One Dress a Day Challenge

June: Weddings

The Taming of the Shrew / Elizabeth Taylor as Katharina Minola

I've been waiting a while for a chance to post this dress! I've always liked the combination of blue, green and white. The bows on the skirt add a festive touch. Once again, Irene Sharaff's designs for Elizabeth Taylor harmonize well with the rest of the costumes, designed by Danilo Donati.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Bonnie and Clyde does not feel like it was made in 1967. Not only because of its brazen and honest displays of sex and violence. This biographical film shows the allure and harsh realities of a life of crime. It's no wonder it was a game-changer.

In the middle of the Great Depression, Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) catches the eye of Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway). Moments later, they're partners in crime. The duo’s spree of robberies captures the attention of the nation. As the gang’s crimes become more ambitious and violent, the police’s net begins to tighten around them.

This is a very romantic picture. I don’t mean that the love story will sweep you off your feet. I mean that it’s an idealized story, the kind of tale that makes you go "I want that". Clyde Barrow is handsome, but he’s not the type of man that would rob a bank and then greedily paw at Bonnie, he’s more of a sensitive guy. Bonnie is bored by her job as a waitress and lusts for adventure. When she embarks on this crime spree, the man she chooses to be with becomes her lover; her partner. They're equal contributors in their new life of crime. This life includes fame, fortune, wild chases across the country, and a total disregard for rules. When you see them together, you’re sold. In a time when banks were seen as villains who destroyed so many dreams, you understand why Bonnie and Clyde became folk heroes.

And then, reality sets in. This picture-perfect couple walking into a reputable establishment and demanding money at gunpoint is so out of place many people call the lover's bluff and pay dearly for it. They're a celebrity couple. For some reason, you expected them to be friendly which makes the violence doubly shocking. You don’t expect to see people getting blasted in the face and fall down into the dirt, dead. You were cheering for them a minute ago. Suddenly they’re violent murderers? You don’t know how to feel. You’re so deeply invested by that point you feel like part of the gang but how can you justify cheering for them to ride happily into the sunset? It must've been exactly how the real-life people of the time felt.

The performances are iconic and memorable. One look at a character and you're immediately immersed in their personality and history. It’s not only the way dialogue is delivered, it’s the body language, the faces Bonnie makes when she first spots Blanche Barrow (Estelle Parsons), or the awkward manner that Clyde and his brother Buck (Gene Hackman) talk about their romantic exploits. Also iconic are the cinematic techniques showcased throughout, the use of real photographs, the recreations of historical moments, and the editing - particularly during the conclusion. What an ending this picture has! It's unforgettable.

Everyone should see Bonnie and Clyde at least once. Firstly, because of the way it pioneered cinema. It’s one of the first films to feature squibs (small explosive charges with stage blood to simulate realistic bullets) and to depict a complicated sexual relationship between a man and a woman. Then, there's the entertainment value. It’s a study of three-dimensional characters that feel real! With its modern cinematic techniques and immortal scenes, Bonnie and Clyde has aged very well.  (On DVD, May 12, 2017)

Britt Ekland / production still from Robert Parrish's The Bobo (1967)

You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967)

Kodak Kodachrome 2 color film magazine ad (1967)

Audrey Hepburn photographed by Howell Conant for Wait Until Dark, 1967.

Photographs of Sharon Tate that are briefly flashed on-screen in the opening credits of the movie Don’t Make Waves.

⋆˚｡⋆ ⋆˚｡⋆⋆Collectionneuse (1967) dir. Éric Rohmer⋆˚｡⋆ ⋆˚｡⋆⋆

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Son of Godzilla (1967)

One Dress a Day Challenge

September: Bond Films

Casino Royale / Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd (007)

I think I saw this movie on TV ages ago, but I had forgotten exactly how incoherent it is. It's at least three different movies in one, with sequences that vary wildly in tone and quality ... but even if it's less than the sum of its parts, some of the parts are pretty fun. And I love that Ursula Andress got to glam up in this crystal-encrusted pale yellow dress, since she didn't really get the chance in Dr. No.

Also, is it just me, or does Ursula Andress look kind of like Natalie Portman in profile? (See below especially.)

Peter Cushing and Susan Denberg in Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)

Elvira Madigan, 1967

Inger Stevens / during production of Gene Kelly’s A Guide for the Married Man (1967)

Paul McCartney in Fool On The Hill