We might love seeing real personal experiences on the screen, but we welcome the ability to escape into movie worlds with tremendous appreciation. Watching a movie, we are transported out of our seat, away from our problems, into some intangible, unfamiliar place. Here, we see what we want to see, feel what we want to feel, and do what we want to do which is not possible in the realm of reality. Afterwards, we leave the theater – back into the real world – with our imaginations strong and healthy. We’ve talked about how people love an intimate look into worlds of luxury, valor, vacation, and downright eclectic, but there is one realm that moviegoers love even more: the past.
We have a natural love of nostalgia – reliving good memories, regretting bad ones, running our minds over and over could’ve-should’ve-would’ves. We love to ponder where we came from, what we’ve learned, and who we would’ve been if any number of things had gone a different way. Plotting the history of human experience (especially those events and eras we couldn’t witness ourselves) is a major part of the film industry. Period pictures aren’t every movie fan’s favorite genre, but the money and energy invested in each proves just how important it is to create convincing mise-en-scene.
Aside from lending to the magic of the time-machine effect, costumes can make or break a period picture’s authenticity. No matter what time period the film is attempting to capture, audiences want to feel the time warp in all ways, especially in the film’s fashion point-of-view: we see period pictures because we want to leave our seats in the theater and arrive in another year, another place, another time. Every detail – accurate dialogue, landmarks, events, or even hairstyles – gives us a clearer picture of what life would’ve been like had we been there too. Without clothes to imagine wearing, it would be near impossible for us to place ourselves in this strange, foregone world.
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We might think of the past as a ‘simpler’ time, but the I, Claudius (1976) series (adapted for television) shows ancient times were anything but simple. Chronicling the key historical events in the Roman Empire between 44 BC and 41AD, the 13 episodes actually suggest not all that much has changed in society since then. Love, aspirations, and betrayal were still life-controlling; family bonds and political responsibilities were still paramount. The largest reminder that we are watching a portrayal of events that happened several millennia ago? The characters’ appearance, largely affected by the clothes on their backs. Arguably, the costumes in the serial are not overly crafted or complex: flowing fabric creates toga-like dresses and drapes, what we think of as typical for the era. Still, the lines between social classes are clear. Laurel crowns, white and bold colored togas, and brown leather military chest plates differentiate the rich from the slaves who serve them. We are invited into the world of the Roman aristocrat, outfitted in costume to constantly remind us we are watching a period picture about an epic era of world history.
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Rob Reiner’s storytale classic The Princess Bride (1987) is the perfect example of our love for period pictures. Bouncing back and forth from contemporary 1987 to Medieval farm/royal culture, the movie’s timeline recreates the experience of seeing a quality period movie in the first place. We, like Fred Savage’s character, are a bit skeptical of a story about the past, we persevere to hear more with a slightly wary ear, and we end up relating to the story enough to be consumed by it. The best part about this particular film is that the action is being read from the pages of a book – therefore, the costumes we see on screen are actually ‘created’ by the boy’s imagination. We believe the costumes because they are what we think they should be in our own minds: long dresses for the princess, tights and puffy sleeves for male royalty, mysterious black for the hero. It may not be entirely historically accurate, but it suits our idea of medieval times – and that is what allows an audience to whole-heartedly follow a story to its happily-ever-after.
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Les Enfants du Paradis, directed by Marcel Carne, follows a French courtesan through her interactions with four men who fall in love her. One of the many elements that makes Children of Paradise unique is its setting: though released in 1945, the story takes place in Paris from the 1820’s through the 1830’s. Garance’s four lovers include an aspiring actor named Frédérick, a criminal named Lacenaire, a pantomime named Baptiste and Édouard de Montray, a rich Count. Set in the world of 19th century Parisian theatre, the film has an extravagant, romantic flavor from the start. Each character has his/her own particular style (related to his/her profession, social class, and role in the story) that helps pull the reader even deeper into the era – a welcome escape from the realities of the 1940’s, which included the Nazi occupation of France. The Count’s tall top hats and Baptiste’s oversized stage outfits take us to a dramatic fantasy world where even the most heart-wrenching tragedy becomes poetic. Even Garance is dressed in puffed sleeves, sweeping skirts, and exquisite accessories: she enjoys luxury, so she allows the audience to enjoy it for several hours as well. And now, with World War II nearly 70 years behind us, audiences consider Children of Paradise to be one of the best films ever made, showing just how this look into Paris’ romantic past transcends time as well.
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As the market grew for period pictures profiling the years of the 20th century, it became even harder to define these short bursts of culture-changing trends. The most current period pictures are full of a diversity that parallels our recent colorful history as a culture. Take, for example, the following three films. Though they all take place within less than 20 years of each other, Shutter Island’s (2010) eerily simple neutrals straight out of 1954, the skinny ties and slick hair that characterized a 1960’s pop band in That Thing You Do! (1996), and the wispy shirts and relaxed hippie denim of 70’s-based Almost Famous (2000) could not paint a more different picture of modern American life.
Now, movie-goers have so many options for how they experience life in the past. There are exponentially more worlds for them to enter and explore, all made to be more accessible than ever with the costume designer’s ability to style them perfectly and uniquely. Though there is a true respect for accurately depicting reality in present-day pictures, movie audiences have certainly not lost their desire for decadence and escape into the past.
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