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!
We’ve got a couple new shows to review this month plus a deep-dive on a classic coming soon. And who knows what else will fall into our view…
What are you looking forward to this month?
I’m very happy to hear about season 4 of The Gilded Age filming in Newport right now, I can’t wait to see what everyone gets up to this season (and more importantly, what everyone will be wearing!)
And I watched a great pre-Code movie last night called “The Florodora Girl.” Starring Marion Davies, it’s about a showgirl in 1899 who’s the last of the original chorus girl lineup to snag a rich husband. It’s very melodramatic, but all of the costumes were designed by Adrian, so at least there’s plenty to look at (especially in the Big Hat department). And it’s free to watch on YouTube!
I can’t wait to see you rip into more of the Vampire Diaries flashback episodes! Especially the 1492 and 1860s Confederacy segments, plus The Orginals go 18th century with hilarious results!
Plus I’m writing reviews for the ’80s Anne of Green Gables series. Just the 1st two!
Just watched ” la Condition” = the arrangement
https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt35465655/
Shooting took 6 week-end and they were surely low on a budget. (costuming Agathe Darquin)
Good enough though and good movie.
6 weeks and
Ah google !!!
The Other Bennet Sister. I’ve seen a hideous red dress and Mrs. Bennet looks like she got her dresses at Dress Barn. But I’m told it’s very enjoyable regardless. We’ll see!
I was searching for a post on this! Not sure if you actually finished the series, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! The hideous red dress is a major plot device… and I appreciated what they did with Mary’s costume story! She grew into herself and her costumes followed that. Her glasses made me smile and even though the prints for the Bennet family dresses seemed a bit too modern, the fashion rules of the story seemed consistent! For me, this show was refreshingly entertaining and I somewhat Jane Austen might be pleasantly surprised by this tribute to the “Marys” of the world!
The 3rd and last season of La legge di Lidia Poët is in Netflix (at least here in Spain). Any chance of a review? there is not a shortage of hairpins for Dottoressa Lidia and other female roles. They even make a good use of lovely hair combs!
I may also do a guest post on some of Danielle Steel’s TV Movies for Snark Week, perhaps?! They look decidedly Glam, yet deliciously Cheesy, an entertaining combination in my mind!
I finally made myself sit through “Wuthering Heights,” and it’s so much worse than I expected. I ended up feeling, as I watched the disgusting yet absurd sequences of Isabella at Heathcliff’s house, that Emerald Fennell managed to not only degrade her characters, but Emily Bronte as well. And then I remembered her defending her version of the story as based on her “romantic teenage memories” of it. What the hell kind of teenage life did that girl have? There are a couple of absolutely gorgeous shots, but they are not worth seeing it for. I liked Promising Young Woman, detested Saltburn, and after this I’m quite done with her as a filmmaker. Yuck.
Have now finished watching YOUNG SHERLOCK and can recommend it as a splendid piece of entertainment that takes a little bit to get going, but absolutely goes in a direction well worth following to the end (and it’s a strong finish).
Also, there are some very pretty visuals for our consideration and it’s by no means just a Boy’s Show.
Speaking of Sherlock Holmes, I was lucky enough to stumble onto a nicely bite-sized adaptation of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1972) with Mr Stewart Granger as the Great Detective.
It is, in fact, rather better than one has any reason to expect from 1970s made-for-TV movies and I’m especially pleased by the matter-of-fact air Mr Granger brings to his Holmes (Making a nice change from the rather smug edge visible in one too many Sherlock Holmes adaptations from that era … amongst others).
All in all a rather good way to pass an hour or so (and it’s available on YouTube).
Is anyone watching Widows Bay on AppleTV? It’s modern but episode 6 is set in 1702. The hair is tragic but I believe I spy a mantua on the main character Sarah.
ooo, sounds potentially interesting and/or snarkable!
My mom and I laughed our way through this entire season! I wasn’t taken out of the world too much by the historic gaffes; l thought the menswear in the flashbacks was okay. I will say my favorite costumes (though non-period) was Patricia’s! Her quirky outfits seemed dated but in a good way… she seemed like she walked straight out of old horror films!