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悲愁物語 [Hishu monogatari / A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness] (Seijun Suzuki, 1977)
Apr
13
1997 Masters Tournament
Reiko, looking fabulous, dropped down next to a sand-filled bunker. DP: Masaru Mori.
Golf (or a tiger) in honour of Tiger Woods' 1997 Masters Tournament victory.
Reiko (Yoko Shiraki), a professional model – is groomed into playing the circuit by the editor of a golfing fashion magazine. The rookie's unexpected success draws in all sorts of fans, including the obsessive.
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Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant [The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972)
Jan
31
freebie: high fashion
Fashion designer Petra von Kant (Margit Carstensen) – pouting in her emerald-green dress – is kneeled on a large, sheepskin carpet in front of a huge Baroque painting (Nicolas Poussin's Midas und Bacchus, ca. 1624). In front of her a small bottle of gin and a phone. DP: Michael Ballhaus.
A freebie for someone's birthday, with bonus points for high fashion. Petra von Kant is a fashion designer who, during a particularly icy birthday party, tells the world that her new lover is a woman. Then, one day, said lover returns home to her husband.
– You have a good figure. You could use it to your advantage. Get in touch with me some time.
– I'd love to.
With its exuberant costumes and set design, a Greek chorus of mannequins, and Sirk-ish larger- than-life melodrama, Fassbinder's Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant delves deep into the absurdities of love and fancy.
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Black Widow (Nunnally Johnson, 1954)
Jun
6
Carlotta 'Lottie' Mari (Ginger Rogers) reaching out to Nancy 'Nanny' Ordway's (Peggy Ann Garner). DP: Charles G. Clarke.
– Were you drunk when you did these?
– A little.
– They're very good.
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A Midsummer Night's Dream (William Dieterle + Max Reinhardt, 1935)
Jun
10
Superman Week
Oberon (Victor Jory) – King of the Fairies – on his horse with Puck (Mickey Rooney) – a trickster sprite. While they ride of, Oberon's cape flows behind them through the trees, supported by the fae. A lot of the other-worldly fairy sparkle was accomplished by generous amounts of DuPont® cellophane and cinematographer Hal Mohr's contribution of trimming the trees with aluminium paint, cobwebs, and small metal particles. DP: Hal Mohr.
Capes, cloaks, and mantles are everywhere in Dieterle and Reinhardt's lavishly outfitted A Midsummer Night's Dream. The dreamlike #CostumeDesign by Max Rée and the uncredited Milo Anderson is as much as a personality as #Shakespeare's characters are.
“Now, until the break of day,
Through this house each fairy stray…”
Any reports of Kenneth Anger's presence as the Changeling Prince are greatly exaggerated.
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Planeta krawiec [The Planet ‘Tailor’] (Jerzy Domaradzki, 1983)
June
7
National Tailors Day
During the tense hours of a solar #eclipse, the locals spend their time in a bar. One litre of vodka is the wager for he who can correctly guess a woman's dress size. Of course, tailor Józef Romanek (Kazimierz Kaczor) doesn't need to guess and that one litre later, finds himself walking through space. When he comes round from his coma, Józef builds an observatory in his house, where the tailor with his home-made telescope dreams of finding an unknown planet, and discovers the world around him.
Polish tailor Adam Giedrys is not only the subject of Planeta krawiec, but also served as the film's consultant. For his passion for and devotion to astronomy, Giedrys was the first Pole to receive Lunar soil from #NASA's 1969 Apollo 11 Moon mission.
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Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
Apr
30
Hairstyle Appreciation Day
“It's by Vidal Sassoon. It's very in.”
– Rosemary Woodhouse
Both the lady's movie husband Guy Woodhouse (John Cassavetes) and real-world husband Frank Sinatra were incensed by the bold move. Of course, in Rosemary's Baby the haircut is Rosemary's attempt to make sense of the changing world around her. Moving to a new city, an unexpected pregnancy, all those lovely new neighbours to socialise with… a girl needs to feel in control!