Edward Maeder's book, Hollywood in History, pretty much sums up what Hollywood does in theory and practice. It is a must-have-must-read. There are even charts of hair and make-up. The general idea is that American audiences apparently cannot relate to main characters that look too "foreign" and so, while the minor characters might be more accurate, the main characters usually retain make-up, silhouettes, and even modified hairstyles of their own times, regardless of when the movie is to have taken place. I do not think as highly of Bette Davis, when you look at both her efforts as QEI -- her silhouettes are right out of the decades when they were made. The Brits seem to be more interested in verisimilitude (all the Poirot and other mysteries), but then you get King Arthur and Kiera Knightly in a leather bikini. Yikes.
________________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] On Behalf Of Sylvia Rognstad [[email protected]] Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 6:47 PM To: Historical Costume Subject: Re: [h-cost] Sound of Music I noticed that too when watching Giant, I think it was. It starts in the early 1920s but the costumes look like 1950s, when the movie was made. For some reason, it seems like costume designers from the 50s and 60s were not at all interested in any sort of historical accuracy.  Sylvia Rognstad Costume/clothing design & construction Alterations & home dec http://www.ezzyworld.com On Dec 28, 2009, at 5:15 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > > > The outfits that Baroness Schraeder > ears struck me as not particularly 1930s, but I really don't know > anything > bout that period, so I thought of asking what this list had to > say. Any > pinions? > > When I worked in a local theatre costume shop, several of the > regulars were big fans of the movie, but, given the awful costumes, > I couldn't see why. Yes, the Baroness is in '60s fashions. The > hairstyles and makeup are even worse. Maria, of course, is in > generic "middle European peasant" style at the beginning. Don't > know how authentic the nuns' habits are, but at least they look right. > > Ann Wass > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Martha Sieting <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Mon, Dec 28, 2009 2:42 pm > Subject: [h-cost] Sound of Music > > > So hubby and I watched "The Sound of Music" last night (there was > nothing else > n and those old classics are fun sometimes anyway) and I found > myself wondering > bout the authenticity of the costuming. The outfits that Baroness > Schraeder > ears struck me as not particularly 1930s, but I really don't know > anything > bout that period, so I thought of asking what this list had to > say. Any > pinions? > Many thanks and happy holidays! > -Martha > ______________________________________________ > -costume mailing list > [email protected] > ttp://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
