Customer Reviews

Prêt-à-Porter [VHS]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This is one of my favourite films.

Many of the critics of this movie missed the point. This movie is not about plot or characters. Robert Altman does what movies are for; he takes us to another place.

What Altman does is give us a vivid impression of the incestuous whirl of the fashion world. His world is populated by both real designers (as ever spotting them is half the fun). and wonderful performances such as Richard E. Grant as a male Vivienne Westwood.

The movie also effectively transports us to Paris. And yes, Paris really is covered in "Dog Poop" (they were Paris jokes, not Poop jokes).

I think that many of the jokes about Paris, may have gone over the heads of US movie critics who have not set foot outside LA and New York.

One of the reviews of this movie described the fashion shows as "pointless". They were pointless in the same way a Monet is pointless; they were in the movie because they are beautiful.

To summarise, if you love Paris and you love fashion, you will love this. The closing credits of a montage of Issey Miyake and other fashion shows set to Grace Jones' "La Vie En Rose" is worth the price of admission alone.

Most critics harped on this movie's lack of "depth" when it originally came out. My question is, how would a comedy with "depth" about the fashion industry play? I'm sure it would be much more unwatchable than the witty display Altman puts on here. Yes, there's too many characters and yes, Altman glides over everything without much development but he directs with a sense a fun and keeps the whole thing smooth and amusing. He's much less judgmental about the fashion industry than a director in his seventies might be: in a movie fillled with star performers and designers, everyone is depicted and even photographed is a very democratic manner even if they're all made out to be slightly ridiculous. Only Sophia Loren is really given the "star" treatment in her appearances and even that is done mainly as parody (she begins the movie in a frumpy bathrobe and glasses-who else but Altman would have the nerve to commit such a breach? ) It's arguable that the movie is a little trite-but then so is the fashion industry. I think people were disappointed in this movie primarilybecause Altman didn't stage a fashion show, he only covers one. Altman does here what he's always done well: shown off the farcial elements of American social and political institutions. As for Leonard Maltin, I'm sure his mind is numb after a lifetime of overpraising movies much worse than this one.

Robert Altman's 'Pret a Porter' was slammed by critics on its theatrical release for its apparent sprawling, incoherent and superficial nature. But it's a film about the fashion industry. How could it be anything but superficial! Superficial it is, but it is also witty, intelligent, and ravishingly beautiful. And the integration of music with image is up there with the best -- wait for the end credits, as the final fashion parade takes place to Grace Jones's pulsating version of 'La vie en Rose'.

My DVD copy is Region Two, and benefits from anamorphic mastering. But whether anamorphic or not, this DVD demands to be seen. Altman's work ultimately and resoundingly answers his critics, who simply cannot understand the nuances of this great director's work.

Why all the hate for FEADY TO WEAR? Like many of you, I was underwhelmed when it first came out but now thanks to constant showings on the Sundance Channel and all those channels in that narrow band of indie cable, it has been growing on me and now I can't stop watching it. Barbara Shulgasser's writing is wonderful, and if it has been chopped up like cole slaw by Altman's fitful direction, and by the generally improvisatory style embodied by Kim Basinger's steamrolling fashion reporter, it is still Altman who gives the picture its life, its joie de vivre. And the fantastic outfits are to die for, each one crazier than the last.

Sophia Loren is so over the top in this one role that retrospectively her entire career takes on a veneer of camp Carlo Ponti could never have intended. If she was Elton John her sunglasses couldn't get any vaster, like two TV screens perched on her nose, and her breasts bobbing like apples in the tub of her sausage cased cleavage deserve equal billing with Mastroianni, who perhaps overdoes his sad sack clown persona. Together they're not so much fun as you'd think, but she's great. Is there any black satin left in the world or was all of it used for her widows' wear!

My favorite, Anouk Aimee, gets all the drama parts. Why didn't Altman use Anouk Aimee more, she is simply the most striking and hawklike actress who ever lived! She and Rupert Everett as her avaricious son are playing out whole 3 decker Balzac novels with their back and forth, their mutual accusations of greed and contempt.

OK, there are some inanities to READY TO WEAR, and I'm never sure if Forest Whitaker isn't laughing up his sleeve or revealing new previously unknown dimensions to his private life, but all in all it is a movie for the ages, and my favorite by Altman (except for NASHVILLE and A WEDDING). Maybe its angle about fashion being stupid is itself pretty banal, but you know, I just don't care any more. If it's on, I'll watch it all the way through and I'll cry when it's over, just like Julia Roberts pretending her lost luggage hasn't yet been delivered to her closet.

Ok, Why would anyone even watch a movie about a murder taking place in a FASHION SHOW IN PARIS if they consider glamour and beauty not to be a point in and of itself.

Aside from visual feasts the movie depicts this lifestyle in a honest way, kinda like how Office Space depicts the office life. One scene is when these two ladies who are staying next to each other talk to each other politely as they walk each other to their hotel rooms. When they arrive at their doors they bid their farewells and then one goes to the left and the other to the right, and as they both turn the doorknobs they both discover that the doors are locked. AWKWARD! well the awkwardness is depicted beautifully as they both utter polite laughts he he... if you are incapable of appreciating that then you're right, you might be too shallow to enjoy this movie! If you can get into the depths of things that appear 'not to matter' and at the same time consider beauty and glamour a point in and of itself (it sounds contradictory but it isn't) then you will LOVE THIS! Here are more reasons to get this movie:

-Kim Basinger has a pretty big role as this innocent reporter "live in Paris" and is stunning and funny
-Sophia Loren who I've never thought to be all THAT is in this and has a fair share of camera time, and BOY did I just change my mind! It seems she is gorgeous now that she's old but I never really saw it when she was young. Kim Basinger admires her jewelry :-).
-Cameo by Cher (she gets interviewed)
-Jean Paul Gaultier is in it (he gets interviewed)
-There are scenes of Paris shopping in it
-There is are cute dogs (although in the first scene, S. Loren shakes her dog a little but I'll just think she makes up for it)
-I could go on and on!!! If you are attracted to the title in the first place, WHY WOULDN'T you like this movie?? O! Just thought of something:
-HELENA CHRISTIANSON is in it and she has a line, Christy Turlington is in it, more...!!!

Watching this movie is an enjoyable and non-stop "hoot" (if that term is still used). It seems that everyone in Hollywood wanted a cameo appearance in this Robert Altman film, perhaps because it was filmed in Paris. It is true that a critic may find the plot senseless and incomplete, but I doubt very much if the filmakers intended to present a complete and thorough story. The intent was clearly a parady spoof of the Paris fashion industry and all of its multi-faced participants. In this regard READY TO WEAR is an outstanding success.

You either like this movie, or you hate it.

Personally, I enjoy it - Robert Altman can do good satire, and this is a good one. Sure, you'll probably have to watch it several times (and possibly even do some studying) in order to get all the various jokes and scathing comments about the fashion world and about Paris... but it's fun.

There's a lot of serious talent in this film - Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Kim Basinger, Stephen Rea, Rupert Everett, Forest Whitaker, Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, Lauren Bacall... the list goes on.

While it seems to be primarily a murder mystery set in the world of high fashion, it is a lovely satire on the industry itself, and what people find acceptable. The end sequence with the "emperor's new clothes" fashion show is highly enjoyable in itself - not just because of the nudity, but because of what it says about the fashion industry. Watching Basinger's character melt down on camera is interesting and quite enjoyable... and was one of the inspirations for The Devil Wears Prada.

This movie isn't for everyone - you require a sense of humor and a good grasp of satire. But Robert Altman has pulled off another sleight of hand with this. Heck, it's just fun.

And that about sums up what I have to say about "Pret a Porter". Worst part: Julia Roberts (I wish the rest of America would get wise to her lack of talent). Best part: Seeing Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni reunite. Marcello was her old beau, and now they have a second chance at love, about 40 years late. I laughed out loud at their scenes, cursed the darkness that is Julia Roberts.

Try on "Ready to Wear/Pret a Porter" and see how the fit suits you.

The Master Robert Altman created this piece before Gosford Park but even back then he used his same techniques. It conquers those guilty instincts many of us have to know what is going on in peoples lives. Among a cast of actors like Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts, Rupert Evert, there the real stars of the Paris Fashion scene Terry Mueller, Jon Paul Gautie, La Criox, Vivian Westwood,and the Press. Sit back and watch it all unfold.

THIS CAN NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. IT IS JUST A FUN MOVIE. FRIENDS OF MINE WANTED TO SEE CHER IN IT, SHE HAD AT MOST A 15 SECOND CAMEO.
I ENJOYED THE CLOSING SONG. IT'S VERY...VERY...?