You asked for it, so here’s an occasional open thread to bitch about anything tangentially related to history, costume, movies, or TV shows! Or whatever else is on your mind right now. Note that URLs are automatically held for moderation, but most anything else goes as long as you’re not bitchier than we are!
Only a couple frock flicks of note coming up this month, but that includes Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light finally airing on PBS! Just a reminder — we watch and review things if they’re available on streaming in the U.S., so just because a show aired in the U.K. or hit select theaters somewhere, doesn’t mean we can get to it. And if you really want to request a review, sign up for our Frock Flick Influencer Patreon level!
What’s in your queue to watch next?
I started to watch the Leopard on Netflix. While it sure is hard to compete with the legendary movie, I am quite impressed with the result. The settings are amazing and the costumes look very decent and accurate. The eye make up and hair of the two lead actresses look very modern bridal though…. Hope you will review it!
The Empress is renewed for Season 3! Hyperventilating!
Leighton Meester has been added to the cast of The Buccaneers S2. It’s now officially Gilded Age Gossip Girl!
Leighton Meester is a terrific actress but I just can’t picture her as a believable person from another century!
Me neither. Definite IPhone face!
Could anyone recommend a good frothy, fun and colorful Frock Flick? I’m a bit down over the state of well…everything.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. It’ll make you smile.
I’ve always wanted to see that – Thank you brainybrunette, I’ll look it up!
Go watch Danny Kaye in the Court Jester – loads of colour, loads of derring do and pellets with poison in vessels with pestles. Or is that flagons with dragons? Or chalices with palaces?
It makes an amazing double feature with the Errol Flynn “Robin Hood”.
Yes! Thank you!
A favorite movie in our household, and one of the few costume flicks where the women get to play comedy along with the men.
I actually own that! And I love it so much, thanks for reminding me! Priceless! Thank you WIll!
Understandable. I recommend any of the Jane Austen adaptations-I liked the recent “miss Austen” from the BBC, starring Keeley Hawes.
Oh yes indeed. Thank you. I love just about any version. Even though the 1940’s one has the costumes off by a couple of decades, I can’t resist anything with “Gowns by Adrian”!
Probably not a frock flick but the movie A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Zero Mostel is hilarious.
I’d consider it a Frocky Comedy! Delightfully silly, Thanks! I was blessed to see a live performance of it in London back in 1986.
If that sort of thing floats your boat, then you could do worse than some UP POMPEII or PLEBS (Which have a fairly similar sense of humour).
Life of Brian
I’ve just rediscovered Reilly, Ace of Spies on the ITV Player, so I decided to jump back in. It’s been a while that I’ve seen it – official DVD but bad copy somehow. This was a TV production, so budget was surely not huge, but so far (pilot episode) it looks good. Good costumes, women with proper hairstyles, hats, nobody looks obviously modern. An interesting story too, though it was probably embellished a bit. As per Wikipedia, a lot of Reilly’s actual story remains murky. Sam Neill is great as Reilly, and I have to say, he looks a treat – that whole Edwardian look actually suits him!
I’ve heard of it but never have seen it! Will look it up, thanks!
Thank you everyone! I really love this site and it’s community! <3
I realize it is old and in black and white but I highly recommend Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast. Some of the costumes are just wonderful from in a fairy tale sort of way. It is one of my favorite films. I second Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and would add the 1980 version of Pride and Prejudice.
On a different note altogether, I know the Mansfield Park film is very flawed but one thing that has annoyed me is the issue of divorce brought up toward the end of the film. Mary Crawford suggests that her brother should marry Mariah. In 1804 the only way to obtain a divorce in England was by an act of Parliament and it was costly and could take years. Since Mariah is the offending party she would not be the petitioner. The idea that she could divorce and remarry is a moot point.
I’ve seen it! It’s remarkable! Thank you!
Speaking of Frock Flocks on the BBC, TOWARDS ZERO continues to be an extremely horny Agatha Christie adaptation, but with some agreeable glamour (Our Detective fails to impress though – or at least he’s not quite the sort of businesslike detective I’d like to see come in a give these posh twits a spot of working class Law & Order).
Also, DOOE GIRLS continues to fascinate me, but I’m never sure that one actually likes it … definitely going to keep watching it, though.
I also managed to watch the first episode of the new season/series of BELGRAVIA (interestingly it seems to set quite close in time to his THE GILDED AGE): some very decent costumery and not at all dull so far, though with a strong old-school sensibility.
Give or take a young eying up the local vicar as though she’d have his babies in or out of wedlock.
‘DOPE GIRLS’ that should have read.
When we will see a WCW about the great Sylvie Testud (Maries Lied, La chambre obscure, Maximilian…)?
I’m still waiting for Margaret Tyzack.
Just wanted to pop in and say that TOWARDS ZERO (2025) was quite good – bags of style, though a little short of loveable characters until quite an adorable ‘found family’ moment near the end.
So far as I could tell the fashions were stylish (Though hats resolutely refused to appear, at least on the heads of the men), the ensemble was solid (No especially outstanding performances, but the fellow playing Neville looked a LOT like James Bond as played by a blue-eyed Mark Strong, at least at points) and I have no complaints.
DOPE GIRLS continues to be interesting; the new season of BELGRAVIA is comfort viewing; and CRUEL LOVE: THE RUTH ELLIS STORY continues to be thoroughly Noir-ish with a side of Kitchen Sink misery.
My apologies, I forgot to state the appeal of BELGRAVIA (Part II) – let me sum up this: at some point in this show, a slightly troubled pair of newlyweds are able to quit grappling with the husband’s serious Daddy Issues (Not to mention painful insecurity) by taking a trip to his country estate and then playing ‘Victoria and Albert’ in his late, unlamented Father’s deathbed.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON.
(Also, there is a Handsome Vicar and the plucky sister of Our Heroine has very clearly been plotting some ‘Missionary Work’ from the very minute she spotted him).
Oh, and there’s also a French Marquise who got out Paris ahead of the Communards (Not to be confused with the Communists), smokes cigars, runs her own business at a fine profit, shacks up with her chief henchman, may or may not be on the brink of becoming leading Frenemy to Our Heroes, may or may not have been flirting with Our Heroine and absolutely threatened to roll up at a Gentleman’s club in drag purely for the pleasure of discussing business there.
Honestly, I’m not entirely sure this show is Good yet, but I am enjoying it a good deal.
I would love it if you would review the film “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” (1978). It’s set in February 1964 with four New Jersey Girls on a quest to see The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. It is so perfectly SPOT ON with costumes and hair of that era!! A thoroughly delightful comedy and I’d be thrilled if you’d do a costume recap. Thank you! <3
Another movie I would recommend is See How They Run with Sam Rockwell and a slew of Brit actors you will recognize. Happy viewing.
Three episodes in and CRUEL LOVE: THE RUTH ELLIS STORY is even more brutal than I expect: do not watch this show unless you have a supportive friend or family member to cheer you up (or have no particular reason to smile for the next twenty-four hours).
Man, it’s hard to tell whether this is the story of a miscarriage of Justice or just one woman’s vicious cycle of self-destructiveness.
By it’s penultimate episode, DOPE GIRLS has proven it’s ability to keep me interested, but never quite hooked me – there’s a great deal of interesting stuff going on, but it’s mostly being done by characters who tend to be varying degrees and kinds of horrible (Those not being horrible generally getting on with their lives in the background), so it’s difficult to get attached to them.
Having said that, it’s all building up to the Finale, so things are hardly going to settle down into any kind of status quo as yet (Also, one should say that this latest episode confirms that Billie is one of the few players hungry as heck to get out of this midden, rather than crow from it’s pinnacle and/or **** on those down below), also that she’s a far better Big Sister than Kate Galloway is a mother.
Extra Also: I’m increasingly-confident that Ms Umi Myers could pin a man to the ceiling with those bright blue peepers of hers (One occasionally wonders if she’s one Big Break away from playing a Bond bombshell).
DOOE GIRLS having concluded it’s first season and March having only a matter of hours left in it, one wanted to post that the series comes to a reasonably satisfying conclusion – No Spoilers, but the series never left me bored, even when I didn’t like it very much (Rather like the Bernie Gunther novels of Mr Philip Kerr) and even though one finds almost every lead character morally-repugnant on some level.
Also, if you are even slightly Italian then this series may strike you as a Hate Crime (This is hyperbole, but only just).
Oh, and while there are some nice costumes quite a lot of time the characters are wandering around in a coat and their underwear (Also, hats appear to be an endangered species on this show, with almost nobody wearing them).