Cinema Connection--Old Hollywood and Art Deco Style Stand Out at 2012 Oscars

Is this 2012...or the 1930s?  It's certainly hard to tell just by looking at the cast of The Artist (above) as they accepted their well-deserved Academy Award for Best Picture. It was a great moment and you can see how they embody the modern version of Art Deco style that their movie has inspired in so many others.  I've only started to cover it all for my Month of Art Deco on GlamAmor...the fashion runways and magazines have been positively packed with references to movies like The Artist (which also won for Best Costume Design), W./E., and Midnight in Paris.  All have brought attention to the style of the 1920s and 1930s, and I watched in awe as it appeared in gown after gown on the red carpet last night.  

Beyond Art Deco design, the other big trend of the evening was the classic strapless mermaid gown.  This is normally a more challenging choice for any woman navigating the red carpet, yet it seemed that everyone was offering their ode to Old Hollywood.  The shape appeared more than any other and was used to showcase the big color trends of the evening--green, red, nude, and gold.  Most of the dresses were quite stunning, but I adore white gowns and was quite drawn to the sleek white Tom Ford for Gwenyth Paltrow (photo at end of article).  But, like so many of the others, it too shares its design origins with the Golden Age of Hollywood.  See a selection and their connections to classic cinema below.  Hope you enjoy the show!

Spring green gowns were a strong trend--seen in shades from forest green (Glenn Close's Zac Posen) to 

emerald green (Viola Davis' Vera Wang, above) to mint green (Berenice Bejo's Elie Saab Couture) 

Rich shades of red was another favorite and ranged from crimson (Natalie Portman's vintage Christian Dior, above) to 

retro orange-red (Michelle Williams Louis Vuitton) to berry pink-red (Emma Stone's Giambattista Valli) 

Nudes were seen in skintones ranging from white (Gwenyth Paltrow in Tom Ford) to 

light (Cameron Diaz in Gucci, above) to dark (Kristen Wiig in J. Mendel)

 And the prize gold statuette--originally created by MGM production designer Cedric Gibbons--

inspired dresses for Best Actress Meryl Streep (Lanvin),  

Access Hollywood host Shaun Robinson (Romona Keveza), 

and George Clooney's girlfriend Stacy Kiebler (Marchesa, above)

Beyond the color trends, Old Hollywood glamour appeared in gown after gown.  Though this was the 84th Annual Academy Awards, these dresses would have looked right at home at the 1937 award show held at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles (above).  

Look at just some of the cinema connections from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s below...

Halter silk bias-cut gowns on Penelope Ann Miller in Badgley Mischka (above)

and Jean Harlow in Adrian in Dinner at Eight

 One-shouldered black gowns with brunette bobs on Rose Byrne in Vivienne Westwood (above) 

and Woody Allen's 1930s singer Kitty Haynes (Karen Akers) in The Purple Rose of Cairo

Longsleeve white gowns on Shailene Woodley in Valentino (above)

and Katharine Hepburn in Adrian for The Philadelphia Story

Black strapless gowns with lots of leg on Angelina Jolie in Atelier Versace (above)

and Ava Gardner c. late 1940s

One-shouldered shimmering white gowns on Milla Jovovich in Elie Saab Couture (above)

and Nina Foch in Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff in An American in Paris

Sunburst gold gowns for Jennifer Lopez in Zuhair Murad (above)

and Marilyn Monroe in Travilla

White goddess gowns for Gwenyth Paltrow in Tom Ford (above)

and Ava Gardner in Sorelle Fontana in The Barefoot Contessa

Celebrate the Oscar Style of the 1939 Academy Awards--Hooray for Hollywood!

Today is the 84th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles!  It is a day when the entire world turns its eyes to the place that I've called home for nearly 20 years.  I could think of no better way to celebrate the day than to share the 1939 Oscar ceremony with you.  Why 1939?  As classic cinema fans know well, 1939 is widely considered the Greatest Year in Movie History...it is the year of Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, The Women, Stagecoach, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington among many many others.  Keep that in mind when you watch the silver screen stars part of that historic--and stylish--evening in the video below.

To see more past moments with great red carpet style, enjoy the GlamAmor YouTube channel Oscar Style playlist.  You'll see favorites like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Elizabeth Taylor receiving their awards at this iconic event.  And be sure to stay tuned on Monday--the international Large Association of Movie Blogs (LAMB) has asked me to share my own choices for this year's best dressed...from a very GlamAmor perspective, of course.

Enjoy the Oscars!

1939 BEST ACTRESS:  Vivian Leigh (with husband Lawrence Olivier)

The 1937 Academy Awards at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles (below)...

the 1939 ceremony was still held at this same venue

Cinema Style File--Woody Allen Evokes Art Deco Elegance in THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) is Woody Allen's favorite film of all that he's written and directed.  Surprised?  It may be considering his incredible canon of work, but not when you understand the reasons.  For one, it came out nearly exactly as he envisioned it, which was a different experience than many of the others that we now count as classic, such as Annie Hall and my personal favorite Manhattan. Inspired by Sherlock, Jr. and Hellzapoppin' along with the Italian play Six Characters in Search of an Author, Woody created a film about a fictional film within it (of the same name) that eventually leads a lady to love.  Interestingly, it also leads the lady to loss, which was a critically important part of the picture for Woody.  But  he also loved Purple Rose for its occasion to celebrate the great Art Deco style that had made such an impression on him when he escaped to New York theaters as a child.  

The Purple Rose of Cairo is set in New Jersey during the Depression when life was bleak for everyone but especially so for the character of Cecilia (Mia Farrow).  She finds herself in a loveless marriage and routinely seeks solace in the romance of the movies at the local theater.  This is the time for it, too...Art Deco is all the rage and she escapes into the sparkling and luxurious lifestyle she sees on the silver screen.  She is able to escape even more when one of the characters, adventurer Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), actually jumps off the screen to declare his love for Cecilia and later pulls her into the picture itself.

Creating a film within a film was no small feat and its success was largely due to the genius of cinematographer Gordon Willis.  He and Woody worked extensively together starting with Annie Hall, and Woody continues to credit him with really showing how to use the camera artistically.  He is my favorite cinematographer of all time, creating the moody masculinity of The Godfather in color while also idealizing Manhattan in black and white.  In essence, he needed to do both at the same time within Purple Rose...realistically represent the color (or lack thereof) of New Jersey life during the 1930s and the glittering glamour of black and white Art Deco musicals. 

Costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, another regular member of Woody's talented crew, had a similar challenge for the characters' style.  For Purple Rose, he worked first at picking pieces for the color side of the production, a palette in varying shades of brown due to the season and limited fabric options in Depression-era wardrobes.  The colors of the costumes work in perfect harmony with everything in the production design. At the same time, he also tapped into the elegance that was dominant on the screen at that time--tuxedos and silk bias-cut gowns--and capably chose fabrics that would translate well when shot in black and white.

Just as Blade Runner (1982) drew its style inspiration from  film noir of the 1940s, so does Purple Rose share its style with Art Deco films of the 1930s.  Though Woody and his cast and crew drew inspiration from many movies, Top Hat was at the forefront of everyone's mind.  You'll see many comparisons in the screen shots below.  In fact, it was so meaningful that Woody had Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers make an appearance dancing the iconic "Cheek to Cheek" at the very end.  It was carefully chosen for its style and story...so uplifting that it proves movies can raise anyone from the depths of despair and bring meaning into our lives.  Top Hat still has that effect after nearly 70 years and its Art Deco style is more popular than ever.  See it all through Woody's eyes in The Purple Rose of Cairo.

The movie starts in color--a brown palette for New Jersey autumn in the 1930s--

and Cecilia spending time in her favorite place...the movie theater

Nodding to the classic 1930s films, Purple Rose is even a RKO production (like Top Hat)

and starts with a title sequence on invitation cards

Wealthy Manhattan playwright Henry (Edward Herrmann, at piano) and his friend Jason (John Wood)

are reminiscent of Fred Astaire and Edward Everett Horton

Careful casting...Horton and Wood even look alike

The club in Purple Rose's "madcap Manhattan adventure" (above)

draws inspiration from the Art Deco elegance of sets like Top Hat

In a nod to the fascination of archeology in Art Deco design, 

Purple Rose of Cairo takes us to Egypt to meet adventurer Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels)

Cecilia's sad life as a waitress and unloved wife

is transformed when the character of Tom Baxter jumps off the screen to profess his love 

A perfect kiss from Tom Baxter makes Cecilia swoon,

but competition arrives when Gil Shepherd, the actor who plays Tom, meets Cecilia

Gil woos Cecilia at a music store

Tom woos Cecilia by taking her clubbing onscreen with the Count (played by veteran Van Johnson)

and on their own on the town before ending up at the movie's Manhattan penthouse

Cecilia admires the white phone that she sees in all the great Art Deco films

like Ginger Rogers on her white phone in Top Hat

Cecilia is forced to choose between fictional Tom and the real Gil, and finds herself left behind...

she once again seeks solace in the theater

The movie that's flickering on the screen just happens to be Top Hat

Though an unhappy ending for Cecilia, she cannot be moved by the magic of the movies...

a lesson for us all

To find the best selection of Woody Allen films, be sure to visit the TCM Shop!