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The Princess Bride- Warm Soup on a Cold Day
0 Playsin 4 days
For us, this movie is simply everything. It's fundamental to our development as human beings. This is not an episode for critique, this is an episode for love.
As you wish...
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1
Book recommendations: "As You Wish" by Cary Elwes & "Phyllis Dalton a Career in Costume" by Alexander Ballinger
Music: Cassette Deck by Basketcase
Recommended
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.
Exploration of 'The Princess Bride' as a Fantasy Classic
00:00:22
Speaker
Hello, welcome back. We are here with another episode. We are continuing to crisscross our way across the fantasy genre of film. Today, we have arrived at the unparalleled masterpiece of The Princess Bride, which came out in 1987, really excellent year on this planet Earth, if I do say so myself. I think Ariel would agree. mean...
00:00:52
Speaker
ah couple things came out of that year that weren't so bad. That's right. ah This movie, which is directed by Rob Reiner, is based on the novel of the same name by William Goldman.
Personal Connections and Memories with 'The Princess Bride'
00:01:04
Speaker
and it is maybe just a perfect film ah and one that no one could ever convince me otherwise of.
00:01:20
Speaker
ah It's been such an important movie to me since I was a kid. I honestly don't know how many times I've seen it. Probably like at least 20, maybe more, including like watching it bits and pieces of it on TV or whatever.
00:01:38
Speaker
um I remember discovering that it was a novel. I bought a copy of the book at Powell's in Portland when I was there i know we went on like a trip to visit some family. And of course we had to go to Powell's. And remembered immediately like a beelining for the fantasy section. Cause I was like so overwhelmed by that store. If anyone is unfamiliar, it is,
00:02:08
Speaker
an entire city block door is an entire city block and it feels like this kind of like howl's moving castle like how you think it should be where there are staircases that you didn't expect a staircase and then you walk up it and you're like oh there's a whole department here yeah so this is the section on italian cookbooks like what the fuck like so good um And I was just absolutely overwhelmed by like the sheer magnitude of like the number of books. And I was just going through the fantasy section, just looking at like covers and like ogling beautiful gowns on the covers of fantasy books.
00:02:46
Speaker
And saw The Princess Bride. had had had already seen the movie multiple times and was like, oh my god, i did not know this book existed. and I bought it and um I've read that the book at least a couple times.
00:03:03
Speaker
um But yeah, this is like a formative text for so many of us.
Accessing Films in Childhood Without Modern Tech
00:03:12
Speaker
Yeah. So many people.
00:03:14
Speaker
Like I my birth grandfather had this movie. And he let me watch it. i was four years old the first time I watched this. And so that was a crazy year for me because I think that was also the year that I was physically taken to go see Layman's room.
00:03:30
Speaker
theater and so Mis and The Princess Bride and The Phantom of the Opera boom boom boom those are three like like rooted like of many round but those are three solid ones that really hit me hard and so because I think Les Mis the original Broadway was recorded the day I was born so that was also 87 so like those 87 was just giving some dramatic a but like my brother grandfather let me watch this.
00:03:59
Speaker
And then we didn't finish it because my mom came to pick me up and he was like, well, I guess you'll have to finish it the next time you, you come to my house. And remember back in the day, you didn't, if you weren't in the theater, when it came out, if you didn't have a VCR, if you didn't have VHS, it was like,
00:04:18
Speaker
like but not necessarily ever going to come on TV. It didn't exist. And so like, I was like, no, I please like, let me finish it. And so I begged and I begged and he let me take the VHS and I will never forget this.
00:04:32
Speaker
He said, you have to bring it back because that's mine. it even has my
Memorable Characters and Elements of 'The Princess Bride'
00:04:38
Speaker
name on it. And he had a little sticker on it that says his name and his address. Wow. To label things.
00:04:45
Speaker
And I was like, I swear i will bring it back. I'm four. And I was lying my ass off four years old. I was like, nah, bitch, this is mine now.
00:04:57
Speaker
And I had that VHS until I was in my 20s. Did he ever confront to you about getting it back? No, because he loved me alive. So I was like, well, you extra don't get it back. So I'm like, fuck you.
00:05:13
Speaker
No, it was like, i just, well, first of all, shout out. To Carrie Elwes and his little ponytail. Shout out to Nigel Montoya's wig.
00:05:26
Speaker
Shout out Robin Wright's beautiful, like natural blonde waves. Glowing, like shout out to the but kind of like soft, fuzzy lighting on some of this.
00:05:40
Speaker
Like the red dress, which we will get into all of these things, but like outside, like filming out so much of this movie outside the horses, the four white horses at the end, Andre, the giant, like everything the blow so, Oh, come on. Like everything was so perfect.
00:05:59
Speaker
And it just like had such, it just reached right into your head. And this is another thing that I miss now from a lot of things. I also don't have kids, so I don't really see things with littles unless they are,
00:06:10
Speaker
you know, like little, little, little, little fun kids that hanging out with because my friends have kids. up But like we had, we, I think we've talked about this before. I've definitely talked about it with my husband, how when we were growing up, there was so much that was bittersweet.
00:06:26
Speaker
And this is, this is a little bit bittersweet. And we also grew up with stuff that had such adult humor. And when I'm saying adult humor, I'm not talking like vulgar humor or raunchy. I'm talking just like sarcasm. Yeah. Period.
00:06:41
Speaker
Really like witty. Yes. Humor that is not ah made for little kids. Like, yeah. It's this stuff. That's great. It's the stuff that happens in conversation but kids are around and then pick up on and incorporate into their own dialogue as they get older and then they start to understand it.
00:07:01
Speaker
And so like there were jokes in here that but like didn't hit when I was a kid because I was just watching it as a straightforward story. And I was laughing at parts, you know, not like laughing, but like I was enjoying it because I understood the humor. Yeah, it's funny. It's funny. But there's like today, we'll get to costumes, I swear.
00:07:23
Speaker
We might as well put that on the shirt. We'll get there. We'll get there. But like The line with the six fingered man, Count Rogan is heading towards the tree to go torture, like go down to the pit of despair to go torture Wesley.
00:07:39
Speaker
And he and Humperdinck are having this little like rip record scratch aside, like a little cut scene from video where they're checking. They're good friends. They're checking in on each other. You have to check in on friends.
00:07:51
Speaker
Yeah. Count Rogan goes, you want to come down and see? He's doing well and I'm going to start torturing him. It's going to great. And Humberton goes, Tyrone.
00:08:04
Speaker
Yes. When he says Tyrone. Tyrone. Oh my God. You know I love to watch you work, but I have a wedding to plan. And he's like, I've got ah this war. I've got a plan to kill wife. like i'm and I'm overwhelmed.
00:08:22
Speaker
I am swamped. Oh, that Count Rogan goes, well, if you don't have your health, you don't have any The way that these men care for each other is beautiful.
00:08:35
Speaker
That got me. That part, Tyrone.
00:08:40
Speaker
These men are colleagues. These men care about each other's passions. they They know what they need to wear to swoop, whatever they need to go down a staircase dramatically. like They're there for each other. They know how to get each other's lighting right.
00:08:55
Speaker
Exactly.
Nostalgia and First Impressions of 'The Princess Bride'
00:08:56
Speaker
The only thing that they like surpasses that is the relationship ship between Inigo and Fezzik. Yes. That friendship is beautiful. It's so sweet. And when Fezzik's a part of the Brute Squad, i always love that little turn where there's like some member of the Brute Squad going like, you've got to get out of here. And Inigo's like, you have six fingers?
00:09:19
Speaker
If not, fuck yourself. And he's like, I'm waiting for Vizzini. Nobody else can do anything. And he's so drunk off his ass. And then he just like like Andre the Giant's massive hand comes and just picks him up like a little mouse.
00:09:35
Speaker
And he puts his hand to his hand. He goes, ah. twists his hand next to his hand he goes
00:09:42
Speaker
yeah I mean, obviously, that's not how he said it, but you see the light go on behind his eyes and he's like, just like, come on. There's so much built into here that I have loved my whole life. And like Phil, ah my husband,
00:09:56
Speaker
ah this is not his his security blanket. He's like, it's fine. And I think that's because people put a lot on it before he saw it And so he was like, It's big problem with, i've I've had that experience. Like I've been in his shoes where people over hype certain things and there's nothing that could ever like live up to it. Like if if there's something that I'm like deeply passionate about and I'm like trying to introduce to someone, I'm like,
00:10:23
Speaker
This could be fun. we it You might like it. You like you have to undersell. It's a hard line. And like i I kind of do a different version where I go, this is very important to me.
00:10:37
Speaker
But it's ridiculous. And I know it's ridiculous. And if you think it's ridiculous, that's fine. But it's also like, I mean, not to say that anyone is, their opinion is wrong, but people that don't like this movie would be wrong unequivocally.
Humor and Timeless Appeal of 'The Princess Bride'
00:10:52
Speaker
But it's like, the thing that I think is so endearing about this movie is the the self-awareness of the goofiness. Like there's so many goofy eighty s movies.
00:11:05
Speaker
And it's, I think, a testament to the writing of the story because it's Everyone does take it seriously when they're making it. But it's so funny that it's so well written. Yeah, it's goofy as hell.
00:11:20
Speaker
And there's also this like break between, you know, 1987 and the story that like kind of allows for that where the kid is the voice of the audience like, ah we got to do this again.
00:11:31
Speaker
And then the grandpa is just like, yeah, shut up. you but Do you want to see? That's Columbo. That's Columbo himself. lubo Yeah, but I feel like they ran some like, you know, white paint through his hair with a toothbrush. You know what I'm Yeah, I was thinking about that because like I had never seen Columbo until like recently. I watched a couple episodes. Okay, wait.
00:11:55
Speaker
John, wait. was trying to do the time math in my head and i was like, I don't think he's old enough. and but like There's not enough time. He was definitely not old enough, but also, just a quick, I have only seen a couple episodes of Columbo because neither Phil or I had ever seen them and his parents you've got to get on that.
00:12:13
Speaker
yeah um There's one episode early on where he is Columbo is arriving to the scene of an quote unquote accident, but it's definitely not an accident. And it's down a hill.
00:12:25
Speaker
Do you know what I'm talking about? No, he,
00:12:30
Speaker
roast himself down this hill peter falk and it's like like wesley in basically like he's walking down the hill and then you can kind of see the moment that the actor goes like yeah let's do it he just like tumbles out and then like when he gets to the base and it's just like that was so uncalled for Beautiful.
00:12:55
Speaker
It's amazing. So that's the kind of humor that we're that we're dealing with. Like, it it really is. And it's, it's fucking delightful. And, um, I just like love him as the grandpa just going like, do you want me to tell you the story?
00:13:10
Speaker
ah I know. it's like obviously important to him that he does it. But at the same time, he's like, what are we doing here? Like, ah yeah, or I'm not going to tell you the story. like And I don't think I found out because like, you know, I saw it when I was so young. my mom was like, by the way, this is a book. And she told me that when I was like 12 or 13. So I read it probably around then or 14. Yeah.
00:13:30
Speaker
I think I was about that age too. Yeah. And it's like, I, I loved the differences.
Direction and Casting Highlights
00:13:36
Speaker
oh my God. Yeah. The book is sharper and like, yeah. Well, and it has a different framework because the book is written as a fake translation. Yes.
00:13:49
Speaker
so And of an, of the prince, like the, the conceit of the book is that William Goldman is an abridged version of this extremely long novel from like the days of yore called the princess bride. And so it involves him explaining to you in the book, why he's cutting certain sections of the book out because it's like, and then he spent the next 15 pages describing the dinner that they ate. And I just didn't feel like that was important to the story. So I decided to cut it out.
00:14:20
Speaker
There's a really great description of like shrimp or whatever it is. And you're like, this is like It was like so next level read that. It's such a great use of writing as a medium. So like I recommend just as a book. And then the movie, because it's Rob Reiner, and he's so great at humor of this style, like they just, their their two styles work together so well.
00:14:45
Speaker
And it's so well cast because, I mean, we've got freaking Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, as we said. We've got Peter Falk, Peter Crook, Will Smith, Carol Kane. Like, we just have this, like, nonstop Mandy Patinkin himself. Yeah.
00:15:03
Speaker
It's such a good assortment of folks. And then there's delicious wigs and facial hair. The costumes are great.
Influence of Medieval Costumes on the Film's Aesthetic
00:15:13
Speaker
So, okay, let's get into it. What a segue. Just a hard, the costumes are great.
00:15:19
Speaker
So those, I think that these, this movie imprinted um my love for medieval yeah costumes because there's like heavy velvet and like And it's like,
00:15:34
Speaker
I was thinking about this because, so I've been listening this morning to the book that Cary Elwes wrote about making this movie. um I've been listening to the audio book, which I highly recommend because it's like an oral history of filming this movie.
00:15:51
Speaker
And so it includes like other people's firsthand perspective, not just his, like he has Rob Reiner and he has, um ah William Goldman and he has like cast members he has Robin Wright he has ah i think he has writing from Mandy Patinkin but I don't think it's his voice in the audio book it's like someone else but um it's lovely to get like that perspective as well to, because like, I mean, some of the, it's like an interesting cast because you have like all these like veteran comedy people. And then you have like Carrie Elwes and Robert Wright who are like not known. They are like new.
00:16:36
Speaker
So it was just really delightful too. And they were like babies. I know. And of course, cause I saw, we both saw this as children. They've been etched in my mind as like full on. Yeah.
00:16:48
Speaker
adults like yeah and they are but it's like now that funny that i'm at least a decade older than either of this movie oh my god yeah robin ray was like 20 baby made so it's just like the glow on both of them is insane no It's so funny because I'm like, everyone who is that age thinks that like they're just like doing their skincare correctly. And I'm like, no baby, you have
00:17:18
Speaker
The glow of youth. That cannot be found in a bottle. You have not been in the sun. You have been just around this earth a few times. and like You got all that collagen naturally in there. You're not having a face That's not anything that you're doing. now
00:17:39
Speaker
It's oh like the the age makeup for Billy k Crystal and Carol Kane.
Character Development: Buttercup's Journey
00:17:44
Speaker
We'll get to it. Okay. So the movie starts with like, it's, it's got a very good clip to it. Like it moves pretty fast. And so we have this like buttercup and Wesley are together on this like farm where he's a farm boy. And she just yeah constantly is manipulating him and calling him farm boy.
00:18:03
Speaker
And she's like, not wealthy, but she is definitely, it's like that trope of like somebody in a Western ranch and they've got like a ranch hand. Yeah, yeah. like He's a farm hand. Yeah, like they have enough money for that, but they're not wealthy people. Yeah, they're not wealthy. So she's got like this kind of medieval peasant-y but clean look. And then he bri maybe has like a streak.
00:18:32
Speaker
Yeah. me perfectly coiffed hair and like just gorgeous skin and he's got like he's wearing you know clothes are like rough spun and you're like okay it's like that's it like the language is very like the highlighted version the cliff's nose version to tell us of like their where they are in life because they also have all of their teeth and their teeth are very white so like they're doing fine um vegetables citrus they've they've got it and then like we go very quick and
00:19:03
Speaker
and we have like jumped forward some years and buttercup is essentially like a princess on the horizon wesley has died he was abducted he went to like go make money and you know make his fortune and he died and and the prince is like that girl's hot i'm gonna marry her yeah and we we exist in a universe where she's not allowed to say but i don't want to she's And we also exist in a universe where she's supposed to be, I'm so sorry to use this phrase, dumb as two posts.
00:19:35
Speaker
And like, that is something that I definitely wanted to to bring up is that she's supposed to be unintelligent. And so forgive me for using word dumb because that's old, but like, yeah she's supposed to be beyond naive because in the book,
00:19:51
Speaker
I feel like I remember William Goldman spending a really long time talking about how not smart she is. That is true. yeah And then like, she's kind of this, that, that added a different element to me where I was like, but i Oh, like she is also yeah naive. But that's the thing is that this version, i think they make her naive as opposed to being someone who's just doesn't learn new information about the depth of people and what they want from her. In this one, I think that she's very, very naive and very, very sheltered.
00:20:22
Speaker
And that like Wesley sees that and isn't trying to take advantage of it. He's like, I like you anyway. yeah you know She makes some strategic blunders later in the story where you're like, girl.
00:20:34
Speaker
all feel very naive. They don't like this kind of like... they all feel very naive they don't feel like this kind of like It felt like well William Goldman was very purposefully writing a one-dimensional female character to be the inheritor of many other fairy tales that have a one-dimensional female character who can't seem make decisions for herself.
00:20:54
Speaker
It's a tough position to be in as a writer, I think, to try to walk that line because there are so many of these like classical stories where the female characters are ah do like are portrayed that way ironically so to try to do it ironically is like a tough task to take yeah on and so i feel like rob reiner picked that up and did it in a very very reasonable way where he was like well she's sheltered she's young and she's very hardcore naive like she just believes what people tell her because of her naivete but like
00:21:34
Speaker
she learns as she goes, you know, and, um, a little, little, cause it's like, I feel like she's not becoming like Xena warrior princess, but she is like, I don't think I trust you.
00:21:51
Speaker
But like, I don't know the depth of why I don't trust you because I don't know, Humperdinck, that you're planning to kill me on our wedding night. Right. um Or that you've like not done what you said you would do But I do know that but you're the bad guy. Right. Like I know that I want to get away from you and I know that i don't like you and that you're bad, but I haven't quite figured out how to maneuver this situation. She's got instincts.
00:22:16
Speaker
They're just not honed. And so I appreciated that like they they kind of like evolved that a little bit so that she was a human person who could move through the world.
00:22:32
Speaker
And um so, yeah, she becomes this, like, princess character. So now she's got these, like, very beautiful, beautiful clothes and, like, beautiful headpieces throughout all of these things where she's just like,
00:22:46
Speaker
ah And it's like, okay, this red dress. Yeah. That... i'm I'm already like all over the place. This red dress, this red, this red number for when we've jumped to the future. And she's like, I'm unhappy with this.
00:23:03
Speaker
And she gets kidnapped. Then we find out that she's been kidnapped by these men, these goons who were hired by Prince Humperdinck. But we find that out later. um But the three of them are like, yeah, we're I don't know, get rid of you. Yeah.
00:23:21
Speaker
They, they, um, I think what I love about them, obviously Vizzini is like the ringleader who's like the diabolical one and the other two guys don't really seem super on board, but they're sort of like, well, we are a crew and Vizzini's in charge and he makes the
Comedic Dynamics and Costume Analysis
00:23:39
Speaker
decisions. And that's the dynamic that we've all come to, but it's sort of like their plan is to kidnap her, to kill her, but yeah,
00:23:48
Speaker
I feel like it's kind of like they never seem to get to the killing her part of the plan. Because Vizzini is this little man, Wallace Shawn.
00:23:59
Speaker
and He's little. And I emphasize that because Andre the Giant is right next to him the whole time. And so it's highlighting that dynamic comedically on purpose. Yeah. It's like, but, but, but. but Yeah.
00:24:12
Speaker
So Vizzini is like the brains of the operation and he's supposed to be so smart and so sneaky. ah cunning. So cunning. at all And he's wearing this outfit that feels so damn theatrical because it's got, it's basically like, i I don't, I don't know the process of this. And like on IMDB, we don't have, and I didn't listen to that book, which I will. It's going on my TBR list, but yeah,
00:24:39
Speaker
ah we don't know like how many costumers there were or if this was like, you know, mostly rented with a few key pieces being made kind of situation because there are a few very key pieces, but it's like, Wallace Shawn is Vizzini. His costume is not necessarily one that needed to be made, but I feel like it was definitely trimmed out because there's like, there's so much strips of trim that have gold in there and like bling, like lighting it up.
00:25:09
Speaker
That is just kind of funny because it it feels like somebody who's like, make me look important. Yes. But it's not affording velvet, you know, like is wearing a different quality of of textile. And it's like, okay, well, I put the trim on it. The trim costs less. Let's like
Phyllis Dalton's Career and Contributions to Costume Design
00:25:28
Speaker
do that.
00:25:28
Speaker
and so it It has high impact. It's just like. I did wonder about that. um So our our designer is um Phyllis Dalton. She um is a British designer.
00:25:43
Speaker
ah She started working. Her first credit as a designer was in 1951. And she worked up until the early 90s. And she actually passed away the beginning of this year. She lived to be 99 years old.
00:25:58
Speaker
But she didn't work in... in films as a costume designer past like the 90s. I don't know. I know. Did you see the last movie that she did i did? It's the... I mean, okay. It is the ah filmed Shakespeare production Much Ado About Nothing.
00:26:17
Speaker
I don't know about you. I had to watch that one in school. you watch school? I watched that one on purpose on my own. So I am very fond of it. um We watched it in school after reading Much Ado. And um yeah, what an impact.
00:26:34
Speaker
But...
00:26:36
Speaker
they Yeah, I mean, i've won I'm only like two hours into the book, but he does talk about, ah Carrie Elvis does talk about his costume fitting with her.
00:26:47
Speaker
And it sounded so sweet because they had their fittings at like the studio in London where they filmed the movie. And He said that they sat down and had tea together first and she handed him her like portfolio full of all the sketches for the costumes for everyone, not just him. And he like got to flip through and see everyone's renderings. And he was like, they were so beautiful. Like everyone looked amazing.
00:27:16
Speaker
And he said that she was like, I don't really like making renderings. And he was like, why they're so good. And, um Then ah they his first fitting was like finished garments. He like tried on his ah all black ah first. And he talks about in the book about having the mask custom made for him by having to do a plaster cast of his head and how like he
00:27:46
Speaker
kind of freaky that process was because uh i know i've i've only ever done my own face and me too does kind of freak you out it is i feel like if anybody goes into costume or because like if you're in makeup i feel like you you are going to have that kind of a familiarity but like if you're going into any kind of like fabrication for head pieces or costuming kind of thing i think you should go out of your way to have an experience Yeah, where you learn how to do plaster and like do the whole ah making your own. more Because it is terrifying. Yeah, really, really primal fear. it's It's a primal fear. And like, you actually do have to like,
00:28:29
Speaker
make sure that there's an airway for your nose. And like, that means that there's still all the gook in between your nostrils. So you have to like clear that out and then just sit.
00:28:40
Speaker
And it's like, it is one of those experiences that truly, truly builds empathy yeah for, for, and compassion for anybody you ever have to make a mask, a headpiece, prosthetics, anything for, yeah because you will have also gone through that experience. I think I still have the photos of me.
00:29:00
Speaker
I kept my plaster face for a long time. still have mine. Mine's gone. Yeah. I was like, I sat through that. I'm keeping her forever. i think I've moved too many times and at some point she had to go. Yeah, they're heavy because they're not hollow. They are solid. Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:19
Speaker
um But I thought it was really nice. Like she sounded really, um really considerate. He talked about how she really went out of her way to make sure that his clothing was comfortable.
00:29:30
Speaker
and that like, that was like the the motivation to do the custom mask. She really wanted the mask to be comfortable and not be something that he was like annoyed by in filming. So it was just like really to hear that.
00:29:43
Speaker
here From an actor's perspective that the designer like really was, you know, considerate of his experience of wearing the clothes instead of just the look.
00:29:55
Speaker
Yeah. um But I don't know if they're going to talk more about that, but I've only gotten a couple hours in. I hope so. Just tell us all about her. But she did the Scarlet Pimpernel in 1982. She did.
00:30:07
Speaker
um Obviously, The Princess Bride and Much Ado, but she also did Lawrence of Arabia and Oliver, Dr. Zhivago. think Dr. Zhivago won her an Oscar. i think so. I watched Dr. Zhivago a few years ago, and I was so nervous about watching it because it's four hours long.
00:30:29
Speaker
I have not seen it. ah It like traveled throughout houses that I was in when I was a kid because, you know, limited stuff that I was like, oh, that's not for me. That's a grown up thing. Yeah, I mean, I'm glad that I waited until i was a grown up to watch it. But I have to say it was amazing.
00:30:47
Speaker
I believe it. And it's like, there's just so much happening and not everything in her career was like a super, super hit. I was going through ah frock flicks, which they have a lot of coverage of a lot of things where they like put up a still from different movies. And so for her,
00:31:04
Speaker
They have something from um the Hunchback of Notre Dame that she did in 1982. And some of those costumes are benonkers. Oh my god Crazy town. and I have seen a couple of the costumes from this movie in person. Mm-hmm.
00:31:21
Speaker
um I've seen the the buttercup wedding dress and um I think the Inigo Montoya costume they were on display at a museum in Seattle that had like a permanent costume.
00:31:39
Speaker
fantasy costume exhibit that was small, but it would rotate like what was in there. um But yeah, getting to see the the Princess Bride wedding dress up close was wonderful.
00:31:53
Speaker
If anybody wants to read more about Phyllis Dalton, there is a book about her career called Phyllis Dalton, A Career in Costume. um Online, it looks like it's $50 it says...
00:32:04
Speaker
and it says coming. Oh, it's coming soon. So we published in January of 2026. we're ahead of the times. But it's from Lawrence of Arabia to the Princess Bride, basically. And it's authored by Alexander Ballinger.
00:32:17
Speaker
So I feel like I'm probably going to try and see if I can get my little mitts on that book. um Because it's a very long storied career. And it really makes me happy to hear that kind of towards the ah past the middle point of her career. yeah That she was still excited enough about her work, even if she didn't like doing renderings to share that with one of the lead actors and be like, hey, check it out.
00:32:44
Speaker
Let's talk about it. And then to like, enjoy and want to make the experience of a fitting enjoyable. for the actor and not in a superficial way, but like a very grounded humanizing way and that she was approaching her work like that is really, really cool.
Role of Textiles in Historical Accuracy
00:33:03
Speaker
Cause I think very often, and we've talked about this before people, when they think of costume designers or anybody who's in costume design, they think that you're,
00:33:11
Speaker
a stereotype of high fashion, like yeah that it's like, go, go, go. The diva. Yeah. The diva make it. So, and there are folks like that in the industry, but that's not everybody. And that's not how it has to be.
00:33:27
Speaker
So yes, it's really cool to see, to see this, like be the lasting impression that she left on this, this very famous actor who like really, really hit it of the park with this role.
00:33:40
Speaker
Yeah. Very cool. I know. It's so sweet. And... um you know i think we've we've talked in the past about how like you can kind of know when something is made based on the costumes, even though it's not set in that period. And this movie is so... like in the book, Carrie Elwes talks about how like oh like it's so timeless and you would never know when it was made. And I was like, I know when it was made.
00:34:06
Speaker
I can tell because there's just certain textiles that were popular, like all of those sort of upholstery brocades and the velvets and stuff that you're like, it's So 80s. And it also feels like this applied like to, well, this is applied to all the 80s ones that we're talking about, but it also feels like 70s thing where it feels very much like you could not get your hands on this fabric unless it was vintage or upholstery. Now I think that there are...
00:34:35
Speaker
way way more costume fabrics available and it's like a ton of polyester right a ton of all this different stuff so that you have sheen and like crazy shine but it seems like there was this period where it's like in order to try to achieve this historical thing you weren't necessarily getting the budget to be able to have people weave it like you couldn't right necessarily special order it um And so you just like went for, okay, what can we put on a sofa or some curtains?
00:35:05
Speaker
they That's what we're making this out of, which just like, because because when people think about fabric, I think that a lot of people are very ah limited, not in a negative way, limited um to the fabric of the clothing that they have access to in their lives. So they just kind of think of the the weight and the drape and what we call the hand, how it feels of modern textiles. But like throughout history, textiles were made out of non-plastic things. They were made out of different plants and animal fibers. And so they had very different weights, very different hands.
00:35:41
Speaker
And some of those we can't replicate anymore because different weaving processes have taken over different plants. Like the plant died out was maybe brought back kind of genetically or it's like a cousin to the original plant.
00:35:54
Speaker
So it's like the fiber is just different. um And so even between like when this movie was made and now there's just been a really insane like dip in.
00:36:11
Speaker
the quality of textiles that are made in terms of like how quickly and they're trying to produce things. So you get stuff where it's not woven as tight. The fibers are lower quality.
Costume Symbolism in 'The Princess Bride'
00:36:28
Speaker
and even if it is natural fiber, like if it's, it's like, It's like when you're making a house and you're using like an old growth tree versus a young like sapling to make your lumber. It's just different. And um it's kind of we're in that kind of same place with textiles where ah just like the density of the fibers is is less or less.
00:36:55
Speaker
um they've modernized some technique but you're losing quality but it's cheaper it's like yeah that's where we are so and so like the shortcut to communicating that difference that we know exists because we see paintings and we see how different the fabrics are and how different and deep like the the draping goes like we can see that different things have weight or they have no weights and they're see-through, but they're very densely woven, those kinds of things.
00:37:26
Speaker
This movie is an example of a shortcut in that language by using probably some upholstery fabric. So it's just like, yeah, that's the kind of stuff that's going to have that weight and that density because it needs to be able to withstand being sat on or being used as curtains. yeah they They need to be strong.
00:37:45
Speaker
And um I just like love the the imprint that this left on me of clothes that have weight and not necessarily ton of form, right? Because like we see this sort of like, okay, again, the red dress, which I didn't talk about, but I keep naming.
00:38:04
Speaker
So Buttercup After post Wesley death, we think, win wink, wink, when she's kidnapped, she's kidnapped in this red gown that has these massive sleeves.
00:38:16
Speaker
And I believe that she's also wearing matching tights and boots. So like the same color red, she's just monocolor, monochrome.
00:38:27
Speaker
And that's, I think that the boots have zippers on the inside. Uh-oh. And I think you can see that when Andre the Giant's holding her and her feet are the closest things to the camera.
00:38:39
Speaker
I will respectfully avert my eyes from that. That's none of my business. um But ah this this gown is like a, it's kind of like a hubland, right? Where it's just like this very specific shape that uses a lot of fabric and is a very, very large. But it's like, would you say that that's kind of like I feel like most of these costumes, they kind of travel. They're not really set in one time and one place.
00:39:08
Speaker
No, we're kind of, I feel like we're we're pulling from a couple to be the this. Like we're yeah making this world. We're making a medieval fantasy out of different truths. Because like Prince Humperdinck and Count Regan have these more doublet-y, like quilted velvet brocade that seems more...
00:39:40
Speaker
ah like getting into like Italian Renaissance or like Henry the eighth maybe. um But like Wesley is in like tight leather pants. Like we're, yeah work we're, we're pulling things and like creating this fantasy that is like based on a few different things.
00:40:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's like a few European options to create this fantastical European nation. yeah And it's really well done, because I think we've been conditioned to kind of accept a lot of medieval as just synonymous with fantasy. And then you're not really like, looking at like, but this is from this, you know, century, and this is from that century, which is like right after or From over here and over here. it's It all just melds together because everything looks really good.
00:40:32
Speaker
But this red gown, one of my favorite details about it, aside from the monochrome, I do appreciate the monochrome of it all because that's that's very determined. This is a built costume for this, like inevitably, because in order to get that kind of color matching, you have to dye everything yourself.
00:40:47
Speaker
yeah um But she has these sleeves that are like... like basically like cartridge pleated feel to get into the cuff because they're so um voluminous.
00:41:01
Speaker
Yeah. And it's like when you first look at it it's maybe it, it doesn't do something for a lot of people because it doesn't have a bunch of like accessories or anything. It's a very flat colored thing, but it is so a princess thing.
00:41:17
Speaker
dress like I ah love it and it's like dances out it's really giving like the Juliet Zaffarelli red where you're like she's like she is the princess in the movie and this red dress is what she wears for most of the movie we do see her in some other beautiful gowns but to pick this bright hot red is a really interesting choice where ah a different approach would probably want to be like a soft pastel white or like a lovely delicate pink and it's like such a strong yeah like hot color choice to pick that is so specific to this movie and this character And they pair her very quickly with the dread pirate Roberts, who's in all black with that mask and like the head cover. like
00:42:18
Speaker
So dark and so red side by side. It's like just so striking because they kind of become these like archetypal... I think that maybe is why a little bit it's a different way of just kind of creating this archetypal princess, archetypal villain.
Outdoor Scenes and Societal Dynamics
00:42:35
Speaker
And then like, cause it's more complicated and then it gets more complicated and it gets, you know, tells a different story. yeah And I just like, I love it. Cause she tosses,
00:42:47
Speaker
The Dreadfire Roberts, she thinks it's the Dreadfire Roberts off of a hill and tries to kill him, tries to kill him because he's also taunting her a little bit where he's kind of trying to hint, I think, and play with her that like, I'm i'm Wesley, like,
00:43:03
Speaker
Yeah, it was pretty fun to like, kill him. Like, he was so young and so dumb. And like, look at where he got he's dead. And she's like, yeah, and you're about to be to 300 moment. Oh,
00:43:15
Speaker
and like three hundred moment ah And like, as he falls, he says the Wesley line of as you wish, which shaped a generation and a half, I'm sure.
00:43:26
Speaker
and um and then she just throws herself off the hill to follow him. So having these two figures, these two stunt people, I'm sure. uh tumbling down this like hillside in this dark dark yeah the ravine in dark black and this bright ass red it's just like also kind of funny because like you can't miss them and yet prince humperdinck is like they've disappeared he's like tracking them like falcons or whatever oh It's really a great choice because the majority like so basically the whole time that she's in this red dress, they're filming like on location outside.
00:44:02
Speaker
And it's England. Everything's like green. So it's like this red is just like, bam! It really hits you in the face. And it's so interesting. It's so saturated. It's really, really beautiful. And she doesn't have like crazy jewelry. She has like just like two like but i Like little post little little ball earrings. there's not They're not dangly even.
00:44:27
Speaker
They're just very simple. And like just the immediate, the long hair, there's like at first I think a belt that goes with the dress and then like the earrings basically only serve to like catch the light.
00:44:40
Speaker
And she's a princess. She's a princess. It's like, well, I guess I'm heading out of my princesshood because I've been kidnapped, you dummies. But it's also like, I mean, is, you know, she is the people's princess. She is the Lady Diana of this universe. And So that I think informs her character a lot because even though she, when we see her and she's like, you know, girl on farm, she's still very like acting very like entitled, but she's not wealthy.
00:45:16
Speaker
So even when she like becomes a princess, she doesn't know how to be one. That's not. I think that character, ah She okay. The way that Ken and Barbie is like, my job is beach.
00:45:29
Speaker
yeah She's like, my job is beautiful. Yes. Anywhere I am, I understand that I am beautiful because of how people respond to me. And that's what I know. And it's fascinating to me because there are so many women in our world that we live in that have that job.
00:45:47
Speaker
Their job is beautiful. And there are so many. It's fascinating to me how many men in this world are so angry. And I'm like, you created the job beautiful. Yeah, you did this. She has it.
00:46:01
Speaker
like you'll never be happy you dummies you made the system people figured out how to navigate the system or are forced to navigate the system and you're still mad or like this is the only job you want this woman to have you don't want her to have another job but beautiful and yet you're still mad but I and then it's like and you're so mad because like the job is just beautiful and yet a lot of these people have like multiple PhDs and the job is also still beautiful but they managed to do all the rest of that and you're mad about that I know. i think about it a lot in particularly ah in the case of ah Emily Ratajkowski because she is like insanely beautiful and a very intelligent person and there are people in this world that seem so determined that those two things have to be mutually exclusive and it's like you're just mad because you're not either and she's both. It's so so stupid.
00:46:56
Speaker
just like This person figured out very young that they had the this asset. And they were like, well, I'll ride that wave.
R.O.U.S. Costumes and Practical Effects
00:47:05
Speaker
I'll enjoy it. Or I'll use your enjoyment in order for me to get to where I need to be going.
00:47:12
Speaker
And that is not the first time that story has ever been told. And like, give her her, man. She's not alone in like, no, but working in that system. Like,
00:47:23
Speaker
Yeah, she did not create a society where we put monetary value on female beauty. She just has to live in the same world that we all live in. Yep.
00:47:34
Speaker
One of many. But anyway. Anyway, um so Buttercup as a character yeah has like starts off with a bang um after her like little farm girl moment starts off with a bang and her princess career that we're being exposed to in this gorgeous gown.
00:47:52
Speaker
She goes through this experience with Wesley once she has figured out that it is indeed Wesley and he did not die. And he gives her this very gentle like explanation of how he became the Dread Pirate Roberts, all this stuff. And they're navigating the um the but fire swamp.
00:48:08
Speaker
yeah And like what a gown to be. going to go through this swamp trying avoid the R-O-U-S-S. Which like... I really, i really need like an interview with somebody that was in one of those suits. Listen, when I, the RRUS came on screen, i was like, we might have to incorporate another property that has these kinds of costumes because we do not talk enough about, i think that as a population here in the West where you and I grew up,
00:48:46
Speaker
the The times that we see people in animal costumes is usually an old movie like this before CG that we know now um as like ah um a character for like a sports team.
00:49:02
Speaker
mascot? A mascot. Thank you. Yes, I did lose the word mascot and you saw it happen on my face. Yeah. a mascot or like you know a mascot of like a park like Disneyland right so it's like we have very or or the Nutcracker like a ballet we will see a dancing a dancer in an animal costume I think he is a rat yeah it's a rat king like rats yeah yeah and so it's like we have these very specific moments that we're like okay yeah that makes sense for me to see this and
00:49:37
Speaker
i love the engineering that goes into these. And I grieve very deeply ah in it you know the superficial way that I'm talking about this. So very deeply is being very dramatic. But like I do acknowledge the performers who are in costumes like this ah that they're suffering because there is no breathability. There is nothing.
00:50:02
Speaker
And like, maybe now they're better because like, maybe there's cooling systems that have been like updated in some of these. Like if you're thinking of like a character actor at Disney or, yeah or a mascot, there's maybe be potentially depending on you know, the funder of this thing. Maybe there's new technology so that you don't feel like you're going to But, oh my God, this rat actor has to throw themselves all Like there's stunt work, being stabbed, being burned, rolling all over the Like you have to imagine like they, I'm sure they can't see very well. Yeah. oh no
00:50:41
Speaker
I'm sure that suit is heavy. v Yeah. It is their entire body. Because there's two versions, right? There's the the pre-burn and then there's when Wesley rolls.
00:50:54
Speaker
And gets the giant rat on top of one of these like fire spouts and it's burned and we see that. So there's like the gory version and the not gory version. Yeah. And the vocal work is top notch.
00:51:07
Speaker
It's so good. I love it so much. oh What a little feature to have a man sized rat. Yeah. And then we don't see that again. We don't see that kind of like fantasticalness again. Like we don't see any dragons or anything like that.
Wedding Scene and Fairy Tale Aesthetics
00:51:24
Speaker
It's just rodents of unusual size. That's the magical thing. They're like cryptids in this like universe. People are like...
00:51:33
Speaker
like the the hilarious line is is you know Wesley being like, we figured out the fire swamp. We could just stay in here. And Buttercup's like, what about the R.O.S.'s? And he's like, I don't think they exist. And then he gets smacked in the face and knocked over by one. So it's like there clearly ah some debate about whether they even exist. Yeah. theres It's like this just magical...
00:51:56
Speaker
I don't know. Nobody's ever seen one kind of thing. And it's just, yeah well, there is one and it's the only one we see. And it's the only time we see something like that. So what a strange, strange country this is.
00:52:07
Speaker
yeah um I just like love it so freaking much. and I know. i like I don't even have anything smart to say about this movie because I just love movie. yeah It's just literally a walk down like, he and you know we see Humperdinck's court. We see the court in a dream, and we see it ah in real life, like at the wedding. So we do to talk about the wedding.
00:52:31
Speaker
We do have to talk about the pit of despair. like We do i love the the like icy blue silver wedding party with like buttercup in her like wedding gown with this like massive crown and like humperdinck and it's like beautiful like blue and then we get like his parents like king and queen are like also matching and it's like real storybook magic like beautiful yeah crowns and pearls and all the shiny things
00:53:03
Speaker
Perfect. to We also have this like Bishop character that is very legendary because marriage is what brings us together today. And like that whole model, oh fantastic. And the makeup makes him look like he's been in the archives for 50 years, you know, like a vampire dressed up. with Dust him off. and Get that off of him. just like shake out that like the robes he's in crawled out of an illuminated manuscript oh my god to life in order to do this and like the flip side of this court that we kind of like see in a glimpse here and we see in this wedding a dream before this wedding ceremony in the dream buttercup is wearing a ah very soft pink
00:53:57
Speaker
wedding gown and she she looks again total princess like when you think of a princess with a cone hat with a little veil
Miracle Max and Valerie: Costume Depth and Characterization
00:54:07
Speaker
that trails from it that's i'm not gonna even try to think of like the name of that hat just oh god it's got it i knew it at some point it's i made room yeah something a birthday hat that's what but like a cone. um She has basically, it's like an Italian Renaissance kind of gown.
00:54:26
Speaker
And it's, it's just lovely and beautiful. There's like little shot gold, I think through it. Like it's very beautiful. And like a witch stands up, not a witch, maybe a hag, like an older lady, an older lady stands up and is like, they like very voice acting. the The makeup in this is so fantastic for these characters.
00:54:46
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, not every single character, but like the character actor kind of characters, because this is one where she's meant to look like a bog witch, I feel. And um she's also supposed to tell her a truth teller, but also kind of like buttercups fear because she does not look beautiful. So it's like she she's taking her words because she's so different.
00:55:07
Speaker
There's just like something there. And um she's also not dressed well, right? Because she's not meant to be a rich person. She's meant to be a poor person. And and then we also have like this, is it like the thieves village or something where ah therere yeah it's like the Sherwood forest where all people have kind of gone to live. And is that where we find Max and his wife, Max the Magician?
00:55:36
Speaker
I don't, Because it might not be the same place, but if it feels like they're in the woods the same way that the Thieves' Villages, which is where Fezzik finds Inigo.
00:55:47
Speaker
They surely are in like their own place. But yeah, I don't know if it's supposed to be the same or even if they specify. think they just say, we're going to Miracle we're just going to his house. yeah And my favorite part is that like Miracle Max is his name, and then his wife's name is Valerie. I just...
00:56:07
Speaker
I love that. And the makeup on these two, Billy Crystal and Carol Kane, the makeup, the wigs. Another thing where you're like, I cannot imagine that it was so fun to get in and out of that, but it looks so amazing. It is so good.
00:56:28
Speaker
and like, they are both this like white haired, like wild white hair. And they're both dressed as basically like impoverished people who are down on their luck down on their luck. And like we find out that Max was fired by Humperdinck and he's very pissed about it.
00:56:48
Speaker
And they are like wearing not even necessarily like homespun, but maybe like things that were once nicer and have kind of they don't have anything left. So they're getting more wear because like, yeah, the kind of like smoking hat that like Max has yeah is like, there's like velvet in there, you know? And it's like very earthy colors for both of them.
00:57:13
Speaker
And they just like, everything in their costume is like so delicious. Cause I feel like once you get something that's distressed, once you get something that has tons of texture in this way, there's so many layers. Like it's not one solid layer. Like you look at buttercup,
00:57:27
Speaker
And her her costumes are mostly one or two layers, a chemise kind of thing, and then something over it. And then the the beautiful details are kind of in the fabric or in the construction of the fabrics, right? Like the combination they're in But- Even as a character, she doesn't have a ton of bling on all the time. Accessories. Like, it's only in a couple moments that she has accessories.
00:57:53
Speaker
Yeah. She's quite... um It's, a kind of plain for that kind of a character. And, like, it's a... It takes place in, like, a... Based on a time period where, like, women are not wearing, like, makeup. So...
00:58:08
Speaker
She's obviously it's a movie, but she's not made to look like she's wearing makeup. She's just like naturally, like very stunningly beautiful, young, vibrant woman. So it's like you don't really like you just kind of that's that's like her thing. It's supposed to be like i untarnished, natural beauty. So it's like you don't need to throw a bunch of stuff on her. Right. That it's just happening. Yeah.
00:58:35
Speaker
And there are all these opportunities on the other end of the spectrum for people who don't have the same standing or the same youth to have all these layered costumes that have tons of texture or distressing or you know different fabrics, one on top of the other that have different patterns and different things.
00:58:56
Speaker
And it's not all over the place, but like Max and Valerie, I think are an opportunity for that. yeah Because we have the Alpino from the Pit of Despair, and he's just wearing a gray robe, and that's it. He looks like friar. Yeah, he really does. looks like a friar who's been through it, and again, has just been in the Batcave. Somebody dusted him off to go torture this guy. That's a funny bit, is when he first starts talking, it's like, with this very raspy voice, and then he's like...
00:59:24
Speaker
ah Yeah. Hey, your Mel Brooks. Oh, right there. This feels like a comedy troupe, like doing a ah more serious version of a comedic, like take on a fairy tale. And i really, really love that combination. Yeah.
00:59:40
Speaker
to jump to Inigo Montoya, um he and Wesley are also this kind of like different dynamic of something that isn't necessarily a million different layers, but two different ways to kind of visualize the same thing.
00:59:54
Speaker
Because Inigo
Archetypes in Costume Design
00:59:55
Speaker
is this like swordsman, which also can look like a pirate, right? Because he's a man of action. He's got boots. Everything he's wearing enough for him to be able to fight.
01:00:04
Speaker
A lot of ah leather. A lot of leather. A lot of leather. billowy-ness to a shirt tucked into some tight little pants. like the The long locks going everywhere.
01:00:18
Speaker
and like, it's the opposite of Wesley's all black look, but they both look like pirates, which is inevitable. Like at the end, it's what Wesley offers him. It's like, hey, he's like, Have ever given a thought to piracy? Yeah. you' be and and Because it's like, obviously, Wesley has to retire as the dread pirate Roberts.
01:00:38
Speaker
And like the the whole thing, since he like talked to Buttercup and revealed himself, he's like, yeah, I'm ready to retire so that we can just go live our life. And um I feel like this fantasy movie, unlike Excalibur, and maybe I just didn't give Excalibur, okay, maybe that's not true. But like Excalibur, I feel like there were moments of you look at those costumes and you can connect certain characters, right? Like Merlin and mara Morgana, Morgana.
01:01:06
Speaker
You can combine them as being apart from everybody else because they're magical. So they're tied together by certain colors or themes. um Everything else is supposed to look like Camelot. It's supposed to be super shiny and fall into that.
01:01:20
Speaker
So there is deliberation when you're looking at that. There's design happening that you can understand. And then there are a lot of questions that pop up, right? The same with every other design, every movie, unless you have access to the designer's stuff.
01:01:32
Speaker
You just don't know where they were coming from. yeah In this one, it's nice to look at different characters and go... okay, like I feel like I can read the story a little bit through these characters.
01:01:44
Speaker
It's very archetype-based. And I think that that is like a function of the fairy tale motif or like genre that we're like operating under is that like you have princess, hero, pirate, evil prince, Spanish swordsman,
01:02:09
Speaker
giant, strong man, like small Italian. I don't know if that's a trope, but like every, it's very, very character based. And it's like, you could line everybody up and like a row and you could be someone who's never seen the movie. You could be like, which person is this character? Which person is that character? And I think they would get it right. They would yeah they would know.
01:02:33
Speaker
And so it's it's just like, it's very comforting. And again, cause we both saw this from childhood. And it has this like magic to it. It just really hits it the same way that like when you're little and you crack open a giant fairy tale book and you're like, yeah, let's read that one again.
01:02:47
Speaker
This sits in my heart right next to Ever After because of course Ever After came later. But like just the execution of the fairy tale magic is really lovely.
01:02:58
Speaker
you know how... Disney started to incorporate texture into their character costumes over the past few years for a very, very long time because like you look at a cartoon, which is kind of the easiest way to execute like a fantasy story, right?
01:03:16
Speaker
um Because it has so many magical things like yeah you're going to animate it. You can do whatever you want.
Texture and Detail in Costumes
01:03:22
Speaker
When you think of like these very traditional fairy tales, a lot of those types of illustrations, those animations are very flat.
01:03:30
Speaker
Yeah. And so it's more ah important that the story be told through color, which is why Buttercup makes so much sense and why Wesley makes so much sense at the top, right? It's because it's like a flat color, ah flat color.
01:03:42
Speaker
It's visually kind of tying to to that simplicity. Mm-hmm. But I do love these things, which is why Ever After and this movie stay with me so much that give more dimension and give more, just more, more-ishness.
01:04:00
Speaker
oh That make you want to touch the the clothing. And I feel like for a lot of people, they just might not know, but they might recognize like Disney stuff, right? And Disney with the characters, they just used to have the costumes be as flat as the animations. And then recently as they started to incorporate um more texture and pattern into the actual costumes that their actors are wearing in the parks for you to see, because it's enriching how you are taking in that that designed character.
01:04:29
Speaker
yeah And this this is why I think I'm always like, but I want to touch a costume is because of this. Yeah, there's it's like you can you can just see that there was an enjoyment in choosing what was going to be in this movie.
01:04:46
Speaker
There was she she was taking care and I think just like really understanding the inspiration, the cultural touch points, and then like just being someone who likes putting that. I mean, obviously we don't know that much about this woman, but like I think ah stuff that has that maybe could I don't know, I don't want to call anybody out, but there's been a lot of hate for a recent Disney live action movie, particularly with the costumes. And I think that
01:05:25
Speaker
there's it's so hard to know but I do think that there's sort of people can kind of tell when a project is like dead behind the eyes and you know like it will bleed into yeah your final product in some way when there's a lack of of passion for what you're making and this does this has passion this has passion and it just has like a There's a pursuit of little details that aren't like little secrets.
01:05:56
Speaker
It's just little details to make the characters feel grounded. And like, they don't, we're not necessarily going with like what sometimes like I'm definitely guilty of this. Like it's very easy to fall into, okay well I'm just gonna communicate everything through color and then like focus on that.
01:06:15
Speaker
Maybe that's there a bit, but it's it's not the only language, the only visual costume language that we're going with. like yeah And that also makes it feel alive like in a different way. And that's not saying that when you use color language to like tell this is the bad guy, this is whoever, that that like doesn't feel alive. Yeah.
01:06:35
Speaker
I think that we're not using that the way that we're using tropes elsewhere in this yeah makes yeah the use of the archetypes stronger and makes it feel more real.
Timelessness and Cultural Impact of Costumes
01:06:46
Speaker
and yeah i was like convinced that this is real place. but We're using all of the tools instead of just one. yeah We're using everything that we can to tell the story as opposed to just color. We can add texture and we can use style and we can use...
01:07:05
Speaker
materials and blah blah blah and i defy carrie elvis excuse me sir to go through these imdb photos and to go to prince humperdinck a still of prince humperdinck uh in his like doublet the blue and the silver with his 80s as hell i know here i know and i defy this man to tell And i know and it makes it even better.
01:07:37
Speaker
that Like, we didn't wig out everything like that. There is just very 80s shit present here is phenomenal.
01:07:48
Speaker
but God bless everyone and involved in this movie. This was just such a fun watch. And it's like such a comforting blanket to like pull up and like, yeah and so I'm very glad that this was on our list and it's not really like the deepest of all dives.
01:08:03
Speaker
Sorry, not sorry. but i do want to shout out again, the book that you're listening to by Carrie Elwes. Yeah, I think it's called As You Wish. Nice. It's not too long. I think it's like a seven hour audio book and I'm like two hours in already. So sweet.
01:08:19
Speaker
Yeah. And then this book about Phyllis Dalton's career in costume by Alexander Ballinger. which will be released January of 2026. And it is, i think, through Yale.edu.
01:08:30
Speaker
edu So it's like, maybe not going to be a teeny tiny, tiny book. it It'll have some solid information. um but yeah, that's kind of all I've got. Yeah. Like, ah the only other thing I would say is, if you've listened this far, and you haven't seen the movie, like, please,
01:08:47
Speaker
turn this off and go watch the movie please do and and like we're both gonna not try to oversell it the way i want to advertise it is that it feels like a kind of comforting fantasy big bowl of soup yeah on a on a cold rainy day where you don't have to go to school because you're like i don't feel so good it would I would really be interested in someone who did not see this movie as a kid and like what their experience of watching it as an adult would be because it's one of those things that so many of us in our generation like did see as a kid and you just can't...
01:09:28
Speaker
You can never see it as an adult, I think, after that. So it's sort of like watching Star Wars as a little kid. You can never see Star Wars as an adult if you've seen it as a kid. yeah because you don't want to ruin the magic of it.
01:09:43
Speaker
And by ruin, I mean like deeply investigate. And yes and by you can't see it, I don't mean you can't rewatch it. I mean like you'll never get out of the experience that you had as a kid. So when you watch it as an adult, you are like transported back to that excitement.
01:10:00
Speaker
and like enjoyment that you have as a kid. So it's like, always going to be part of your experience, even if as an adult, you're like, there might be something that you're like, Oh, that looks a lot different to me now. as a grownup but I would love to hear someone's experience that only saw this movie as an
Closing Thoughts and Next Episode Preview
01:10:21
Speaker
adult. And if it hit them in any particular way, i would love to know.
01:10:25
Speaker
for sure. So share that with us, dear listener. Yes, please. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. It was, of course, super fun for us to talk about one of our oldest comfort watches.
01:10:37
Speaker
If you haven't seen it and you choose to, we hope that it offers you the same thing it offered us um and that you get to enjoy the ride. Please join us for our next episode. I'm going put this mic down because I keep making noise. I don't why thought I could hold it.
01:10:52
Speaker
Our next watch is going to be the TV miniseries Neverland from 2011, because we felt like it would be a miss if we did not talk about a Peter Pan property, but we do have some issues with some of the original portrayals of some characters and some parts of Neverland.
01:11:14
Speaker
ah And we tried to find one that may do better question mark. So we're going to give this one a try. And ah since we've never seen it before, there will be a little bit more critique involved, I do believe.
01:11:29
Speaker
But this is the 2011 Neverland. neverland Yeah. Two episodes, I believe. yeah Yeah. So it's like technically a miniseries, but the same watch time as a movie. So we get, this is our show. We get to do whatever we want. So that's what we're going to do. So thank you so much for listening to episode and listen next time.
01:11:50
Speaker
Bye.