Les Miserables

The movie adaptation of the Broadway musical (technically, it's an opera...) and Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, Les Miserables itself breaks many of the norms that have been set for modern movie making.  For example, the actors sang their songs on the set, not in a recording studio - everything heard in the movie is live singing. Crazy, I know.  The movie that I am talking about is the 2012 adaptation, directed by Tom Hooper and staring Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, and Russel Crowe.  And many others. Costume design by Paco Delgado.

Les Miserables...or Les Mis cuz I'm lazy...tells the story of convict Jean Valjean (Jackman), also known as prisoner 24601, over a span of about 33 years.  Throughout the movie/play, he is running from the officer Javert (Crowe) seeing as he broke his parole.  Throughout his journey, he raises himself up from a convict to the mayor of a town in France.  As well as mayor, he owns a company which employs young women from the streets.  One of these women is Fantine (Hathaway).  Despite the fact that she is only in the movie for like half an hour, her importance in the movie itself cannot be understated.  Fantine gets fired, sells her hair, her teeth, and in the end herself so that she can send money to her young daughter, Cosette.  When she is about to die, Valjean finds her and promises to find Cosette and adopt her.  And he keeps his word to the now dead Fantine.  He rescues Cosette from the Thénardiers and raises her.  Years pass and blah blah blah, Cosette falls in love with Marius, whom is loved by Eponine and yada yada yada.  The 1832 revolution in France breaks out, and Maris is one of the lead rebels fighting.  All of the relationships are finalized by the end of the movie, as well as there are some deaths that are heartbreaking, but the ending...is something i don't have the heart to talk about....spoilersssssssssss grrrrrr

My wonderful boyfriend knows of my costume obsession and my excitement over Les Mis and sent this video right over there a while ago.  In this video, Paco Delgado explains his thought process behind designing some of the costume pieces.  He brings up an interesting point of the convict costumes being the same color as Fantine's prostitute dress.  This utilization of colors offers an interesting sort of parallelism between Valjean and Fantine.  It also presents the idea that the poverty in France at the time had become a sort of inescapable prison for the poor.  It can also be noticed that this same color is used in each of the Thenardiers costumes, be it Madame or Monsieur Thenardier.  The repetition of both the fabric and the color within these characters in similar situations of poverty brings up and interesting point of the multiple types of poverty that can be found within society, which can be connected to the United States today.  Yay for allegories!!  

Paco Delgado was nominated for the Academy Award for Costume Design for his work on this movie, which was an award Jacqueline Durran won for Anna Karenina.  Delgado's costumes for Les Miserables are in fact incredible and beautiful and interesting and amazing and I love them

SPECIFICS!!!!



Unlike Anna Karenina, this trailer doesn't show the costume symbolism that I really really love. However, it's still an amazing trailer. There's no denying that this music within the musical/opera whatever you wanna call it is amazing and aweinspring and lovely and epic and there are so many adjectives you can use to describe the music. Therefore, the trailer is here because its just amazing and you should watch it...just cuz its amazing...in so many ways.

Fantine's transformation is seen through her costumes, as it should be.  In the beginning scene when she is first introduced, she is wearing a lilac purple dress, which makes her come across as innocent and someone who takes wonderful care of herself, despite the fact that she is in poverty.  However, after she is fired from her job, it becomes evident that she is sinking into poverty quickly. In the picture up of her and Valjean, that is the red prostitute dress.  This dress itself is the same color as the convict costumes, which brings upon th  question of her imprisonment within society.  

Eponine is the daughter of the Thenardiers.  In the beginning of the movie, she is pampered and treated very well, in contrast to Cosette.  Despite her upbringing, she prooves to be stuck in the lower class when she grows up, which juxtaposes her with Cosette entirely.  And, this poverty which follows her, is portrayed in her costume.  Her main costume throughout the movie is a drab and tattered dress, the one pictured right next to this paragraphy thingy. She blends into the background in contrast to her flashy parents, which characterizes her.  She isn't really noticed by any of the other revolutionaries, especially from Marius until he wants her to do something for him.

The Thenardiers are the comic relief of this serious musical, and this is reflected through their costumes. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen are perfect for this role - they're both wacky people and always play the wacky characters.  Yay!  Their costumes throughout the movie do change, but they always keep the same feeling of haphazardness and shabiness, which is perfect for their characters.

Cosette, whom is the blonde on the side in the dress, rises up in society thanks to Valjean adopting her.  Her dresses are all kind of the same - white, frufruish, very elegent and beautiful and puffy.  Very accurate for the time period.  

Anna Karenina

Based upon Leo Tolstoy's 1877 novel of the same name, this 2012 version of the Russian classic adds a new spin upon typical movie filming.  Directed by Joe Wright, staring Keira Knightly and Jude Law.  Costumes designed by Jacqueline Durran.

Anna Karenina (Knightly) is wife of Russian statesman Alexi Karenin (Law).  On a trip to visit her sister, Anna meets cavalry officer Alexei Vronsky.  At her sisters coming of age ball, the two of them dance together and BAM.  Instant sparks.  This starts an affair between the two of them which causes Anna's marriage to crumble apart.

I'm a symbolism nut.  There is no other way to describe it.  The symbolism behind the costumes in this movie give an interesting type of depth to the movie. Within the trailer alone, the one right up there ^^^, the symbolism behind the changing of Anna's costumes give her herself an interesting characterization.  For example, all of her dresses within the trailer are dark -  red, black, blue, yet with small aspects of white.  However, when it is evident that she is feeling vulnerable, she is in white.  Her veil that is present throughout some scenes symbolizes (heheh alliteration) that she feels the need to hide herself and hide who she is and what she feels. All of the whites, in contrast to the darker colors, are pure whites.  Not creams, or beige, or off whites, or ivory, but pure white.  This increases the contrast between Anna and Kitty, Anna and Vronsky, and also the contrast between when Anna is feeling vulnerable and when she is not.  Wright's vision for the movie was to have it take place within a giant theater, making the entire movie an allegory for everyone is pretty much living in a production of who society wants them to be.  There are only a handful of scenes which do not take place in the theater with the rest of the film, some of those scenes including contact between Anna and Vronsky.

In the above video, Jacqueline Durran explains the thought process behind the costumes within the movie.  Joe Wright decided that he wanted to break the already broken rules of a period film and mix 1950s couture with 1870s classic Russian style.  Not all accurate to the exact timing of the film, these costumes do indeed add another depth.  Through the colors and fabrics and silhouettes.  Jude Law came up with the idea that by having his tunic very basic and crisp and pristine, this would give the viewer more of the realization that he is in fact a very successful statesman.  And this point is brought across via his simple costuming.

Jacqueline Durran won the Academy Award for her work on Anna Karenina, something I feel is so incredibly deserved on her part.  These costumes within this movie are my favorite costumes out of any movie.  Ever.  No joke.  The creative combination of eras, styles, and the use of colors and fabrics gives a whole new and interesting depth to the movie and to the characters.

SPECIFIC PICTURE TIME YAYYYYY

This is the part i was talking about.  The part where they're dancing for the first time and the juxtaposition between the pure white and the pure black.









VEIL!!!! And not only a veil.  A black veil.  The pure and overwhelming symbolism in that one shot is just gahhhhhhh









This is one of the examples of Durran's use of the 1950's bodice with the 1870's skirts.

A small example of Karenin's basic costume.  The only embellishment upon his costume is the medal which he wears only in the beginning and the red sash which he wears throughout the whole movie.  Besides that, his whole costume is a simple blue tunic.

Anna's foil throughout the movie is her friend Kitty.  First off, Kitty marries for love.  She marries for love and stays faithful to Lennin (played by Bill Weasly), unlike Anna and her relationships.  This is also portrayed through her costumes.  All of her costumes are white and happy and innocent and reflect every aspect of her character.





IMDb for Anna Karenina
Or, for you sophisticated people, the Wikipeda

Personal favorite costumed movies

I watch A LOT of movies. A lot. Old movies, new movies, whatever it may be. A lot of movies all the time. And, I have my favorites; be it plot based, cast based, symbolism based, music based, or costume based.  And here, permanently inscribed on the interwebs, is my favorite costumed movies ever YAYYYY. Each will receive their own posty thingamabob eventually, I promise 

Ps- these are in NO particular order. I'm dedicated, but lazy 

1) Anna Karenina - 2012, directed by Joe Wright. Staring Keira Knightly and Jude Law. Costume designer: Jacqueline Durran. Durran won the Academy Award for Achievment in Costume Design. 

2) Les Miserables - 2012, directed by Tom Hooper. Staring Russel Crowe, Hugh Jackman, and Anne Hathaway. Costume designer: Paco Delgado. Delgado recieved a nomination for the Academy Award for Costume Design. 

3) Pride and Prejudice - 2005, directed by Joe Wright. Staring Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen. Costume designer: Jacqueline Durran 

4) Gone With the Wind - 1939, directed by Victor Flemming. Staring Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable. Costume director: Walter Plunkett

5) Titanic - 1997, directed by James Cameron. Staring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio. Costume designer: Deborah Lynn Scott. Scott won the Academy Award for Costume Design 

6) The Artist - 2011, directed by Michel Hazanavicius. Staring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo. Costume designer: Mark Bridges. Bridges won the Academy Award in Costume Design 

7) The Great Gatsby - 2013, directed by Baz Luhrmann. Staring Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan. Costume designer: Catherine Martin 

8) Sherlock Holmes - 2009, directed by Guy Ritchie. Staring Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams. Costume designer: Jenny Beaven 

9) An Affair to Remember - 1957, directed by Leo McCarey. Staring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Costume designer: Charles le Maire. Le Maire was nominated for the Academy Award for Costume Design. 

SO. THIS LIST. OF NINE MOVIES. Fabulous costumes, fabulous plots, amazing overall movies. Eventually when I get not so lazy, there will be full blown posts about each and every one of these movies and that is a promise. Pictures and all. Yay :)