BERKELEY SQUARE (1998)

Why didn't anyone TELL me this was so good?  This is one of those many BBC miniseries that I missed when it originally came out.  Then I saw it for sale everywhere, but could never find a review.  Well, lemme tell ya:  it's FABULOUS.  Great acting, great story, GREAT costumes.  Tells the tale of three nannies in Edwardian England, with really riveting story lines for each.  The only problem is that it's a serial, and seems to have been cancelled after the first season... so you're left to guess what happens to the characters and story lines.

See photos at a fan site.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

BRIDE OF THE WIND (2001)

Falls into the usual trap of based-on-a-real-person movies of trying to cover too much time.  Set in the 1900s and 1910s, it tells the story of Alma Mahler, wife of composer Gustav Mahler.  The up side is that Sarah Wynter as Alma is really quite good, and visually it's beautiful with lovely costumes.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

LES DESTINEES (2000)

The tale of a French family set before and after World War I.  Not terribly engaging, although the costumes are nice.  In French.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (2002)

Keira Knightley is surprising unannoying in this adaptation, Hans Matheson does a good job portraying the title character, and the miniseries format allows the story to take its time -- and I actually cried a little at the end. Very good sets and scenery; the costuming, being mostly peasanty, wasn't anything to get excited about, although there were a few nice dresses on Tonya.

See photos at Hans Matheson - The Zhivago Galleries, Keira Knightley Wavefront, and Walking in Daydreams.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

FINDING NEVERLAND (2004)

Inspired by the true story of how J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) wrote Peter Pan, with Kate Winslet as the mother of four boys who inspired the playwright.  I liked but didn't love it -- it was touching and fun, although the Hallmark quotient was a bit high.  But on to the important stuff!  Kate Winslet looked divine, although I was hoping for more screen time for her gorgeous blue evening dress, plus there was another pink evening dress of which you really only got a glimpse.  Lots of smart blouse and skirt combinations for day.  However, the film is supposed to be set in 1903, but looked (costume-wise) like 1910-12ish.  Where were the pigeon-front bodices/blouses?  What was with the V-necks (very flattering, but anachronistic imho) on Winslet's blouses?  Julie Christie as Winslet's mother gets ONE dress (which looked straight out of 1909-10) for the whole film (and she's supposed to be a well-to-do society woman), and Radha Mitchell as Mrs. Barrie got the short end of the stick -- most everything she wore was just plain ugly and emphasized her bony frame.

See photos at DiscoverKate.comm FIDM, and the Costumer's Guide to Movie Costumes.

My rating: 4 (out of 5)

FOUR FEATHERS (2002)

Pretty terrible tale of two young English men who in 1898 are sent to fight in the Sudan.  Kate Hudson plays the woman torn between them.  The costumes aren't anything to write home about.

See photos at IMDB.

My rating:  1 (out of 5)

THE GOLDEN BOWL (2000)

Unfortunately tedious and uninspired -- a sad statement for a Merchant Ivory production!  Of course it's visually beautiful, but watch it with the mute button on.

See photos at the official site.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

HAMLET (1996)

A really wonderful restaging of the classic Shakespeare play with Kenneth Branagh in the title role.  The story is reset in a sort of pseudo-Edwardian era, and Kate Winslet as Ophelia looks smashing.

See photos at DiscoverKate.com and the Costumer's Guide to Movie Costumes.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

THE HOURS (2002)

One of those movies that tries WAY too hard to be an Oscar winner.  Nicole Kidman looks great as Virginia Woolf in the 1910s, although all of her speeches seem created with an Oscar clip in mind.  The real stealers of the show are Julianne Moore and Toni Collette in the 1950s scenes.  Great costumes, although pretty one note.

See photos at IMDB and FIDM.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

THE HOUSE OF MIRTH (2000)

I LOVE this book, but I think it's way too depressing to translate to film.  That being said, I think Gillian Anderson does a great job as Lily and the costumes are gorgeous.  Eric Stoltz doesn't quite work for me as one of Lily's love interests.

See photos at IMDB and Eras of Elegance.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

HOWARDS END (1992)

Just a wonderful, wonderful movie.  Merchant Ivory adaptation of the book by E.M. Forster (and yes, it's HOWARDS with no apostrophe -- it's the name of the house that plays a pivotal role).  Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter play sisters whose lives take different paths.  Beautiful 1908-10ish costumes.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

A relatively entertaining look at magic and forbidden love in early 20th century Vienna.  Edward Norton is the title magician, Jessica Biel is his forbidden aristocratic love, Rufus Sewell is the evil crown prince, and Paul Giamatti is the police inspector who brings things together.  It's all relatively entertaining until the hit-you-over-the-head "here's the answer to the mystery" ending, with a totally implausible ending (which I won't give away, but please note:  a) the woman's outfit and b) how ridiculous it is).  Biel wears understated but pretty and very accurate-looking early 1900s dresses.

See photos at IMDB, CinEmpire, and the Costumer's Guide to Movie Costumes.

My rating: 3 (out of 5)

IN LOVE AND WAR (1996)

Okay, this has to win the prize for cheesiness -- Chris O'Donnell as a young Ernest Hemingway (ha!) and Sandra Bullock as the older nurse he falls in love with during World War I.  But... I love Bullock's tailored suits and she wears great hats.  See it if you have a REALLY high tolerance for cheese.

See photos at IMDB.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (2002)

An adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play that tries way too hard.  Everyone looks good, the dialogue is there, the actors are there, but it falls curiously flat.  Reese Witherspoon irritates me in this.  Great costumes, but you have to work really hard to make it through to the end. See An Ideal Husband instead.

See photos at ColinFirth.com.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

LEGENDS OF THE FALL (1994)

The first half of this movie is fabulous with its tale of three brothers and the woman caught between them -- but when Brad Pitt decides to get tortured and grows his beard out and generally mopes around in the second half, it all falls apart.  HIL-arious (unintentionally) ending.  Julia Ormond is riveting as always and looks great in her 1910s wardrobe.

See photos at IMDB.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

THE LOST PRINCE  (2003)

This BBC production tells the story of Prince John, the learning disabled and epileptic younger son of George V and Mary of England.  The film tries to contrast his very sheltered life with the immense events that surrounded him and his family (especially World War I).  Unfortunately, because Johnnie is so removed from all of this, we end up dipping in and out of his life versus his family's life/political events -- so that we see everyone freaking out about how the British are about to lose WWI, and then suddenly Johnnie's hanging out in a field with his older brother who mentions that the war is now over.  All this skipping around made me feel totally uninvested in the story.  Also, some of the characterizations were weird, especially Queen Alexandra, who by this time was very very deaf, but in the movie seems to be interacting with everyone just fine.  Nice Edwardian costumes but nothing to write home about.  Worth a tv watch/rental but don't buy it.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

MAURICE (1987)

Another wonderful Merchant-Ivory adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel, this one gets high ratings for great characters and a more complex plot than usual. The title character is a man coming to terms with his homosexuality and trying to find love in Edwardian England, which is no small feat.  The ever foxy Rupert Graves plays one of his love interests (Hugh Grant is the other). The only down side is that because most of the main characters are men, there isn't TOO much female costume eye candy (although there is a bit).

See photos at About Gay Movies.

My rating:  4 (out of 5)

MISS POTTER (2006)

I was underwhelmed by this movie, about Beatrix Potter's publishing of her children's books and her relationship with her publisher, but it's not really bad. Everyone hits the right notes, and it's not too twee (despite the animated drawings), but it just felt very Hallmark Hall of Fame. I did like Emily Watson as the independent Millie. The costuming was very good - lots of tweedy Edwardian suits - altho I saw this on a plane, so my view wasn't very good.

See photos at IMDB.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

MY BRILLIANT CAREER (1979)

Such a fabulous movie based on a fabulous book.  Judy Davis plays Sybylla Melvyn, a literate tomboy growing up in the Australian outback who yearns for much more.  Sam Neill is the landowner who falls in love with her, and Sybylla is forced to choose between a life of conventional values or independence.  Just such a moving, wonderful movie.

See photos at Judy Davis Online and the Official Sam Neill Homepage.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

MY FAIR LADY (1964)

The classic -- see where all stereotypes about Edwardian costuming began.

See photos at IMDB and Eras of Elegance.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

MY FATHER'S GLORY (1990)

[Released as La Gloire de mon Père in France] A wonderful, wonderful coming of age story set in early 1900s Provence.  It's funny, sad, heartwarming, and mom/Augustine wears some great clothes.  In French.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

MY MOTHER'S CASTLE (1990)

[Released as Le Château de ma Mère in France] The sequel to My Father's Glory -- same review as above.  In French.

My rating:  4 (out of 5)

MOULIN ROUGE (2001)

Okay, don't hit me -- I know everyone loved this movie, but I have to say I would have liked it a whole lot better if it had stopped the lightning-fast seizure-inducing editing for ONE SECOND so I could look at the costumes (which were terribly periodESQUE -- the only ones I really liked were Nicole Kidman's Indian-inspired show costumes).  It just hit me over the head with its hammer and didn't stop until the end.

See photos at the Costumer's Guide to Movie Costumes and FIDM.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

OUT OF AFRICA (1985)

A sad, romantic, fabulous movie starring the brilliant Meryl Streep as a Danish baroness who finds love and herself in Africa.  Gorgeous costuming, plus you'll have a good cry.

See photos at Simply Streep (scroll down).

My rating:  4 (out of 5)

PETER PAN (2003)

I really liked this movie and was surprised that more people didn't see it.  Not only is it an exciting retelling of the classic tale with great use of digital effects, the London scenes showcase Olivia Williams as Mrs. Darling wearing some BEAUTIFUL Edwardian gowns.

See photos at IMDB.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1985)

Okay, romantic period filmmaking just doesn't get any better than this.  A Merchant Ivory production of the E.M. Forster novel, with Helena Bonham Carter and a raft of immensely talented actors, fabulous scenery in England and Tuscany, and an intelligent romance.

See photos at Eras of Elegance and dd-l.net.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

SONGCATCHER (2000)

More interesting for its portrayal of Appalachian folk music than for its storyline, which centers on a female professor who goes to the mountains to record music and (of course) falls in love in the process.  Nice functional Edwardian clothing.

See photos at IMDB.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

TITANIC (1997)

Wonderful, romantic, exciting, beautiful and at the same time cheesy, soap opera-y, and totally melodramatic.  See it anyway.  Fabulous costumes.

See photos at the Costumer's Guide to Movie Costumes, DiscoverKate.com, Eras of Elegance, and FIDM.

My rating:  4 (out of 5)

WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD (1991)

An E.M. Forster adaptation (surprisingly NOT done by Merchant Ivory) that's too often overlooked.  Helen Mirren plays a middle aged English woman who falls in love with an Italian man half her age.  She dies (in Italy) leaving a child, and her siblings (played by Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis, and Rupert Graves) go to Italy in search of the child.

My rating:  4 (out of 5)

THE WINGS OF THE DOVE (1997)

A wonderful, dark, complicated tale based on the book by Henry James.  Helena Bonham Carter is the Englishwoman torn between the man she loves (Linus Roache), the American heiress who she truly cares about (Alison Elliott), and her family.  Absolutely gorgeous 1910s costumes in beautiful Poiret-inspired jewel tones.

See photos at Tribute to Linus Roache.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

THE WINSLOW BOY (1999)

A very quiet yet well-acted and thought-provoking tale, about a boy accused of stealing and the larger ramifications as his family defends him.  Rebecca Pigeon is great as his older sister, and wears some really smart tailored 1910s outfits.

See photos at FIDM.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)