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!
Spring is on the horizon, and a few new historical costume movies and TV shows seem to be coming along. Will they be worth reviewing or just snark fodder? Stay tuned!
What are you planning to watch next?
Sinners, again and several times!
And yes, my name really is Mary!
Just started watching The Gray House on Prime. I don’t know much about the production yet, so can’t say anything about it. I’m curious if anyone else has watched it yet. It seems interesting so far, but I’m only on the first episode.
The Other Bennet sister trailer just dropped. So far, so good?
And the premiere date of May 6 on BritBox!
I may already have asked this, but will you be reviewing “The Forsytes”?
Yep, when it comes to the US later this month :)
Sequins! I’ve only watched the first two Bridgertons but came back for the new season when it dropped recently. I know the whole philosophy behind the costumes, but this season I couldn’t get over all the sequins being used and found it particularly distracting. There is a red gown that is just covered with them. Anybody else find this distracting?
Agree! It was so Christmas or New year’s Eve!
Just wanted to drop a line and say thank you for not reviewing “Wuthering Heights” when it came out. I think Emerald Fennell set out to rage bait and she seems to have succeeded, judging from the amount of YouTube videos I have seen about it.
Is anyone seeing the Bride? It’s set in 1930s Chicago, I think? Sounds like my kinda flick!
It looks great! I will watch anything Jessie Buckley is in.
I’m excited for it! I’ll have to wait to stream it though, it’s not playing in cinemas in my leg of the world :(
I just breezed through The Gilded Age in all of 2 1/2 weeks, because I couldn’t stop myself. I actually think I like this more than Downton, this is definitely my era. I really liked Bertha a lot more than I thought I would, and I get the sense that Julian Fellowes read a lot of Victorian stories before writing this. I wish we saw more of Mrs. Fish and her crazy parties though, I think I got my hopes up a bit too high on that account.
Now I have Count of Monte Cristo and The Forsytes on my to-watch list, and Great Performance’s “Kiss Me Kate.”
Having watched “Kiss Me Kate” last night, I can definitely recommend it! Although I don’t know the first thing about theatrical costumes, I liked the variety of 1940s-style costumes and hairstyles for both the dames and fellas. And the play-within-a-play costumes were fun in an “adult Disney princess” kind of way (I would definitely wear Bianca’s dress to a costume party). And it’s just a really, really funny production, “I Hate Men” made me laugh harder than I have in a long time.
I just today watched 1958 Dracula starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, as a part of “watch every major Dracula movie” project I’ve had for a while. I certainly liked it more than the 1930s movie, but it’s still disheartening to see the writers not getting Mina’s character time after time. Also, I kept guessing a major part of the first half of the movie whether it was supposed to be set in the 1890s or in the 1950s, because Jonathan’s whole appearance didn’t particularly scream 1890s to me. The movie has a bad case of lacking hats with most of the characters, except of course Peter Cushing’s van Helsing. Honestly, Cushing and Lee were so great on-screen that I don’t even feel that upset about the movie adapting out my favorite Texas ranger Quincy Morris.
Also, it makes me sad that a lot of older movies are difficult to watch here in Finland without owning VPN. I had to buy a DVD online for watching Dracula! And I’d honestly love watching more old historical movies.
That version of Dracula is one of my absolute favorites! I bought the blu-ray a couple of years ago. I agree with you about Jonathan; I think everyone else looks reasonably 1890s. Peter Cushing’s Van Helsing is my everything. Well, I guess I know what I’ll be watching tonight. Cheers! :)
SPOILER ALERT
Just watched The Count of Monte Cristo on PBS and I’m sorry to say I am disappointed. I may have missed something but I didn’t find the costumes particularly interesting. Far too many women without hats or bonnets. Although I loved Eugenie in her man suit. I liked that this whole theme of the lesbian relationship was included since it is not seen in previous adaptations. Unfortunately, like every other film/TV series Edmund ends up with Mercedes rather than Haidee as happens in the book. Interested to hear what others think.
I Would Like To Suggest A Man-Ich Monday Theme: Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria-Hungary! I just don’t know how they keep romanticizing Him or His Relationship with Poor Marie Vetsera!
Another Suggestion: Since It’s So Very hard to recommend something from Brazil that is available in the USA, I guess I Could Suggest the New HBO Telenovela Dona/Madam Beja, I guess it’s available there! It’s set in Colonial/Early Imperial Brazil in the late 18th to the Mid-19th Century, it’s a fictionalized account Of The Life of The Courtesan Ana Jacinta de São José nicknamed Beja, and a Remake of A Classical Brazilian Telenovela from 1986 “Dona Beija”, y’all could take a peek!
Much to my astonishment, I watched DRACULA – A LOVE STORY on Saturday and enjoyed it a good deal, despite Dracula/Mina being very, very high on my “DO NOT WANT” list.
It helps that while the film borrows liberally from the Coppola DRACULA it is far, far more coherent in execution (Possibly even in plot) than that old showboat – it is also (and this may explain why it ranks surprisingly high on my list of DRACULA adaptations) much more in the spirit of DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT than any kind of serious adaptation.
Quite honestly I caught more than a few hints of WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS about this Dracula and I happily recommend it to anyone willing to receive it as a comedy with serious bits, rather than a Serious Dracula (Though it’s by no means perfect – those hoping for more from Madam Mina may be disappointed – at least it doesn’t try to smear the Heroes in order to make Count Dracula look better by comparison. In fact this might be one of the better showings for Jonathan Harker, despite his being very much The Other Guy).
Also, if nothing else it makes an amusing companion piece/foil to the Robert Eggars NOSFERATU, especially as an illustration of the sheer range of DRACULA derivatives).
—-
In non-Vampire news, I’m trucking through THE GILDED AGE (Season 3) and have just been introduced to YOUNG SHERLOCK – which is quite fun, if you enjoyed Mr Guy Ritchie’s SHERLOCK HOLMES as much as I did and still do.
Fyi:
National Theatre‘s pro-shot of „The Importance of Being Earnest“ starring Ncuti Gatwa will stream for free worldwide on YouTube from March 12-18!
I’ve just started watching ‘The Lady’s Companion’ (Manual Para Señoritas) on Netflix, it’s entertaining and pretty to watch (the Barcelona Modernista settings are amazing!). But, oh my, are there some clunking howlers in the costume department! Definite snark week fodder, it’s got everything: zippers down the back, no corsets for dresses that definitely need them, sh*t that reeeally don’t fit, questionable trims, prom dresses for ballgowns, modern makeup… at least most of the ladies seem to wear hats when out, and I do like some of the cloaks/outerwear, but that’s about it. Hope you can access it Stateside, it will be worth it for the snark!
I tuned in to The Gray House on Prime. American Civil War drama about Union spies in Richmond, 1860 to the end of the war. I am loving the women’s costumes so far, and this production can be marked safe from The Great Hairpin Shortage. One downside has been some messy accent work from some key characters, especially in the first episode. But it has Mary-Louise Parker, Ben Vereen, and Hannah James, plus a dozen “that guy!” actors throughout.