You asked for it, so here’s an occasional open thread to bitch about anything tangentially related to history, costume, movies, or TV shows! Or whatever else is on your mind right now. Note that URLs are automatically held for moderation, but most anything else goes as long as you’re not bitchier than we are!
Back to school, autumn, fall, whatever you’ve got going on, the end of the year is coming. New seasons of the PBS Masterpiece standards will show up soon, along with a few frock flicks in the theaters and on streaming services.
Whatcha watchin’?
I am definitely going to watch The Miniaturist, but I’m bingeing on Vanessa Redgrave frock flicks like Mrs Dalloway and the White Countess
So excited for The Miniaturist!
Me too. From the trailers, it looks to be as good as or better than Tulip Fever
I was so disappointed by Tulip Fever. It was just a big meh.
When do we think the Downton movie will be set? Personally i’m hoping for late 20’s/1930’s or even just before WWII breaks out in 1939, it would give it a nice symmetry with how the 1st season ended.
I thought the plan was for the previous generation? Turn of the century/Gilded age
The turn-of-the-century stuff you’re thinking of might be the separate (different characters) Gilded Age TV series Julian Fellows is talking about doing?
Julian did say he wanted to do a prequel detailing Cora and the Earl’s “Romance”.
Wasn’t that “The Buccaneers?” LOL
The original TV series cast is coming back, so I guess it’s a continuation of the story? They can’t go too far forward or back in time w/out aging makeup or CGI (ew).
I just want to see Edith in Mainbocher, Vionnet, or Schiaparelli!
Yesssss. I love Edith’s flapper/boss lady editor look! And also I love that she isn’t typically beautiful (I mean she is of course lovely, but she isn’t perfectly symmetrical). Aside from Sybil (sigh) she had the best style arc.
Edith definitely read as plain in the 1st season, but got more glam as each season went on!
Looking forward to the return of The Man in the High Castle (alternate history is awesome… just not for the people living in the show, haha) and curious about The Outlaw King, but I hear “maimed horses” are a thing so — maybe not. Watching animals blown apart isn’t my idea of a fun viewing experience.
Still pissy about The Spanish Princess, btw. That ain’t never gonna change. ;)
Maimed horses? NOOOOOOOO.
I know. Maim and kill all the dudes you want, but leave the poor fake animals alone. :P
I tried to watch Man in the High Castle because Rufus Sewell, but it didn’t grab me!
The lead is pretty tepid and her boyfriend annoys me, but Rufus is GREAT. I really enjoyed the show’s aspect of showing a Nazi as a human being — a loving father and husband, but also scarily devoted body and soul to The Cause. And better yet, they invented the character for the show — he’s not in the book.
I just watched Ordeal by Innocence (2018) version last night. 1950’s costumes, beautiful sets. Could have been 2 hours, not 3, but it was pretty good.
Oh yeah and I liked the…erm, updates to the original story. I felt like the changes modernized the story while still (mostly) remaining faithful to the period.
Where can you watch it?
I’m marathoning “The Crimson Field.” Though I enjoy it, I’m annoyed at the rather token PoC presence.
Also rewatching “The Manor House” and getting a kick out of observing lower class wear. Those don’t get enough love.
I know that the following is not the answer to your question “Whatcha watchin’?”, but I’m going to write it anyway: Could you please do more reviews of period films made in continental Europe?
I myself come from and live in a non-English speaking European country, hence the films mentioned above are more accessible to me.
I’m curious about your professional judgment concerning examples of these films :-).
A lot of what we watch is dictated by access — & American streaming services are, well, anglo-philic, so we get a lot of UK-produced costume dramas. Netflix has been adding non-English-language costume dramas in the past couple years, like Cable Girls, Juana Inés, & Berlin Babylon, which we’ve reviewed. Are there specific titles we should look for?
Thanks for the explanation, Trystan :-).
I would like to ask for a review of “Maximilian and Marie De Bourgogne”, a three part German-Austrian miniseries about Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. and his first wife. The plot takes place during the years 1477-1482.
From what I’ve read on the Internet Movie Database, the production has been already shown by Showtime/Starz and is available to the American audience.
Here you have further details on the series: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5833846/?ref_=nv_sr_3
Here is a trailer with English subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUsPfTB0bSQ
Like I’ve written before, I’m curious about your opinion :-).
I rewatched the BBC North and South recently, and realised that Margaret’s hat still bothers the hell out of me.
Was there a fashion for young women wearing curate’s hats? I know I’m a lonely derpy bonnet fan, but still..
I’m currently obsessed with Black Sails and I have SO MANY QUESTIONS about the costumes — what did pirates really wear in the early 1700s? A lot of the outfits look really modern and there is a suspicious lack of hairpins! The men sure are pretty, though.
Also really looking forward to the new seasons of Poldark and Outlander!
Just finished Under the Greenwood Tree, which was sweet. I liked her detachable lace collar at the end.
I’m a little depressed about my viewing options streaming on Amazon Prime. I canceled my Netflix when I felt like I had “run out” of historical dramas to watch and I only had Hulu for a bit to watch War & Peace with Lily James. Where do you find most of your period pieces for viewing these day? BritBox?