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!
May … be things are on an upswing? Slowly but surely, at least here around Frock Flicks HQ. But still, everyone get vaccinated, wear a mask, and wash your hands so we can all make it out of this thing. In the mean time, a few more movies and TV shows are dropping premiere dates, but not a ton, so perhaps it’s time for some deep cuts.
What are you watching and what oldies do you recommend?
I hope Charlotte is less of a pain in season 2 of Sanditon. That and hair pins please god!
Personally I rather like the idea of her and Mr. Hero living unhappily ever after.
I’ve been watching Shadow & Bone. I appreciate the world building. Not pre-1969 (mid 80s), but I love Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Glenne Headley’s costumes are wonderfully of the time, and I never tire of Sir Michael Caine’s character telling Steve Martin’s that he is a moron. Always gonna recommend My Fair Lady.
I just finished rewatching Queen’s Gambit. It was easier to appreciate the costumes when I knew that she wasn’t gonna get assaulted. ;)
I’ve just been on Twitter, where fans of Sanditon are ripping apart Theo James because he’s not coming back to play Sidney. I am flabbergasted as to why they think Theo’s career is finished (some are deleting photos of him from their phones) because he was happy with how it ended. I could say more, but I am just annoyed as hell.
They’re continuing Sandition? I thought it failed!I hope they leave Lord & Lady Babington alone; their getting-together was the best part of the series!
Sidney is married. There is no way he could get back with Charlotte unless he cheats on his wife or she suddenly dies. Which would be ridiculous.
Anyone here watching “The Nevers”? I liked the first episode or two, but think the whole thing (costumes and plot) went awry round about episode 3. Thoughts?
I have been truly enjoying the real vintage late 30s/early 40s used in “Atlantic Crossing.” The Crown Princess has some utterly fab hats, and I love the matching outfits on the girls, and the cute outfits/knits on the little boy (the current King of Norway, I believe). I’ve come around to believing everyone looks great in 30s.
Wait for a review of The Nevers next week! I’ve also been watching Atlantic Crossing, & while it looks lovely, I’m SO not into WWII at all.
What are everyone’s thoughts on Atlantic Crossing?
I want all the hats and print dresses. Those are my thoughts on Atlantic Crossing!
Just discovered the epic (400 episodes!) historical soap opera from Poland, The Crown of The Kings, and watching bits on and off. It covers the whole 14th century and is quite entertaining, especially the last season which focused on marriage of Jadwiga, king of Poland (she was crowned as king to assert her right to the throne) and Jagaila, Duke of Lithuania. They’ve brought in lots of romantic legends in, but seem to be still close to real historical events. Cannot say much costume-wise, I do not know much of the period, but the clothes seem to range from ok to wtf (many veils on women, but lady’s armour also detected).
Fan video to give the idea
After that then try Krolowa Bona (1980) for what I know it’s a cult classic in Poland and has great costuming
I’ve been watching Ruth Goodman’s Tudor Monastery Farm, Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, and Building the Castle. Not FFs, but still fascinating to watch and rewatch.
I love those!
Me too👍🏻. Seen them all…love Ruth Goodman👌🏻.
Sandition got renewed. I have mixed feels, mostly because I think the “hero” is an insufferable douche-bucket who treats Charlotte like crap — he is judgmental and hypocritical and she salivates at hearing his name, when she would be much better off with that nice builder dude who doesn’t, IDK, MAKE HER CRY in public? :P
Shadow & Bone was interesting, but I mostly watched it for the hotness that is Ben Barnes in that gorgeous embroidered coat. Be still my heart.
(Dunno what is up with wordpress of late, but it won’t let me log in to comment anywhere.)
Nice builder dude deserves better than Charlotte.
We’ve been having WordPress commenting problems too, in our own installation, for months! It’s driving me nuts & I can’t figure it out, sorry :(
They’re doing two more seasons. Also I hope Charlotte ends up with young Stringer. He felt more like a Austen hero then Sidney Parker did. And I hope they have better clothes and hair.
History of Ancient Britain just dropped its third season on BritBox. Neil Oliver can leap onto a crag any day and look like the perfect Robert Louis Stevenson hero! Okay, he also tells great stories.
Oh love that series and watched them all when they first aired. Neil Oliver with his Scottish accent and his clear love of presenting history really is the best. The first time I saw him was as the history presenter on BBC’s “Coast” (2005-2016). And loved his series “A History of Scotland” (2008) and “The Search for Alfred the Great”(2014).
Luckily many of them can be find on YouTube.
Bridgerton had better Regency hair than Sanditon. Fight me. I am also looking for a nineteenth century movie on which my friends and I can remotely snark. Does anyone have any good ideas of easily accessible films that are snark-worthy? I’ve dredged this site for everything, but I am curious about what everyone thinks.
I think Bridgerton ‘s popularity is why they’re renewing Sanditon.
Could you review some Behind-the-Scenes photos for an upcoming Tudor Drama called “Becoming Elizabeth”? I found some photos on Tumblr:
1. https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/becoming-elizabeth?sort=top
2. tumblr.com/tagged/becoming+elizabeth?sort=top
P.S. Ramola Garai is going to be playing Mary I
I’ve seen some of these photos floating around but there isn’t enough to really judge. It looks, uh, ok maybe? IDK! More importantly, until there are officially released promo photos or a preview video, we can get into trouble using behind-the-scenes photos like the ones you linked to & that are out online right now.
Can one of you make an effort (I know it can be hard) and try to make a post on Kitty of Anna Karenina? I remembered the reevaluation of Amy of Little Women and I remembered that Kitty is usually downplayed in favor of Anna when she’s actually one of the principal characters of the Novel and suffers a great character growth and change of perspective she and Levin journey to the light while Anna and Vronsky go to the Dark
Laughing Cavalier has done some preview work on this. Check out his YouTube.
Can you think about doing a WCW on May Robson? She made a few costume pictures but what amazes me is the fact she was able to (briefly) become a Movie star in her 70’s
I’ve been watching Upstart Crow on Britbox, a satire on Shakespeare by the creators of Blackadder. I don’t know how accurate the costumes are but they’re fun to watch, and David Mitchell is a hoot as William S. The lead characters seem to be repeating outfits A LOT which makes sense given the time period (and most likely the budget), but I’m itching to see something new on Gemma Whelan!
We have a review of the 1st season of Upstart Crow on the blog – decent costumes, but not enough of them, hilarious show tho :)
Anyone watching The Pursuit of Love?? It’s alright except for the hair in the beginning which is truly dire. I wonder what the rest of it is going to be like.
I saw the first episode, only last night, on the BBC. Not sure what I think of it yet. (don’t know enough about the clothing of that particular periode, to say if they got the costumes “right”. Like what they did with the “modern” soundtrack. Made me thing of Sofia Coppela’s (2008) ‘Marie Antoinette’.
I thought the clothes were alright, like the hair they started out pretty bad and got better. Not into the modern music, it always pulls me out of the historical setting. Although considering one of them had a cowbell and kazoo orchestra album it’s not as far fetched as it would be for other stuff.
Please review Atlantic Crossing. Awesome hats. Great series.
Could you review the new upcoming Anne Boleyn drama on Channel 5? I heard it’s…controversial.
How about reviewing the costumes in movies about the future that is now past?