34 thoughts on “SNARK WEEK: Top 5 “Ohhh This Is Supposed to Be PERIOD” Movies

  1. The early part of funny girl is set in the 1910s, and Fanny Price was a comedienne which explains the whacky stage costumes.

  2. Digging the 70s haircut on Robert Redford…but it just doesn’t work for the 1940s and especially for a naval officer. I guess he had a “no cut the hair” clause in his contract…

  3. War and Peace. Trust me, you ain’t seen nothing yet. So bad it’s . . . . bad (but train-wreck compulsive).

    1. I think my favorite thing for War and Peace was that they embraced that Russia might as well be Narnia when it comes to winter, but then you have someone run outside throwing a shawl around their shoulders. NO! PUT ON A JACKET!! Also that one-shoulder look is at a ball during the winter – yes it was indoors but do you really think they could efficiently heat that palace?

  4. One of the things I tell my students that that women’s hair is ALWAYS styled to be attractive to the time the film was made in. It’s a rare film in which a medieval woman plucks her hairline back.

    1. Yeah, this is the easiest dead giveaway for historical films, and modern makeup is a close second. It’s what makes “Elizabeth R” so great–they completely eschewed modern hair & makeup aesthetics and went whole-hog Elizabethan with Glenda Jackson. The supporting female characters are iffy, though. But at least they really stuck the landing with Bess.

  5. I had scene publicity stills of Gillian Anderson in that dress on tumblr and I assumed it was from Hannibal or a magazine shoot or something. I wish I’d remained in ignorance.

  6. (1) Fanny Brice. With a B. (Not Price) (2) Barbara’s fingernails: huh? Check out the photo with the harp. WTF????

      1. Yeah, I really want to see her play that harp with those nails. It cracked me up when I saw it and I only play a little bit.

  7. So far every image I have seen from the new War and Peace makes me shudder. War and Peace is one of my favourite books. The original BBC series which I watched when I was about 13, (and read the book immediately after) inspired my love of period costume and history. Why do contemporary productions feel they have to make the characters appear “modern” as though audiences can no longer relate to characters who dress differently to the familiar norm?

  8. Clue comes immediately to mind as one of those “wait, it’s supposed to be period?” films. It’s set in what, the 1920s/1930s? Hell if I know because it all just looks like black tie 1980s.

  9. Wait. A Christmas Story is set in the 1930’s? I legitimately did not know this. I’ve only ever seen pictures and figured it was set in the 1970’s. Didn’t pay much attention to the clothes, but the Mom’s hair always said late 1970’s to me for some reason.

  10. I watched War and Peace on Monday evening and also thought, WTF re Gillian Anderson’s lavender frock…it was like you read my mind…seriously? One-shouldered Regency??? That isn’t the only infraction…I will continue to watch just to see what else pops up. I swear I get more entertainment value from costume rather than storyline…

  11. The MGM movie Ziegfeld Girl (1941), which starred several young on-the-verge-of-superstardom actors (James Stewart, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr), is one of my have-to-watch-its, even though it’s really a fairly crappy soap. I must have watched it at least 3 or 4 times before I realized that it was set in the 1920s (Stewart’s character gets arrested for bootlegging). The clothes are pure 1940s.

  12. Wait…The Way We Were is a period piece? I always assumed from stills it was contemporary to the time it was made. (I’m not being snide, I really mean that.)

  13. As s person who binge-watches Funny Girl, the film starts out in the mid-1910s and ends in the mid to late 1920s. The “leopard” outfit is actually supposed to be in the 1920s. I don’t think that the last Funny Girl picture (with the red dress and crazy hat) is from the film; I’m not sure if it’s even Barbra at all. The picture is referencing a sailor outfit she wears in the “I’m the Greatest Star” scene, which is set around 1915, give or take a couple of years. I’d be interested in an actual review of the movie so you can let us know your opinion of the clothes.

  14. Okay, so Raiders of the Lost Ark did okay in terms of putting lead actress Karen Allen into plausibly 1930s clothing

    No, they didn’t. Karen Allen looked as if she was wearing a debutante gown, fit for a 17 year-old. How old did Rene Belloq thought Marion Ravenwood was? And I wasn’t fond of Allen’s hairstyles. My major problem with Kate Capshaw was her hair. Her movie was supposed to be set in 1935, not 1945.

  15. I know this is an old post, but the resigned tone of the Barbra turban photo made me laugh uncomfortably long. :’D

    I also like how the flash in the background makes really seem like 1970’s sci-fi thriller, Barbra Streisand in the “Attack of the Domeheads!”

  16. I’m going to defend Kate Capshaw’s hair in “I.J. and the Temple of Doom”. She has 80’s mum hair because she’s a very high maintainance woman, who is used to having her naturally curly hair firmly attended to, every single day by skilled professionals. She’s in the jungle, there’s heat, humidity, no product and no hairdresser……………it’s going to be messy!

  17. To be perfectly honest, I think I’ve only ever seen (photos of) Barbra Streisand in big 60s hair, and reading this I realised that I did, indeed, unconsciously think she had a weird head shape. :D :D

Comments are closed.