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Bram Stoker's Dracula- Tis the Man, Himself
19 Plays14 days ago
We have crossed oceans of time to find you. And to bring you into the the stunning visual world of renowned designer and artist Eiko Ishioka. No discussion of costume design can be complete without her. Please open your hearts, minds, and exposed jugular veins. This is the movie that dared ask the question- what if Dracula had the most luscious hair you've ever seen?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103874/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_5_nm_3_in_0_q_bram
Music: Cassette Deck by Basketcase
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Hot Set' Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
I'm Melinda. I'm Ariel. This is Hot Set, the movie podcast about costume design.
00:00:22
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to another episode. It's us, your friends who like to talk in nerdy ways about costumes.
Focus on Bram Stoker's Dracula Film
00:00:29
Speaker
And this episode is all about Bram Stoker's Dracula ah circa, is it 1991?
00:00:35
Speaker
I'm like literally looking at the IMDb. Yeah, early 90s. That's all I can tell you. 1992 is what is. And it's a Francis Ford Coppola joint starring Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, who I sometimes refer to as Kanunu, and it's going to happen.
00:00:54
Speaker
And a bunch of other folks, including Tom Waits. Yeah, there's so many people in this movie. Carrie Ellis is in this movie. Yeah. carrie elwes with his little surprises and being such a twat twat if you like does it like well there's so much going on in here and um oh my god even monica bellucci is in this like i didn't choose one of dracula's brides okay i've obviously prepared anyway this is one of my like super foundational movies and um
00:01:28
Speaker
I've definitely watched it more than twice. i believe you just said that you've only seen it twice. and this This might be the second time, second or third time that I've seen it was today.
Melodramatic Performances and Unique Accents
00:01:38
Speaker
ah i it just before we even get to the Aiko Ishioka of it all.
00:01:45
Speaker
yeah I love how this drag this vampire movie follows so many vampire properties by being the most melodramatic, like over the top like of it all.
00:02:01
Speaker
There are a couple. so there are some crazy performances throughout this. like And by crazy, I don't necessarily... like okay hold up Gary Oldman chews the scenery out of this movie.
00:02:14
Speaker
Tom Waits goes a little wild this movie. yeah like there's There's a lot of the actress who plays Lucy eating it up in this one. But there are just some line deliveries that are so crazy because they step outside of that like overreach and go the other way somehow where Anthony Hopkins is like sleepwalking through this movie.
00:02:41
Speaker
There's literally a line. and Yes, this is a costuming podcast, but we have to talk about this. It's all related. Anthony Hopkins. This line delivery never fails to get me. And I'm going to do a couple lines. One of them. Okay.
00:02:55
Speaker
He says, she's the devil's concubine. Weird. Like chortle after that. And doesn't change his face. He just like opens his mouth like a trap door and comes out and it's wild.
00:03:12
Speaker
And then again, another Anthony Hopkins line, no, no. like he's He says, okay, we have to meet at Lucy's tomb and you should bring you know some surgical knives. yeah person is like, oh, why would we do an autopsy on Lucy? And he goes, no, no, nothing like that. I just want to cut off her head and cut out her heart.
00:03:31
Speaker
Blase. ah So silly of me to not i think that that's what you were planning on doing. Like my apologies. What? There's also like...
00:03:43
Speaker
when um When they're kind of first like putting the pieces together and they're like looking at the place where like Lucy was like attacked and he's just sort of the guy's like, I don't know, maybe something flew down here, drank her blood and flew away. And he's like, why not? Like, he's so just like, yeah.
00:04:02
Speaker
Yeah. It's just crazy. And then he says the craziest stuff to people and just like, like he's eating dinner after they cut off Lucy's head. Spoiler alert. And um he's eating dinner with Mina and Jonathan Harker. And he's just like, sorry they're like, what?
00:04:21
Speaker
Yeah, so blase about it. It's just crazy. She's dead. and He's just like, chewing and shoving food into his mouth. And then the best line, which I said part of in the last episode is Keanu.
00:04:37
Speaker
After he's been like released himself from Dracula's castle in Romania or Transylvania, and he's come back to London and he's like got grayer hair and because he's been through all this stuff.
00:04:49
Speaker
And he's getting into a carriage with Mina and he sees Dracula across the street like mean mugging him. And he goes, his baby English accent is gone. it's like From here on out, it's gone.
00:05:04
Speaker
He was trying before and it's gone now. He just straight says, tis the man himself. Look, he's grown young.
00:05:15
Speaker
Tis the man himself. Like,
00:05:20
Speaker
like whoa, totally radical, dude.
00:05:26
Speaker
And all this is just to set the scene for you all. This movie is like so early 90s because it's so taking itself seriously, but also like, don't know, pre Lord of the Rings.
00:05:40
Speaker
So many fantastical or like other things are a little bit schlocky, you know, like they're just kind of not fully, like they're either like way over the top or they're just like the act the acting sometimes doesn't quite know how to like,
00:05:57
Speaker
gel Yeah, it's like not sure where it's living or people are not quite all on the same page. Something's going Yeah, there's just like yeah some tonal
90s Style and Film's Visual Storytelling
00:06:06
Speaker
differences. And like, would I change anything about this? Absolutely not. It's crazy. I've lost oceans of time to love you. Like, it's so over the top.
00:06:14
Speaker
But like... Oh my God. i just, every time I watch this, it just like kills me. so All of that said performance wise, um the design is fan fricking tastic.
00:06:28
Speaker
And i read in two places. One was a medium article that seems to be almost identical to one. um Is it the Oscars.org has an article about this. It's very brief.
00:06:40
Speaker
Yeah. I did very minimal research and not a lot showed up that wasn't on sites, you know, written up by folks like you and me. So I didn't do like deep dives. I'm trying to find original articles because I just wanted one interview like Aiko Ishioka just talking about yeah her work.
00:06:56
Speaker
one And she has a book. Yeah. which I highly recommend and I might try to get at some point. It's like probably like a tome, like a coffee table book kind of situation with her work in it.
00:07:07
Speaker
Yeah, that makes sense. But this, I go Ishioka. Like wow apparently the budget for the movie was not necessarily where Francis Ford Coppola wanted it to be.
00:07:20
Speaker
So yeah he apocryphally maybe said, then the costumes have to be the set. and So, like, they funneled a lot of focus into the costumes and more
Aiko Ishioka's Costume Design
00:07:33
Speaker
money. And you can really tell because this is not your run-of-the-mill, like, historical drama. It's not a Merchant in Ivory costume.
00:07:43
Speaker
No. It is very much. There's no yeah, there's no like Dracula in the tuxedo with the black cape with red lining. That is not in this movie. No, the traditional Nosferatu situation isn't there. no Like he's hideous as a monster for sure. Yeah. But like, and he, but he has these like chalky long fingers. Like he hideous.
00:08:05
Speaker
basically like Nosferatu of this year before they did Nosferatu this year because like they elongate his fingers, sharp nails, hairy palms, which I never noticed over before.
00:08:20
Speaker
But when he's when he's old man, Count Dracula in the castle talking to Keanu Reeves when he sees Winona Ryder's photograph ah yeah and he's like, my love.
00:08:33
Speaker
turn You see this like white fur on his palms, like little hairy things. And I was just like, first of all, that's crazy because we see him in his like werewolf shape at some point. But it also felt very much like it was pulled from Catholic don't touch yourself.
00:08:55
Speaker
like Oh, I didn't even think about that. Yeah, because like Dracula, there's like so much like sexual like lust stuff yeah that's like tied in and like the foreboding, all of these things.
00:09:07
Speaker
But it was just like, I'd never noticed that before. And I was like, Eric Palm. ah But oh my God, that's so crazy. He has this like massive red like...
00:09:20
Speaker
wrote Oh, like Duchess satin, just like sumptuous fabrics, like beautiful. It's so funny because like I didn't, I don't remember exactly the first time I saw this movie, but it was definitely when I was like a bit older, but there's an early episode of the Simpsons where Mr. Burns is like a Dracula vampire in one of the Halloween episodes. And he is dressed like this version of dracula so like i didn't get that reference when i was watching the simpsons as like a seven-year-old that like that was what they were pulling from but like once you see this movie it's like oh that's why he looks like that And that's super perfect. I somehow didn't know that because I, sorry, not a massive Simpsons watcher in my life, but I love that they are nailed that because it's like this shape of Dracula is is so iconic.
00:10:19
Speaker
That like heart shaped hair and like the red. this This Dracula design. is so visceral because it's not just, it's not only like cold and removed and dark, you know, like I am the shadows.
00:10:39
Speaker
This one is like, no no, no, I'm the muscle and the tissue and the blood. Like it's just pulling from a different kind of goth like thing.
00:10:50
Speaker
and I just like really, really love that. And it's very like, Earthy compared to like thinking about just like the cold of the tomb. It's like, no, no this is like the earth and like the the ruin.
00:11:02
Speaker
And okay, to like really hammer that home. So Aiko Ishioka is a Japanese artist who supposedly hooked up with Francis Ford Coppola because of a poster that she did int for Japan for Apocalypse Now.
00:11:21
Speaker
And so like they knew of each other, knew each other for like 20 years before he hired her to work on this. And her CV is pretty rad because like she worked in a lot of different places.
00:11:37
Speaker
She did not design a lot of movies. She did work um some stage like theater productions. She did Cirque du Soleil's Veracay, I think is what it's called. Oh, really? didn't know that.
00:11:49
Speaker
Interesting. She did a bunch of different things in different mediums. And so she is... part of i think why she's so amazing to me is because she is outside of yes like yeah straightforward like hollywood like she was not just working in one industry and there are so many famous like costume designers who are you know are jumping visual artists yeah and visual artists but she like also did ah costumes for opera at the dutch opera she did um
00:12:23
Speaker
but Which makes sense. Like looking at this, you're like, this is so operatic every in every way. Like yeah something that you can see from a distance that gives you like a very big, like. Huge, like silhouette. Yeah.
00:12:39
Speaker
Very clear. Yeah. She did Julie Taymor's Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark. Are you serious? I'm so serious. Oh, my God. Okay. So one of my cursed productions, unfortunately.
00:12:55
Speaker
My first job when I moved to New York was working in the theater that that show had been in. oh God. I was not working directly for any production. I was like working for like the, um the company that like ran ran the house there. So I was not like involved in what was happening on stage. I was like involved in what was happening in the lobby before the show.
00:13:20
Speaker
um But there was like giant posters in like all the offices and stuff for Spider-Man. Cause it, I don't think it had been gone too terribly long. When I was there, ah it was Cirque du Soleil show that was actually performing there. And then ah it's now the theater where Harry Potter ah performs and has... like It's like the home of Harry Potter now.
00:13:45
Speaker
But yeah, like I would just like see... And there was plenty of people that worked there that had been there when Spider-Man was going on, but like people didn't really want to talk about it. I would ask questions. I wouldn't want to either. That's like a super...
00:13:58
Speaker
you It was super difficult experience. I know. So many people got hurt. yeah And didn't somebody need to hide like I can't remember.
00:14:09
Speaker
yeah It was bad news bears. Terrible. That is fascinating. I did not know that she worked on that show. That is yeah very interesting. And she also directed a music video for Bjork and designed costumes for a Grace Jones tour. Yeah.
00:14:27
Speaker
So like, wow, she has worked with a lot of people who are very artistic and very big, you know, like not big, like, mean, yes, big fame wise, but big personality wise, like right with their design focus.
00:14:45
Speaker
And so she just has this like, pretty amazing, um career because like she she just did like so much like graphic design as well as like designing other like uniforms and stuff. she directed She was the director of costume design for the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, which is like ah those were controversial Olympics taking place in Beijing anyway. but like Absolutely. Those I remember
00:15:17
Speaker
the the look of that. And so it's like, she just has done such beautiful work. And I could just like wo over how much I love her work for like a hot minute. yeah And to start these designs specifically. Yes. Yes.
00:15:33
Speaker
The we've already hit that this Dracula, Gary Oldman, is not like your traditional black and white Dracula at all. Right. Yeah. he He does wear darker things and gray things later, but in like the sassiest way possible. In a very Gary Oldman way. a very Gary Oldman way.
00:15:54
Speaker
But he is like so, this Dracula is so, again, visceral. And like what encapsulates it is his armor from the very beginning of the movie, which is a flashback to his origins. Yeah.
00:16:08
Speaker
And the armor is a flayed body, basically. It's like the tendons and the muscle structure. It's, oh my God. It so awesome. And I'm sure that there's like...
00:16:22
Speaker
Actual information out there about like more inspiration that's specific. And I wish I had my hands on that to like convey how cool this stuff is. But this is like this, this changed wiring in my brain because like taking things.
00:16:39
Speaker
A historical figure like Vlad Zepes, which is like the origin story or like some people say is the origin right of yeah certainly the the the character of Dracula.
Historical Influences and Coppola's Collection
00:16:50
Speaker
Yeah. Was a historical person who was accused and probably guilty of doing horrific things to thousands of people by staking them alive and like scaring his enemies by doing that. Like it was a horrendous process that we do not need to get into.
00:17:08
Speaker
So nodding to that, not only by the shadow play that happens in the movie, but by making his armor be something that would strike fear into his his enemies. Like it's not even necessarily...
00:17:25
Speaker
like shouting, I'm trying to protect myself. like It is just about I am trying to scare you yeah Yeah. I'm like wearing gore that' my yeah my armor and you should run. so it's like, ooh, but it's just such cool look. Yeah.
00:17:42
Speaker
cool look Yeah, I've seen this costume up close many times um because ah i live very close to a winery that Francis Ford Coppola owned.
00:17:59
Speaker
um He sold it a few years ago. um And I actually worked there for one season In the restaurant of the winery. And one of my favorite things about it is that there is like this sort of permanent collection on display of costume and prop pieces from different movies that Coppola directed. so There's um to stuff from Apocalypse Now. There's the the desk from The Godfather. There's like the Tucker car is like on a rotating platform in the middle.
00:18:39
Speaker
um And there's a glass case by the entrance to the restaurant that has that suit of armor in it from Bram Stoker's Dracula. And Lucy's white gown that she wears later in the movie. And they are permanently like on display just inside this glass case with like a couple still photos from the movie. And so I would walk past it every day For the like three or four months that I worked in that restaurant. And anytime I've gone there just as a, like a patron to like go wine tasting or go eat, I always stop and look at those costumes and just kind of have like a little moment to myself of like admiration
Lucy's Wardrobe and Design Inspirations
00:19:25
Speaker
and just like, wow, the things you can do when people are really willing to go for it in the movies that they are making.
00:19:35
Speaker
And like I knew that they had the the muscle armor there. I didn't know that they had Lucy's wedding gown. So that, okay. Yeah. To move on from from Dracula for a second. Lucy, holy cow.
00:19:49
Speaker
so So there's like a lot of like color happening in this movie that's very intentional. The red is always like a sign of Dracula's like... Interference. Blood and it's like, yeah. Blood, lust. The seduction and yeah, all things.
00:20:04
Speaker
And it's very loud. There's also um kind of like a like an insect inspiration to to a lot of the costumes. And like Lucy, a lot of her designs were based off of um like
00:20:22
Speaker
like reptiles. And so yeah yeah there's ah A gown that she wears, there's a lot of bustles in this, which is pretty amazing. They're like very bouncy bustles for the gowns that they're wearing. They're so good. Yeah. They're so great.
00:20:35
Speaker
And so Lucy is wearing for this pre-Dracula, like we're seeing how lusty she is. evening party not really a ball but like an event at her home yeah it's like a yeah get yeah it's a functioning fancy gathering function yeah and she's wearing this gown that has snakes that are like intertwined with each other all over it and like it's just like fantastic and then for this one there was like a specific insect that inspired it or not an insect sorry a reptile is it the one with the the neck thing
00:21:11
Speaker
Like, is it a reptile that that? So it's an Australian frilled lizard is what it's inspiring that white gown. And not only it, and this is like one of those cool things about design, right? Is that you can have an inspiration that's like part of a lamp, but nobody would know that it came from a lamp because you just something and it clicked for you and then you input that somewhere.
00:21:35
Speaker
So like the shapes here. can remind you of a lizard, but it also highlights and for ship foreshadows the fact that Lucy is not going to be connected to her head for very long. yeah It's literally like on a plate. like The collar is like at her huge plate.
00:21:54
Speaker
made of lace and then she has this like bejeweled choker around her neck to hide the bite from dracula that like calls more attention to her neck while hiding it right she just has the barbara strides and effect oh my god and this this gown like i have you seen any of the the drawings the renderings for these Um, I know I have.
00:22:22
Speaker
And I'm trying to remember if like the drawing for the white gown is like maybe on display next to it because I know I've seen that drawing. um so the drawing for it, i sent you the link, but so anybody who's curious, Oscars.org or just look up Aiko Ishioka, Bram Stoker's Dracula costumes.
00:22:41
Speaker
It's on brown paper, like toned paper. And she has drawn the dress in white, but she has not drawn like a generic shape.
00:22:51
Speaker
She has not drawn like, oh, it's just white. And then we'll figure out the fabric later. She's drawn out exactly what she wanted the fabric to look like. And it's very similar to the structure of the golden robe that Dracula is wearing at the very end of the movie.
00:23:07
Speaker
And it's very, very climpfed. Like, yeah yeah, it's all of these geometric shapes that are different layers of triangles and
Symbolism in Dracula's Costumes
00:23:19
Speaker
like layered layered like squares. and It's just shapes and shapes and shapes.
00:23:23
Speaker
And it if I was handed this rendering, i would have to take a minute and be real excited about it. Because I'd be like, first of all, is this a fabric that you know exists?
00:23:38
Speaker
Yeah. Right. not, how are we creating this fabric? Making it exist. Yeah. Yeah. Because it's like, this is a very voluminous garment. Like, it's layers of things that make it almost feel like Lucy's, like, wearing, like, cloudy, like, wings. Yeah. It's just, like, light Gossamer. It's billowing. It's amazing.
00:24:01
Speaker
There's, like, fans blowing somewhere off camera. Yeah. It's crazy. And she has like a headpiece, like hat situation. She's got this massive collar. She's got massive sleeves and tight fitted sleeves from like the elbows down. It's just this like really amazing garment.
00:24:19
Speaker
And it's also like looking at a photo, it does not look like the rendering, right? So like she has this kind of like satiny gown and then over that is sort of like some layers of things.
00:24:32
Speaker
And so you kind of get that vibe. in there. But there's also like shapes that are built into the collar and stuff to kind of bring in those geometric shapes again.
00:24:44
Speaker
But it is just like layers and layers and layers that look like scales or like like the carapace of like a beetle in a way. Like it's just... There's something about it that thing looks very religious to me also, like very Catholic or very Orthodox.
00:25:01
Speaker
There's something about those shapes and the piecing. it it just looks like something that would come out of like Western Christian religion. It's also like... It's crazy.
00:25:12
Speaker
Yeah, it just... She looks like like a sacrifice. She looks like there's something associated with her death and her undeath that is like...
00:25:24
Speaker
more meaningful. This is not the right way to say it, but it's like something other than a wedding. Like this is so elevated beyond it. And there's a reason why people see it and it sticks because like, this is a Victorian story. And most of the costumes in this are pretty like true to historical silhouette.
00:25:47
Speaker
Some of them are elevated because they have embroidery or because of the coloring. There's just something soft. Yeah, something's just like a little bit unique or like unusual or not like, but not like, oh, that's exactly, I've seen that. Not screaming out at you. Yeah. Yeah. But this is like, this is pure Eikolishioka, where it is you like- incredible and you could see this on an operatic stage for sure and like 100 the muscle armor like i just not and like the brides of dracula are very similar to this look that lucy is buried in where it's the gossamer like layers and the head pieces and jewelry and all of these things like it just feels like she is a designer who truly got to play in her imagination
00:26:33
Speaker
and like got the freedom to
Reinforcing Character Traits through Costume
00:26:36
Speaker
design and not tied to this has to be his yeah historical it has to be yeah show me a photograph where this really existed like there's a scene a little early like no thanks um there's a scene earlier in the movie where lucy's like sleepwalking outside and like winona goes after her and lucy's in this red um nightgown with this like huge billowing robe guess with i would it's just like this with this huge train and it's just like blowing and like winona's in like white and but her costume is like a little bit more restrained but it's like also like a blue with like a yeah like a tie or like a yoke or something it yeah don't know exactly there's not there's something it looks
00:27:25
Speaker
It looks like the kind of coat, I can't remember the name for right Inverness coat? Is that what it is? that like Oh, where it has a lawyers a little extra cape on top? Where it has that extra capelet. Yeah, it's like a capelet over a cape with like trim attached. And it has also got this like body to it so that both things can work really well in the wind. And like Winona Ryder as Mina has a very cool palette.
00:27:47
Speaker
for most of the film. lot of turquoise, lot green. Yeah, a lot of, oh, it's so great. And then Mina, I'm sorry, Lucy, has more red moments. Right. And this one, yeah, it feels like there's like a length of red fabric that's just like wrapped around her.
00:28:05
Speaker
its it makes me think of like the dream ballet from Singing in the Rain where yeah I think where there's just this like Garment that just becomes like impossibly long and it's just like blowing. And it's it's so beautiful because you know that like all the at all the departments like had to come together make that moment. Like the set of them being in this sort of like garden kind of hedge maze like thing and like the lighting and the moonlight and the wind and like the costume. And it's just like...
00:28:41
Speaker
It reminded me of a show that i worked on where um it was going to be performed outdoors. And the designer picked the fabric that she wanted for this one particular costume by getting samples
Complexity and Artistry in Costume Details
00:28:54
Speaker
of a bunch of different fabrics and throwing them in the air and watching how they fell to the ground.
00:29:02
Speaker
And she picked the fabric that took the longest to fall to the ground because she wanted the most movement in the air outside. yeah And it's just like, what an amazing little thing to like...
00:29:17
Speaker
You know, like, just the level of care and detail and, like, I mean, like, just, wow, amazing, wonderful. each Each of these, like, statement costumes, and the subtle ones, too, but it's like the subtle ones are, like, um I know that we talked about, like, going scene by scene, but...
00:29:34
Speaker
are who are win Lucy's heart. them in the scene when she's wearing her there are three men who are trying to win lucy's heart and we do see them in the scene when she's wearing her ball gown that has the snakes intertwined, which is like in green and blue blues, I think.
00:29:54
Speaker
And um so that's like one of the times that we see Lucy in like cool, like colors that aren't silver or white. And it's like the, maybe the only time.
00:30:04
Speaker
And um she has these three gentlemen come. One of them is this like caricature of a Texan, which is hilarious. And he has this like wild mustache and he has animal print waistcoat and then this like massive Bowie knife.
00:30:21
Speaker
It's like out of control and like kind of a a crimson coat, I think. And then there's um Carrie Elwes, who has like a redder coat that's like a brighter red and like more mixes of red in his ensemble, but also has the same rules of waistcoat, shirt, coat.
00:30:42
Speaker
And then there's um the doctor, Dr. Seward, who is played by... that Richard Grant? Yes, Richard E. Grant. And um who is a character into himself. And I love him in like everything.
00:30:57
Speaker
um But Richard E. Grant is like a mess. He's just a mess of a man. His hair is just like, he's been shocked. And he's always wearing kind of darker, slightly more rumpled clothing. Again, in the same structure, shirt, waistcoat, coat.
00:31:11
Speaker
And like, they are so trying to like love lucy but they're also so creepy and terrible but they're like there's care in how they're dressed because quincy is an adventurer and so he's not meant to look like a lord which is what carrie elvis is carrie elvis is tighter but quincy cares about his adventuring looks and so he's like well put together but his clothes aren't necessarily the same quality they're a little bit gaudier
00:31:46
Speaker
And like Dr. Seward never sleeps and is probably like, I think he shoots himself up with something at some point, like he is not doing well. Not doing great. Yeah. And he works like in an institution. And so he's just like on a different level, right? There's different levels and each one just feels so solid, even though they are different levels of status.
00:32:09
Speaker
um Right, right. Which is great because it's like, yeah, you do have like a period like this, like a Victorian period, like there's a lot of social rules about like what you're supposed to wear, but you can still communicate so much of character with what are the actual pieces within that like framework of like, what did people actually wear and what was like the expectation like what they're wearing?
00:32:35
Speaker
They're men who are existing in this world successfully in different ways. So they don't have to stand out in some crazy way. Like they are of the world.
00:32:48
Speaker
And so like comparing them to other people that we see, cannot see my scene. we do have Tom Waits as Renfield, right? And we see him in a Romanian mental institution.
00:33:01
Speaker
Which and I had a lot of... feelings about that whole setting was i know yeah is crazy i couldn't handle it it's unfortunate and terrible but like these romanian guards if we will like within the institution are wearing like shirts suspenders pants and then cages on their heads like yeah and With like bars. Like iron.
00:33:30
Speaker
ah Like iron helmet boxes. Which is. It feels very Terry Gilliam somehow. I was picturing like a Silent Hill video game. Like I was like. There is something deeply wrong happening.
00:33:43
Speaker
oh it's horrifying. Like they communicate with some very like momentous scenes. But that that go by very quickly. They communicate how horrible this is.
00:33:54
Speaker
And um we get Tom Waits in his quilted straight jacket, which also feels very like insect, like segmented body. Oh, like totally. The exoskeleton. An exoskeleton of something with like overly long arms and all these things that make him apart. it it looks kind of like the maggots that he eats, you know? and um Yeah.
00:34:21
Speaker
Yeah. and Delicious. And he's just bonkers anyway. But he is one of the two characters who's also wearing teeny tiny Victorian glasses. love him much.
00:34:34
Speaker
And like they just, those little glasses elevate him just enough to tell you, yes, this man's lost it. And he's lost it because he's haunted by this like vampire overlord he's sworn his allegiance to. Horrible trauma.
00:34:51
Speaker
yeah but he's still there enough because he has to be a functional enough tool in the world that he can wear glasses and be trusted with glass and wire and not to break them or to use them to hurt himself yeah it's not a weapon so it's like it tells you that he's crazy but he knows he's crazy He's crazy, but he's still that girl.
Humorous Elements and Keanu's Casting
00:35:17
Speaker
He's that girl. And he's he's he's finding protein wherever he can.
00:35:22
Speaker
And so to use Renfield and his little teeny tiny glasses, i would love to jump over to another grounded in reality costume that yeah has glasses that somehow knock it out of the park.
00:35:37
Speaker
And this is when Dracula... He's not a werewolf. Yeah, he comes to London. He is not a werewolf. He is not his old man self. And he is not in Transylvania in his castle.
00:35:49
Speaker
In that red robe. He is now a gentleman walking the streets of London. Fitting that He's a prince. But he has the most luscious.
00:36:01
Speaker
The craziest hair. i have ever seen. i was like. What is the king that had the insane hair. Like Charles. yeah Charles II.
00:36:14
Speaker
it It's long. It is curly. It is thick. yeah It is very much pulling from periwigs, which are that era. And like, you know, Louis, the like the Sun King, Louis like all that kind of stuff.
00:36:29
Speaker
But it's not corkscrews. It's waves. No, it's and beautiful. I would love to have hair like that. Beachy waves. it's so luxurious and this man has these sunglasses that he like looks over it okay i have to go backward again for a moment so we in the beginning of this movie we're establishing lucy and mina's friendship and we're establishing that yeah mina is like a middle class teacher and lucy is very wealthy but they love each other and they're friends anyway
00:37:04
Speaker
And Mina's always wearing these like, you know, blues or greens in the beginning. And Lucy is going all over the palettes, like whites blues and losing greens and red. Skipping around. All these things. they They are, to me, like these Victorian mall girls because the acting is what takes it there.
00:37:26
Speaker
Where they're dressed in these beautiful clothes, but they're like, teeheeheehee. Dirty jokes. Yeah. And then Dracula, when he runs into, on accident, on purpose, when he runs into Mina on the street, he's like, look at me.
00:37:44
Speaker
me now. He has those glasses. He reminds me of another version of a mall kid, which in the ninety s early 2000s, pre-emo, emo,
00:37:55
Speaker
three emo email mall emo goth baby yeah where it wasn't goth and it wasn't yeah you know but the mall goth where it was like not even like goth as you think of it where there's like i i'm a subculture necessarily but like more of ah problematic theater kid Yeah, like I'm edgy, you guys. Okay. An edgelord.
00:38:21
Speaker
and yeah so I just like, I love the suit because it's this gray, which is meant to make like him disappear. The fit, the tailoring was incredible. Chef kiss. Beautiful work. The hat, delightful. I was obsessed with that hat.
00:38:37
Speaker
tall. I love it so much. And like the hair is so
00:38:43
Speaker
Like it fits. you all Like you buy it even though you're like, if you were there, you'd be like, huh? Like you do a double take at that guy. But like you would all buy if there's any wind at all, that hair is smacking you in the face.
00:38:55
Speaker
And you can only hope that it smells like perfume. You can only hope. And so like we see him and pairing him with Mina in that scene where she is wearing this beautiful, ah beautiful ensemble.
00:39:11
Speaker
so obsessed with that look soft green and what the part that like elevates this outfit for me is the pearlescent white bodice with tabs there's like three tabs and like the deliberate shaping of her bodice to like yeah taper down into her waist and then open a little bit to show these tabs and Was there embroidery on this one?
00:39:37
Speaker
believe yeah this was i was test like because like The that
00:39:43
Speaker
it sort of looks like a jacket that would close right down the center front ah But it's folded back to create a lapel.
00:39:54
Speaker
And i I believe that is like deliberate. like It's not just that the jack is not like a jacket that's open. But it's yeah made to look as if it was. And the lapels have this insanely beautiful like leaf motif embroider on them.
00:40:11
Speaker
And they're like I think they're like a darker color than the rest. yeah So you get the full effect that it's like... I feel like there's like blue in there well as the green or it's like a darker green.
00:40:22
Speaker
And the leaf motif follows Winona Ryder throughout the whole film because in the very beginning, she's playing Elizaveta, Dracula's wife who jumps from a tower when she is...
00:40:33
Speaker
seat like not correctly told or on purpose told that dracula died he's dead yeah she but yeah he's not and so she jumps and in the first time the first time we see her she's in green with gold leaves on her side and so this is like a total through line all that that her character is very like of nature.
00:40:57
Speaker
Like she is very connected to the earth and like her innocence is like there's like a pureness there. And um the leaves are constant in her in her wardrobe. It's amazing.
00:41:08
Speaker
But i just like the two of them side by side. Those outfits are so good because like and if you think of a suit. Her hat. she has She has like her own little like lady top hat that's like a little perch.
00:41:20
Speaker
And I was just like, i would do anything to have that hat. I would literally do anything for that hat. So good. and like having the two of them together, you think of a gray suit and you would think, oh it's kind of thats kind of boring boring. But the glasses somehow also elevate the hell it because I think that the lenses are blue.
00:41:39
Speaker
And so they're like extra. o Just pull it out of there. And like, then another scene that we see them in together is like when they're having dinner after he's like so successfully seducing her because at first when he meets her on the street in that suit, he's like really going hard and she's like, owh you're gross. No, thank you.
00:42:00
Speaker
Also, I'm engaged, so. And then he's like, you so sorry. And she's like, oh, never mind. We can be friends. And then he, like, immediately is like, lay down for me. And she's like, what's happening? No. Then they get interrupted by a wolf.
00:42:15
Speaker
And then they're best friends. you know And when they're. It's it's such a universal story. You know, like we've all been there. We've all have been interrupted by a wolf while some creepy stranger was trying to we're not really sure.
00:42:29
Speaker
Like, it's just, yeah you know, it's like it's so relatable. Like, it's so relatable. The only difference is that today it would be you'd be wearing headphones and somebody would be like, um hey, trying to chat you up all while you're listening to And then the wolf would come and it would just be, you know, mess. Yeah. You'd like, ugh, wolves everywhere.
00:42:47
Speaker
Wolves everywhere.
00:42:50
Speaker
there's There's a scene with the two of them together where they go out to dinner and he's successfully seducing her and she's wearing this red deep cut gown with like arms and bust and like all this stuff and her hair is down and like the story of her character is that she starts getting more and more free and loose haired like the longer the association with him and um just freer and freer and we don't see leaves anymore
00:43:22
Speaker
Right. it looks like it It looks more like something out of Lucy's wardrobe in that moment than like hers. Totally. she You see like a visual like transformation is like happening. It's like yeah fully and going on.
00:43:37
Speaker
And we see her in things like, I mean, sorry, this is a mess recounting this. But later in her story, we see her in night robes and loose flowing things that she can just open up to show her chest and her hair is down and down.
00:43:55
Speaker
And it's just like, just telling the story the same way that Lucy, like we see her going from these... like put together gowns into like loose, diaphanous robes. and like Lucy's trajectory, we didn't even talk about the the like red.
00:44:13
Speaker
ah We did talk about the garden red, but we didn't talk about the bed red. Where it's like, this actress has no undergarment, like, for a while. And um she's got this, like, red see-through situation that has, like, these rose, or I think it's, like, roses embroidery applique, like, around her bodice.
00:44:35
Speaker
And then she's also wearing, at one point, as she's essentially dying and becoming a vampire, this, like, silvery, shiny, like... Oh, yeah.
00:44:46
Speaker
i i loved that. That was such an interesting choice. And it had this like metallic threaded collar with like um stones. And then around her neck was also garlic.
00:45:00
Speaker
like Yeah. Like garlic flowers. Protection, yeah. And it's just like this... I don't know. Lucy's costumes are just like, there's so much freedom happening in there. And part of that, the explanation I think is that she's a wealthier character. So she would have so much more going on, but she just has these like wonderful layered things, even when it's like, Oh, this is just like a piece of cloth that you're wearing. There's still amazing things happening to it.
00:45:30
Speaker
And i just, don't, I know. And I think something that like, you know, people in like the time that the movie is set had such a like different relationship to clothing than we have now. so like, you might, you know, you you could look at at Winona's costumes and you could look at Lucy's and maybe like maybe sort of like the class difference would be a little bit like more subtle if you aren't like familiar with the period but it's sort of like I think like you said like
00:46:04
Speaker
Winona has kind of like those two dresses and we see her in them multiple times because those are probably the only two nice dresses that she has.
00:46:15
Speaker
And like Lucy just has so much more access to clothing that like we can see her in multiple things throughout. And obviously it's storytelling as well. And we're getting like, you know, circumstance and like mood and like, you know,
00:46:30
Speaker
Overall, we just don't see Mina in as many things. Like we do see her additionally in like in the red cloak and stuff, the red, the cloak and whatever gown she's wearing at the very end.
00:46:40
Speaker
We see her in her wedding dress, which I can't remember exactly what the dress is, but that introduces like a pillbox hat over top of the veil. Right, yeah, can't picture the dress. And that pillbox feels very like flight attendant in the 60s pillbox hat. Very.
00:46:55
Speaker
Yeah. It's also a tilt. It's like there's something about eloping that like you have to have a little hat funny little hat. little hat. can't be like a regular hat.
00:47:07
Speaker
Yeah. But it's just like her her color story is pretty like blue green. Yeah. Yeah. And like pretty much stays there except for red like jumps out.
00:47:20
Speaker
But um yeah, Lucy just has so much more going on. And then they're like, okay, the two wedding dresses being compared, right? So like Lucy's, we've talked about the lizard inspiration, all of that. And Mina's is very, very demure. Like it's very and um much a different class where there are not as many layers of things. Like maybe the most like,
00:47:44
Speaker
free-flowing thing that she's wearing is the veil. If she didn't have the veil on, what she's wearing would be something that you could see that character wearing on the street. wearing Totally. Yeah. And she probably would later, yeah you know, under different circumstances than what happens in this movie. Yeah. She'd probably be wait re-wearing that outfit. Yeah. Absolutely.
00:48:03
Speaker
And like, it's, I also haven't really brought up Keanu's character anymore because his costumes are very, very, Just straightforward. Like he and Dr. Seward, Richard E. Grant's character, are not that far apart. They're wearing darker clothes. and like it's just regular wear.
00:48:24
Speaker
It's a bit of a uniform. And his his uniform isn't like tightly fit either. Like we do see him in Dracula's Castle in his shirt with his waistcoat. And the waistcoat is not like fitted to him.
00:48:35
Speaker
It's a looser uniform. fit garment and that's like could be for many different reasons but it's not it does tell us that the character doesn't necessarily apply million things yeah yeah he doesn't have a million things and maybe he just doesn't apply his money to getting things tailored like that because maybe he doesn't care maybe he doesn't need to project being super fashion forward But he's like, there's also something about like working like a ah profession where you're like working at this time. Not everybody was some people were so wealthy that they did not have a job. Their job was to be rich.
00:49:09
Speaker
And so there's just like a different, like, um practicality of like what your clothes need to be able to do. So yeah, it would make sense. Move his arms and he can be free. yeah yeah And um I just like, I think he's so funny.
00:49:26
Speaker
I love Keanu Reeves as an actor. Do not get me wrong. But this was before Keanu Reeves was like being taken seriously, which I don't yeah like he was in more serious movies, but he was not being taken seriously until like the 2000s, I think. Right. And like even just the Matrix, like he was being taken a little bit more seriously. like But like this was very...
00:49:51
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's just – it was a little – like, there's there's this and another notable movie that I'm thinking of where I'm just like, I just feel like he was a little miscast. and like But I also would never change it because it's so wild. It's just that so much. And it fits with the crazy of all the rest of this.
00:50:09
Speaker
And like – There was something, though, that I was looking at in this with the menswear in particular. It was like the um there's a quality to a lot of the menswear in this movie that I couldn't like put my finger on, but there's just something so like...
00:50:26
Speaker
springy about it. Like there's something where like all the collars are like standing and everything's very like crisp and everything is like the wools are very slick and they're like yeah hanging and like there's something about it. And I was thinking about that in particular because I feel like there's been a shift in approach to period costumes now where everything is a lot more soft and like nubbly and like worn down or like it it like sits like closer like there's just something
00:51:01
Speaker
different about the way that people approach making like 19th century costumes now where everyone just looks a little bit more worn maybe. Yeah.
00:51:13
Speaker
Yeah. And I think that part of that is how these costumes were filmed and the grain of' like film texture is that maybe I'm hearing what you're saying a little bit wrong and maybe I'm responding to something else, but like, i I do get what you're saying. It's seeing a difference in like how these are being used back then now is it like now with cameras, sometimes we're able to see the textures of things too, like true much more.
Authenticity vs. Artistic License in Period Costumes
00:51:44
Speaker
so the aging that's there, we're able to see it better. And like here, things are kind of flattened by the quality of film
00:51:51
Speaker
And so they kind of like wash together a little bit. And like we wouldn't necessarily notice like a satin waistcoat with like velvet spots. Right. You might not see the difference. We would just see that as a like woven. Right.
00:52:05
Speaker
That's true. And um so it's like the textures just read a little bit flatter, which make them kind of go either way. You know, and like, because we can, can really see the aging now.
00:52:19
Speaker
And like, these costumes, like I did mention that like Richard E. Grant is rumpled. But aside from a white undershirt, which probably has like sweat stains on it, I don't remember because I didn't like make a specific note off of that because I'm paying attention to Tom Waits.
00:52:36
Speaker
But like, anything else we didn't really see aging. like No. Yeah. didn't Everything looks pretty new. Yeah. Everything looks pretty new.
00:52:46
Speaker
And so it feels like everybody's wearing their best. And like, that would make sense for like men trying to like, you know, entice the young lady. Yeah, for sure. But like situationally, it makes sense. But we would probably now have some...
00:53:03
Speaker
elements of a little bit more aging like here and there especially if we were trying to show um economic differences and like status differences that would be in there a little bit um yeah and also now we're so used to even with like characters that are from oh ah excuse me for the phrasing but like a lower class we're kind of used to seeing things be more tailored and like yes it was a more tailored time where things were suited to you but like if you were and that's why i think keanu reeves is like waistcoat not fitting him tightly like stood out to me is because now it would be and it wouldn't necessarily be a reflection of the actual time itself it would be a reflection of maybe like the actor's brand because like yes we have
Evolution of Costume Design in Film
00:53:52
Speaker
to show your dorito shape your Yeah, like I spent five months with a trainer getting my body to look like this and we are going to see it on film. I will not take no for an answer. like so
00:54:05
Speaker
It's like there's there's also like a different, you know, design like… Yeah, it's like a sense of it's like a a sensibility or like awareness. But it's it's interesting because it's like people think like, well, the past is the past. And now is now. And the movie is set in the past. So that's what the past looks like. And it's like, no.
00:54:25
Speaker
The designer made a million decisions about all of these things. And a different designer would make different decisions. And not to say one is wrong or right, but like...
00:54:36
Speaker
And tastes change over time. And like what people want to see, cheat like our eyes look at stuff differently than we would have in 1992. And within that, the generational um tastes would also affect, even if a different designer would do it differently, would the generation that it's being made in would have an overall effect as well. like You look at like little women made in the nineteen forty s versus made in the the ninety s They're very different because in the 40s, they have 1940s hair are dressed like Victorians, but they're wearing 1940s hair.
00:55:13
Speaker
And so it's like very similar. And I think it also is happening here too, because there's a lot of 90s hair and there's also lot of 90s makeup. This is one thing I didn't mention was in that ball scene with Mina and Lucy, you They're like together by the windows kind of giggling over gentlemen, et cetera.
00:55:35
Speaker
And their makeup is so of the time. And this is something that we've talked about before in other movies where now makeup is something else. Makeup is like a full blown art. Right. And I think that yeah it's always been an art, but I don't think it was utilized as an art.
00:55:54
Speaker
I think it was utilized as a practical thing. And so the makeup that they're wearing in that scene is very... stage makeup like you can see the line of blush on Mina's face and you can also the way that their eyeliner is applied and the only reason I'm not saying like oh maybe Mina's supposed to be like because her makeup does not look like this the whole time like this looks like her friend put makeup on her face but like Lucy and Mina's eyeliner is closed and by that mean under eye and yeah yeah corner to corner
00:56:31
Speaker
upper and lower lids. And what that kind of does, at least the way that I was taught, is that that makes your eyes look a little bit smaller, right? And so it's like, if you like, don't have one or it lighter, yeah you don't go all the way. a little bigger yeah Yeah, you can change the shape.
00:56:46
Speaker
And so that feels like very 90s. It does. Definitely pushed their youth. Like it made them feel like two girls who are just putting makeup on each other's faces before they go to the mall to go scope out boys. Like that's like I really enjoyed that.
00:57:05
Speaker
And like, okay, so back to costumes really quick. I i really want to talk about ah Dracula's final costume. Of course. When his face is like the weird bat old man hybrid ah in the snow. since He's being driven into the the tower in his castle.
00:57:26
Speaker
And um that robe i I want that robe. like Oh, my. I can't even imagine. i would just love to see it up close because it's just like there's so much going on. It is so detailed. I bet you it's so heavy.
00:57:46
Speaker
Like, I bet it weighs a ton. He also has a collar that's like a jeweled collar. And it's also like Lucy's wedding dress. It feels very religious. Like, it feels very. Yeah.
00:57:59
Speaker
Yeah. Like ceremonial. Yeah. It looks like Byzantine art of like the because in the church. Again, another clumped thing where the actual fabric has that geometric stuff going on. So it's kind of like where we might not have seen that with Lucy's based on the original rendering. It was applied here and it ties them together in that sense.
00:58:24
Speaker
And it's also just like, How was it made? Did you guys have it woven? like or did you paint it? Did you embroider it? Did you build it? Did you find a couple pre-embroidered fabrics and cut them all into little squares and sew them back together in a different way? What happened? What did you do? That's one of those where I would love to see it up close. And it's also such a perfect ending costume for that character because we've seen him...
00:58:54
Speaker
in a bunch of different attitudes as different versions of Dracula. And in this one, he's basically like wearing sunshine. It's the closest he can get to sunlight is by wearing this robe. And it works for like, you know, his, his last moments.
00:59:09
Speaker
And, yeah, It's like just so bright and so good for that last scene in this like the dark stone. and she's Mina is wearing dark clothes as well and her hair is loose and flying about.
00:59:23
Speaker
And he's just wearing this bright, saturated gold that is the opposite of the red that he began the story in And like, it's just like so also so loose.
00:59:38
Speaker
Like it's even looser than the red robe. It's just big and voluminous. And i just i just love it so much. It really gives you that like operatic tragedy, the hero dies, like, which is an interesting approach for Dracula in particular.
00:59:56
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, yeah. As a person. Like thematically, this movie is such, this movie launched a thousand ships because this one took Dracula and made it romantic when it's not meant to be romantic. And I think that this movie is the one that introduced the idea of Dracula having a long lost love.
01:00:15
Speaker
I'm not sure on that one. Oh, really? but like or maybe i did I am not a Dracula expert at all. I am not a scholar of Dracula. This one made it romantic, you know, by like having be like, I love you. Like, her quote unquote, romantic, where he's like, you are my long lost love. and Right, right.
01:00:37
Speaker
I will love you till the end of time. like To be together. yeah Because it's, it's not romantic, but it had a different than, than other things
Romantic Narrative of Dracula
01:00:48
Speaker
did. And I, it definitely launched a lot of things for a lot of people. Yeah.
01:00:53
Speaker
Yeah, I think, like, yeah, there's always been, like, you know, obviously there's always been kind of, like, eroticism to, like, the Dracula character. Because, like, hypnotizing women and getting them to, like, invite him into their bedroom. Like, that's, like, kind of always been, like, part of the sort of, like, cinematic, you know, of the Empire. Yeah, it's the forbidden stuff. Yeah, yeah. And then it goes into...
01:01:15
Speaker
many different conversations about like agency, et cetera, et cetera. And like the most recent Nosferatu, like really, I think, ah yeah I just watched that a couple days ago. was an interesting watch for sure.
01:01:32
Speaker
i've got Okay, one note that I did put down is that when I noted that Mina and Lucy are so Victorian mall girl, also was like, okay, the redheaded stereotype of being like heated and passionate. But also somehow...
01:01:47
Speaker
um but also somehow
01:01:51
Speaker
Somehow, like, Mina is like the original Bella, if Bella hadn't been written by a Mormon. Just like, oh, oh, like the breathy. And then there's scene when...
01:02:06
Speaker
When Dracula is like totally tailing Mina and is like, oh, I'm so sorry. I bumped into outside of like a pharmacist or something. And she drops like a glass vial and it takes him two to three business days to catch it. But it's supposed to be super quick. And it's like, we got it.
01:02:24
Speaker
That's also like a total Twilight moment. ah Oh, like I've never seen Twilight and i don't know. okay listen I just want everybody to know all the Twilight girlies out there, we're old enough now. I was not a Twilight girlie. The first time I heard of Twilight, I was in my 20s and I was leading ah horse trail ride.
01:02:47
Speaker
And the kids behind me were like, I'm a Bella. You're at this. lyn like i was like, are you? talking because they wouldn't stop talking about it.
01:02:58
Speaker
And then I was like, okay, so it's a book. And then a friend of mine was like, yeah, it's a book. It's about basically, um it's like a Mary Sue structure. And then i read it and I was like, well, this was an easy read. It's like an airplane but you know, where it's like a fun little, yeah but there are so many problems in it. And then I watched the movies, watched all the movies.
01:03:15
Speaker
And the last movie when it came out, Bill went and saw it with me in theaters and he had never seen any of them before. Oh my God. Yeah. was laughing his ass off out loud and and there were only like four couples in there and all of them were so serious until the little giggles and then everybody felt a little bit of permission to like just enjoy it and not because it's not like this is stupid you're stupid for liking it it's like this is written by a Mormon crazy very there's very problematic shit in here oh yeah But it's also so dumb. like like a
01:03:49
Speaker
but me my and My knowledge of the plot of all the Twilight like books, movies, whatever, is is just whatever gets talked about on how did this be made. That is all I know about what happens in any of them.
01:04:03
Speaker
with It is such a funny ah phenomenon. you know like And if you like it, I love that for you. But I also do want you to be able to look at it with like a ah clear gaze.
01:04:16
Speaker
Not that it's bad, but that the messages that are in it are written by a Mormon and how she feels women should exist. And that sucks. and so That is just part of it. That is just part of part of it. It's just part and parcel of the whole thing. And so this one, this just people doing these deep dives on like what vampires represent. like Even Twilight has these messages, right?
01:04:41
Speaker
And this version has a lot of messages, but i just love so much that it was like, but what if Dracula was like, cunty? ah What if he was like...
01:04:55
Speaker
bangable Like, what would that do for you? What if, like, his hair was insane and different every time? And what if you wanted to brush it in every single version of it?
01:05:10
Speaker
Just want to braid Dracula's hair and, like, switch dresses because he has so many and they're so good. And like that is that is something that I can get behind. like I don't um know. I've never been really... I don't have any problem with vampires and Dracula, but it's never been a huge thing for me. So I feel like I can kind of just sit back and be like, what's going on here? don't get into it in
01:05:42
Speaker
um i don't get like super like into it like in a no I don't know. I mean, like, I appreciate it, but I don't get super, like, into what's going on. So I'm just, like, just watching it.
01:05:54
Speaker
I'm just over here watching the movie. Meanwhile, the complete opposite. because i As a teenager, i used to put this movie on and I told you this and I've said it before in other po in other episodes that I would, because I know this movie so well, would just mute it and I'd just put on the parentheses album by Sigur Rós and I'd just cry. Because I'd be like, it's so sad. I feel beautiful.
01:06:24
Speaker
He did so many horrible things. so many horrible things like loved this person so much. And here she is again. And she's like, yeah, I love you too. And then she's like, it's ok I'll kill you because you've done a lot of bad things.
01:06:40
Speaker
That's that this can end. I was a very and different kind of dramatic teenager. There was a point in my Anne Rice reading where I would ask my mom questions about vampires. Like, what if they existed? Would this really... And my mom...
01:06:54
Speaker
just With so much love in her eyes, but also so much what the actual fuck. Looked me in the face was like, I'm to stop you for a second. Why do you think I know anything about the alert? Yeah.
01:07:05
Speaker
That was like the most I love that answer for every mom that's just like, why do you think that I know and or care about anything?
01:07:17
Speaker
She's like, why do you keep talking to me about these fucking vampires? Like, I don't know.
01:07:24
Speaker
Yeah, this movie. So like Aiko Ishioka's design is just incredible. And like, i I know that we haven't mentioned necessarily every single piece. And like, this is one of those designs where I think that there are deliberately things that are designed just to remain in the background where it's just, and yeah on IMDB, there's a bigger costume crew.
01:07:44
Speaker
Then we've talked about in a few different you know pieces, which is pretty nice. um I didn't yeah count how many people, but it's more than four. like we had one recently where it was only four people.
01:07:56
Speaker
And um there's a lot of a lot of folks who worked on this and some of them are uncredited. So I can only imagine how many more are potentially uncredited. the pieces that were meant to be loud are pieces that are ones that make you want to look at them up close.
01:08:13
Speaker
And when you're yeah just kind of starting your costuming journey or like, you know, just starting to get into stuff, Or if this naturally was one of the first things you saw that tripped off that thing in your brain that was like, wait, this is cool.
01:08:26
Speaker
This just like sticks with you. And it's just the power of like Oishioka. Like she she could do so many things that like fit into a world and tell the story and then elevate the hell out of them.
01:08:39
Speaker
And I think there's something to be said for artists who work in different mediums, have different backgrounds. Like there's I think it's just like any creative field, like you kind of bring like the richness of your experience to the project and the more.
01:08:58
Speaker
you learn and the more you experience like the world or like look at even if you can't go places just like looking at things and like being interested in like being curious like it makes you a better designer and I think that is what we're seeing here is someone who loves like loves art and loves design and loves story and like loves iconography like we're seeing someone who takes all of those influences in and like synthesizes them into that is this so perfectly said because that was what I wanted us to like hit on the head with I think why i love her work and why a lot of people love her work is that there is kind of a thing with some customers again this is not a blanket statement but where you get really bogged down
01:09:54
Speaker
into how things should be because this is what you do.
Praising Aiko Ishioka's Innovative Approach
01:09:59
Speaker
And in a way you can kind of pigeonhole yourself. um And like, you have to like reach out to reignite your creativity. But the fact that she was working in so many different mediums, she, she, she looked at this as making art as making visual art. I'm putting obviously words in her brain. Yeah.
01:10:21
Speaker
The result is that she was making art. She was not just costuming or just living within a small box of like yeah definition. it Who were the fashion designers at the time in the 1880s?
01:10:36
Speaker
I don't think she cares about that. i know I would reckon that she doesn't care about that. i like I would love to see all of the research piles for this because it feels like she looked at textiles. She looked at things that people were like lace that people were making. She maybe looked at furniture or architecture, like all of these different things, as well as like insects and then plugged that in. Paintings. and like Yeah, just all these different things. And like it just is is really ah beautiful example of one of the many ways you can approach design.
01:11:12
Speaker
And that I think that Aiko Ishioka, as a designer, gave me this like freedom to not feel like, oh, you have to follow one track or you have to approach things.
01:11:27
Speaker
A plus B equals C equals fashion. Instead, it's like, from an organic other place the same way that you would maybe approach sculpture or painting or gardening or you know like any other writing yeah yeah and so i just i'm so excited to talk about other pieces of her work this season yeah because she's just somebody that i always suggest to people about design like Everything you see of hers is going to be different, but you're going to find something interesting in there.
01:12:00
Speaker
Like, she's just one of those that was like, you're an artist. Thank you. Yeah, please. And then she did pass away, I think, over 10 years ago now. 2012, believe. 2012, yeah. So, know, have couple more movies of hers coming up later this season because...
01:12:17
Speaker
you know we have we have a ah couple more movies of hers coming up later the season because You have to like yeah Why wouldn't we? You just have It's essential. And she worked with a director who was very colorful. like The cinematography of his films is very bright and saturated and colorful. And so it's like a perfect shoo-in for the season.
01:12:39
Speaker
yeah But we felt like this was a good starter point, not only because it's in 1992, so it's earlier. but It's also because this was like a grainier film. So it's a darker film, but her work just is so bright and so much stands out that like we have to. really does. We have In a muscle armor suit.
01:13:00
Speaker
What are you going to fight about that? know. Like what more could you ask for? Oh, my God. Yeah.
01:13:09
Speaker
Please. Well, thank you so much for talking with me about this one. Yes. What are we talking about next time? all right. Please join us on our next episode where we will be tipping our toes, dipping our toes, if you will.
01:13:26
Speaker
into the genre of wuxia Chinese action fantasy with a film by Yimu Zhang. And I'm so sorry if I'm mispronouncing. um This film is Hero from 2002 starring Jet Li.
01:13:42
Speaker
And I am so have you you have not seen this, right? I don't believe I have ever seen I'm really excited. because this So we haven't really talked about international costuming. So I think we're both going to have to do a little bit of um a little bit more research than we might normally so that we can know some talkome terminology.
01:14:04
Speaker
I'm a little nervous about that. Yeah, i'm well I've been a little nervous. Yeah. I think it's okay because we're not we're not academics and we're not claiming to be. And so because we're not claiming to be, i think that it's okay that we're exploring and like coming at it from just pure love and respect for somebody's work.
01:14:23
Speaker
So the costume designer for this movie is Emmy Wada. And I'm really, really, really excited for you to see her work. um Because like this, this is just like a feast for the eyes, if you will. Like it's, there's so much going on. And this is also a massive movie. There's so many bodies.
01:14:44
Speaker
yeah So much stuff. um So join us on our first Wuxia adventure this season um and get ready to to feel some emotions and to hear us talking about it next episode. So thanks for listening and ah join us again next time.
01:15:02
Speaker
Bye. Bye. Bye.