Fabulous Filmic Fashion Friday: THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT

Getting back on the fashion track with a wonderful gem and an impressive title: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). 

This cult movie that came to me out of nowhere (how come I had never ever heard of it?), features some of the coolest and most inventive outfits I've ever seen. Nothing much you would wear in public - or wear at all - but still, that's what haute-couture's all about, isn't it?

The film revolves around three transsexuals who go on a roadtrip through Australia's outback, sequins and wigs included, which gave the designers the opportunity of their lifetime. While there are some more casual outfits in the film too - no, they don't walk around in flip-flop dresses all the time - I've decided to focus on the coolest and more extravagant costumes here.

Fabulous Filmic Fashion Friday: SWEENEY TODD

Sweeney Todd is one of those movies that unexpectedly get better with each watch. The first time I watched it by myself, and this time I tried to convince my best friend of its greatness. Pitifully, I failed in this attempt.

The viewing was, however, effective in other ways - as mentioned already, it once again assured me of the fact that this is one of my favourite movies of all time. Secondly, it made me get all the more excited for my first trip to London in the fall holidays. And thirdly, it made me notice many a detail I hadn't noticed before - aside from many bricks of lyrics, much of the costume design surprised me too.

I  knew from my first few viewings that it was interesting and imaginative, but this was the first time I really payed attention to it.

And what else would there be left for me to do than write about it. 

As usually, Tim Burton chose his favourite designer Colleen Atwood to be in charge of the costumes, as as usually, she did a fantastic job. See for yourself...

„There was a barber and his wife...“ 

This cream-coloured beauty goddess seems to be a certain Laura Michelle Kelly - who only starred in three films! That's weird, I had the feeling I knew her from some other films... Anyway, her character is perfectly dressed in pale but warm colours and the style of the era. Like Sweeney/ Benjamin sings, "virtous" is the best way to describe her, and also her looks. Depp himself, here as Benjamin, looks nice and unimpressive. His wife simply steals all the spotlight. But that's going to change soon...

„These are probably the worst pies in London...“

The sunshine has left industrialized London forever and darkness is everywhere. So dark are the costumes and the looks too. As anyone who has seen the film should know, Mrs. Lovett aka Helena Bonham Carter, has the coolest outfits in the whole film. Somewhere between 21st century's gothic subculture and the romantic/ incovenient female silhouette of the 19th century, her outfits are always a treat. I'm not really going to talk about Sweeney's outfits much, so let me just say they are perfectly suited for his role. And anyway, he always looks nice in white shirts with puffy arms. I also like his boots. But again, a woman steals the spotlight from him.
By the way, did you notice the half-gloves they're all wearing?

„If I cannot fly... let me sing!“

This beautiful lady here is played by Jane Wisener, who also doesn't seem to have had her big breakthrough yet. Perhaps she should have kept her eyebrows blonde - it looks enchanting.
As for her actual costumes in the film... I loved them. She is the princess of the story, and the princess is always the most beautiful. And who didn't want to be a princess as a child? Or at least have the clothes of a princess? I still do. At least one time, let me have a dress like this dear God... Sigh.

„I'll steeeeeeal you, Johaaaaaanna...“

If you're in a desperate need of an earworm, you just have to listen to this song once. Or, if you already know it, just think of it. Jamie Campbell Bower definitely has a more interesting song than costume, but still his clothes are fitting, suiting... perfect.

At the market.

Firstly, I haven't mentioned Sweeney's and Mrs. Lovett's hairstyles yet. They're awesome. I wonder how they thought of Sweeney's... "Hey, let's just dry his hair really puffy and then die one part silver". Mrs. Lovett's about the same, just without the dying. Secondly, I love hats, especially since I interned at a milliner. And I especially love those pillbox-y things, like the one Mrs. Lovett wears here.
The second picture is just a shot of the market itself, with all the extras - I wanted to show how detailed and realistically even the background people are dressed.

„De king of da barbers, da barber of kings!“

I forgot to tell you; there's one person whose outfit is even more awesome than Mrs. Lovett's. It's no one less than Pirelli, the Master himself. The blue latex with golden embroidery and white lace, and the silky cape, the hat with the feather... gosh, Sweeney is nothing against this.

Knock before you enter the chamber of a lady.

This dress was screaming to be shared with you here. It is fashion design at its highest level - certainly more uncomfortable than anything I can imagine, and uh-mazingly beautiful. In my opinion. I can just look at it for hours... The masterpiece of the whole movie?

„By the sea... wouldn't that be smashing?“

Well, if the previous dress wasn't the masterpiece of the movie, these outfits must be. "By the sea" is like a colourful oasis in the middle of desert, as is the "Barber and his wife" sequence. Except this one's funnier. Could one put more clichés into a single song?

„Mischief, mischief, mischief!“

Now, there we have it, finally. The blood-stained blouse (and face - even the hair). I guess we have found our masterpiece now, haven't we?

Fabulous Filmic Fashion Friday: THE WIZARD OF OZ

 My first impression of the inevitable 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz was: the 30s on ecstasy. Having seen the whole film now, I think I'll stick to that initial thought - and show you just one aspect that makes me feel this way: the costumes.

Designed by a man that goes by the name of Adrian, the world of the children's book comes alive through the evil witch's green skin (which, by the way, caught fire during the making), the good witch's Elizabeth the 1st inspired robes and of course Dorothy's childish and cute dress along with the adorable ruby slippers.

The Wizard of Oz is a fiest - if not for fashion lovers, then at least for costume lovers.

But not only was the costume design very inventive and visionary, it was also surprisingly convincing - never before have I seen a man in a lion costume look as much like a lion, and the same goes for the Scarecrow and the Tin Man. Today we have CGI - back then, all they had was needle and thread.

Therefore, let's honour the craftmanship of Adrian and his helpers today!

Fabulous Filmic Fashion Friday: LITTLE BIG MAN

Fabulous Filmic Fashion Friday is back after the summer break, again with something totally different from what we've featured here before. Before I talk about the fashion of LITTLE BIG MAN, I would like to let you know that I might not be able to post this feature each week, mostly because not every film I see is much fashionably interesting, and also because it takes a lot of time. You can expect me to post every second week at least though.

The costumes of this 1970 western movie were designed by the distinguished film costume designer Dorothy Jeakins, also famous for films like The Sound of Music and the original True Grit. The story that takes place in the different worlds of the American Indians and that of the first settlers, delivers a great opportunity for creative and varied design - also because of the main character's changing lifestyle - and Jeakins fully utilises this potential. 

"The scissors" - take #1. CUT!

About 90 years ago, women started cutting their long locks into bobs, and later on even as short as men's hair. Today, women with short hair don't need to hide, at least not in the western society. But long hair is still an important part of femininity and perhaps also female sex-appeal. The largest part of girls and women could never imagine ordering a short cut at the hair dresser. Sometimes, when many female celebrities, or one important one, cut their hair, it's "in" again, but not many actresses or singers have the guts to do so. One aspect is that it doesn't suit everyone, another one is that a lot of elderly women have short hair, and a lot of small children have short hair - and who wants to look like either a grandma, a baby or just plain ugly?

Two weeks ago, I decided to cut my hair. I went to the hair dresser with my sister - it was a very impulsive decision, but I haven't regretted it yet. Apart from one, my friends and acquaintances have all kept kind words and compliments at hand for my new hair cut.

While I'm waiting for the ACEBA results to be published, so I can finish my award comment, I decided to put together a list of female actresses that rocked the silver screen, the red carpet and their living rooms with androgyne hair...

Audrey Hepburn

One of the first women I thought of when starting to write this, was Audrey Hepburn. She's one of those starlets from which I've never seen a complete film (why? - not enough time?), but nevertheless admire. Everyone can see she's a beauty, maybe even more beautiful with short hair than long. But despite that, I've read that she had issues with her looks, and wasn't fully confident with herself. I hope that's not true - it would be very sad.

Emma Watson

From one of the classic icons to a very young actress, who just recently decided to get rid of "it". Emma was probably the first actress I ever looked up to, the first real role model of my life. Funnily, I always wanted hair like hers - and indeed, mine was quite similar, though maybe a little thicker. Now, don't think I cut my hair because she did. She was an inspiration, yes, but I loved her long locks as much as my own... In any case, we're both short haired now. Emma said cutting her hair made her feel sexier. I don't know about that.

Keira Knightley

Before she had her big break with Pirates of the Caribbean, Keira, one of my favorite actresses (I know, she has many haters), starred in the rather unsuccessful The Jacket, a film for which her hair was trimmed considerably short. My hair cut, it so happened, actually looks a lot like hers (we also both have an oval-shaped face), and I plan on letting it grow for the next 12 months, just like she did.

(Boys, if you're reading this you might be quite bored, so I don't mind if you quit reading at this point).

Natalie Portman

Natalie didn't just trim it a little, no, she is one of the few not stupid but brave women who have shaved it (an example for a stupid one: Britney Spears). I am astonished by how beautiful she looks, even without any hair. V for Vendetta is another one of those films I really, really want to watch, and wonder why I never do so.

Bipasha Basu

As one of the few Indian actresses, Bipasha decided to cut her hair shorter than shoulder-lenghth (oh - my - gosh). I wonder why we almost never see an Indian heroine with short hair - is Bollywood still that un-modern? And the longer we go south, the longer is the hair, generally (talking of Telugu and Tamil films). I think it's a great step from Bipasha to dare facing the scissors - not to mention the bob looks amazing on her. Lara Dutta also wore a bob for a while, just like Urmila Matondkar.

Preity Zinta

Now that I'm already talking about Bollywood... Okay, it was an awful cut/ wig Preity, my favorite Indian actress, wore in the second (or was it the first?) half of Lakshya. Nevertheless, it was short, and that's why I had to mention it. On the other hand, it might have scared other film makers and actresses away from short hair.

Camilla Belle

The Ballad of Jack and Rose is a very disturbing, yet wonderful film starring Camilla Belle. In the film, she cuts her hair all by herself, and the result is quite realistic (Anjaana Anjaani, we're all looking at you!) - not too pretty, at least. But sympathetic. I don't know if Camilla actually cut her hair, or if she wore a wig.

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett is so damn cool.

I can't forget my grandma partied with her in Vegas, when she was still an unknown theatre actress. Short hair suits her just as well as the floor-lenghth waves in Lord of the Rings.

Shabana Azmi

One of Bollywoods last elderly divas went bald for the film Water - and yes, that wasn't a fake.

She didn't look just as magical as Natalie Portman, but still kudos to her for having the guts to shave it. For real. 

Other (honorable) mentions:

Mandira Bedi, a B-movie actress, I think, cut off her hair some time... It didn't look mind-blowing, though.

Charlize Theron isn't one of my favorite actresses, but she did look fabulous with the pixie.

-----------------------------------

I don't want to have too many pictures of myself on this blog, but in this case, I guess the whole post has awakened your curiosity, and since the celebs stood by their short hair, I will do the same - so here I am, proudly presenting my new hair cut.

(That's my dog, Molly, in my arms - in case you wondered).

And PS: I changed the blog name from "Bollywood-addict" to "Film Addict". The header was also modified a bit, just like the side bar. I hope you like it (is the header too boring now?).

-----------------------

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Madhuri. What else?

Gaja Gamini from Bollywood-ish Blog, who (as we all know) is deeply in love with Madhuri, started this thing called "Madhuri Week". This week celebrates Madhuri's 44th birthday on Sunday.

Picture of Madhuri from the 44th page of google pictures (!)

As I said before, I don't have that much time this month, but I will be trying to contribute with more than one single post. 

Keeping that on mind, my first post will simply be about the films I've seen with Madhuri until now, in the order of which one I like most:

5

Dil (1990) 

I do like "Dil", it's not a bad film - but I just don't remember much about it. All I do remember is, that Madhu is the cool girl in school, and Aamir is the cool guy in school, and they don't like each other to begin with. Then there's a kiss sometime... And that's all.

4

Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) 

This film is also not one I watch very frequently, even though I'll always remember the soundtrack. Just by reading the film title, the title song will start swirling around in my head. But is it a good film... Why don't I remember? I do remember, that Salman's amount of hair is changing during the film, because it had a production time of almost 10 years. And off course I remember the story...

And the song "Aa Gaya, Aa Gaya...". Yeah, that's it.

3

Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) 

One of those ultimate romantic-switzerland-honey-dripping 90s blockbusters... Even though it's starring Shahrukh-how-could-I-not-love-you-Khan, I must rank this behind "Aaja Nachle". Might be, because I've not seen it very often, or because I've seen "Aaja Nachle" more recently - I cannot say.

Maybe it's due to my love-hate-relationship to 90s' Bollywood.

Let's face it: seen from a cinematic and intellectual angle, most 90s Bollywood films are terrible - even the hyped ones (except for DDLJ and some others). But then again: sometimes you just need a burger instead of the spinach-casserole, right?

2

Aaja Nachle (2007)

Madhuri's comeback film had it all: entertaining plot (and at least more realistic than a certain "fearless" Salman-flick), perceived supporting actors, groovy soundtrack - and last but not least Madhuri in her best shape. Nevertheless, it became a flop. Why? Well, we'll never really find out (though many, many bollywood-fans have wracked their brains about this question).

I watched the film with my dear granny, and it was perfect. The perfect granny-grandaughter-happy-film. We had so much fun. Then, I watched it one more time, alone.

And it was still fun!

1

Devdas (2002) 

Devdas. What else?

We've all experienced re-watching a film that we loved at the first sight - and when we watched it for the second time, it turned out to be not as magical as at first instance. 

The opposite, though, does not happen very often: re-watching a film that you've only seen once, a long time ago - and realizing how mind-blowing it really is (and has always been, but you had forgotten).

That's what happened when I watched "Devdas" for the second time in my life, yesterday.

--------------------------------

Honestly, I don't think that my choice for the best film is ever going to change, no matter how many (good) Madhuri films I will watch. I do realize, that I haven't seen many of her films, and also not the best ones, probably. But perhaps Madhuri Week will make some of my favorite bloggers produce some posts about her great don't-miss-it films, and thereby inspire me to pay more attention the the (mostly older) films of Miss-Magic-Madhuri.

There is one more DVD in my newly bought DVD-suitcase, that I'm definitely going to watch this week: "Koyla". That's going to be fun - I might be blogging about it.

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Review: Aisha

AISHA (2010)

 

Director: Rajshree Ojha

Script: Devika Bhagat

Starring: Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Arunoday Singh, Cyrus Sahukar

Plot: The Indian version of "Emma" is Aisha, a girl of the Indian High Society, who spends most of her time putting her friends together to "perfect" couples. But that can't go well for a long time, especially, when Aisha herself falls in love...

Reviewed the 12th of November 2010

I’ve now seen all film versions of „Emma“(at least, these are the only ones I know); The American version “Clueless” (1995), the British Version “Emma” (1996) and now, finally, the Indian one, “Aisha” (2010). Without being biased as an official Bollywood-Fan (after all, it’s not about the country, but about the quality of the movie!), I must say: India made the best job! “Emma” stuck really almost exactly to the literary template, what wouldn’t necessarily have been that bad, if there hadn’t been miserable camera and those endlessly long scenes. I found “Clueless” a 100 times better, the movie has humour, irony and it contributes something own, modern to the theme. But since the 90s, a lot of things have changed… And off course, in “Clueless”, you kind of have that Hollywood-feeling – which is not a bad thing – but I think that “Aisha” just hits the point better, nowadays. True, the houses are huge and sparkly, too, as is Daddy’s credit card, but the flick is still, somehow, sweet and sensitive… You can identify with the characters, all of them. The camera setting is calm and clear, the pictures colourful and… the clothes are luscious – this is the kind of stylist Bollywood needed! “Aisha” is the third movie with Sonam Kapoor, that I’ve seen, and she gets better each time. In “Saawariya” I found her pesky and talentless, in “Delhi-6” I had doubts about how she would master a bigger role, but now, all my doubts have been blown away. Aisha is the perfects role for Sonam (whose personal style I also like very much), and the team seems to have been perfect for showing her talent. It’s all about choosing the right role. As most people know, Abhay Deol has been on my favourite-list since “Dev D”… Every time I’m surprised, how unimpressive he seems to be, when you first see him. Off course it’s not the hardest cinematic challenge to portray this modern Indian Mr. Knightley, but he makes a good job. I’d even say that it couldn’t have been done any better. All the other characters (which were many) can only get positive commentaries from me. I can’t remember all the new names, but really, all of the actors were good – I also liked the fact, that, though the script doesn’t let much room for describing the side characters, you still have the feeling of knowing them… They do not vanish in the background. I really appreciate seeing so many talented new faces – as you know, the latest trend in Bollywood was pairing the big (old) star with the new (young) newcomer. That was kind of witty in RNBDJ, but now it sucks. They somehow did it right with “Aisha”. Off course, the story is a little unworldly and isolated, but that’s what the main character is like, and subconsciously it’s almost a little ironic (as were all Emma film versions – and the book).

Finally, the movie is perfect for a nice evening with the girls (or even alone). If the movie is good for men, I can’t tell, but who came through “SATC”, will experience “Aisha” as a salvation: No Botox. Okay, I like “SATC”… But honestly: “Aisha” is just as good, and at least not that embarrassing.

And now, please: Pounce on the DVD-shelves (slash, Online-Shops)! (At least all the feminine creatures here).

Rating: 6.6

Thank you for reading, 
Mette M. K.