Customer Reviews

Fashion in Film

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I teach fashion to high school students grades 10-12. This was a great video to use. It portrayed how much of an impact films/movies, actors and actresses have on what we wear, the current styles, trends, designs, etc. The students really enjoyed it, especially since they use popular, well known actors and actresses that we can all relate to.

This movie would be great if it were edited down to 15 minutes. Most of it is talking heads going on and on about this designer or that trend. The blurb indicated that it would deal with Edith Head, costumes in film,etc. That takes up about ten minutes, and it merely shows a photo of Ms. Head. It doesn't deal with the iconic elements of her designs. The rest looks like those MTV fillers where actors and unrecognizable "fasion experts" give their preferences and opinions. I showed it to my film class and was embarrassed by the lack of information and the vapid way in which it was delivered. I wanted to fast forward through the first 30 minutes, but I kept hoping it would get better. There have to be better movies about costumes and fashion in film. I'm still searching.

I recently watched this on Netflix and was shocked to see that it was an hour long! It could have easily been a 30 minute show and still get to the point of fashion influencing film and vice versa. As a recent college graduate entering the costumes world of film, I greatly appreciated the input of the costume designers of the program...why not put more focus on them rather than talking heads like Jennifer Beals and Malin Akerman? Just because costume designers aren't as famous as actors doesn't mean that costume designers don't know what they are talking about! I mean, they mentioned Edith Head for about 5 seconds and then moved on...why not talk about her and her work! Her designs influenced fashion in her day!
My point is either lightly browse various subjects in a documentary of about 30 minutes or go more in depth with a 2 hour long special. History Channel does that all the time and I enjoy their programing. This documentary puts too much focus on the strangest things like Keira Knightley's gown in "Atonement" I didn't really see how it trumped other iconic dresses that the program failed to mention, like Marilyn Monroe in "The Seven Year Itch".
Also, I'm worried about the accuracy of this program. When the narrator mentioned "Atonement", she mentioned that it was nominated for several Academy Awards, including one for Keira Knightely. WRONG! Keira has been nominated for an Oscar...for "Pride and Prejudice"! That's a very simple thing to check up on too...just go to imdb.com and look it up! So if these filmmakers screw up something as simple as someone being nominated for a particular film, it makes me consider what else in the program might be totally inaccurate.
Overall, like Brett Ratner (because he totally knows about fashion or costume design *sarcasm*) said about costumes/ fashion being eye candy, this "documentary" is nothing but eye candy, unfortunately without any substance. Watch this on mute!

I love this documentry because it's has a female narrator and Rachel Zalis film deubt. I love Rachel Zalis because I love her voice a lot.