts in the time of Elizabeth I: The queen tells
a beautiful young nobleman (Tilda Swinton) that she wants him to stay young
forever - and he does. At one point around 1700, he sleeps for a year, wakes
up transformed into a woman and lives on until the early 20th century. A
stange story, but beautifully told. The costuming is quite good, except
for one scene where Lady Orlando is insulted by Alexander Pope, who
died in 1744, while she wears 1770s costume. |
| Interview with the Vampire |
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| As in Orlando, the costumes cover multiple
eras (c. 1780-1880s) due to the longevity of the characters. Not perfect,
but not bad either. |
| Titanic |
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| The high costume budget shows. If what I've
heard is true, the costumes weren't just replicas of surviving garments,
but in some cases even the real McCoy. A feast for the eyes... at least
if you keep di Caprio's face covered with a thumb. ;) |
