Whatever Happened To Colour?

Those who know me well know that I am very much steeped in the popular culture of the 50's and 60's. In fact, most of my favourite movies were made in roughly that twenty year span. That's not to say that I believe movies were better overall from that era in terms of writing and direction, but when it comes to colour and sound then, yes, there's a wealth of pleasure for the senses to be found during that period.

Just the other night I put on my DVD of 4 For Texas, starring Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin alongside those fine Swedish and Swiss imports respectively, Anita Ekberg and Ursula Andress. To be sure, it's a mindless piece of fluff that would never end up on any film critic's list of all-time classics, but it's a bit of fun and most importantly, it looks great! Like most films of that era, it is crisply lit and absolutely awash in lush colour. I know most of you likely value content in a film over style, but not me - I prefer style, critics be damned! (Of course, the goal should be to have both wonderful content and style.)

For me, a movie has to lure me through the senses - it must appeal to the eyes and ears. At one time, Hollywood used to knock itself out trying to do this, with lush Technicolor and memorable music scores. Cinematographers, art directors, costume designers - all were hired for their skill in bringing aesthetic appeal to meet with the director's vision. Scenes were beautifully lit in order to showcase the attractiveness of Hollywood's leading stars of the day, with their warm, tanned flesh tones and well-tailored wardrobes:





But not now...

Hollywood has decided that we can't have beautiful imagery anymore. These days, it seems that the default look for most (if not all) movies is like this - colours drained of all their bright hue and given an overall dull blue tinge:





It's bad enough when horror, sci-fi and fantasy movies seem to slavishly adhere to this unpleasant template, but even mainstream adult dramas like Up In The Air and Fair Game (both of which are films that I would otherwise like) are being drained of all their colour in post-production. This unfortunate trend in dreariness also lessened my enjoyment of last year's Best Picture winner, The King's Speech.

Recently, I did some searching on Google to find out whether others are equally disturbed by this ugly trend in today's films. Sure enough, I turned up this article that helps to explain what is going on. It's interesting to read the numerous comments afterward, as there are many, like me, who abhor this unpleasant trend, while others defend it as being true to the director's "vision". Though they may like to think of themselves as unique visionaries, most directors working today merely conform to one basic template of mediocrity that the Hollywood studios all decree must be followed. Because of this trend toward the drab and ugly, I find myself seeing fewer and fewer films with each passing year. Perhaps Hollywood should realize that many older moviegoers are used to far richer looking movies from the more glorious past - today's films just turn us off. BLECCHH!!

Here's a final parting shot. Compare the dreary, blue-tinged Russell Crowe 2010 Robin Hood to the lush 1938 Technicolor classic starring Errol Flynn:




(And if you want to see the warm, rich colours of gorgeous Ursula Andress, here's the trailer from 4 For Texas!)

Happy Birthday, Audrey Hepburn!

I believe that Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe may be the two most iconic figures who have represented female beauty in the movies. But, while Marilyn was blonde, voluptuous and an image of pure sexuality, Audrey was the more fragile, doe-eyed waif who really captured our hearts. Certainly Audrey Hepburn has always been my favourite actress, and much of her appeal is in that pixieish figure with the big dark eyes. Tragically, Audrey left us in 1993 at the relatively early age of 64, after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. She'd largely retired from films after Robin and Marian in 1976, devoting her last few years to helping the children of the world through her association with UNICEF. Audrey was truly a beautiful woman, through and through - a genuine class act.

Interestingly, Audrey only made about 30 films, and probably not more than 20 of those would be well known to her fans, starting with her Oscar winning role in Roman Holiday in 1953. I've seen all of her major films but two: War and Peace and The Unforgiven, although I do own them on DVD just waiting to be watched. I'd be hard pressed to name my absolute favourite, but My Fair Lady, Funny Face and Charade would be right up there. But then there's so many others that I love too!

One of my earliest movie memories is of seeing My Fair Lady at the drive-in with my parents, though I'm guessing it may have been in a reissue several years after it first debuted in 1964. I've seen it dozens of times since, as I consider it the perfect musical film, despite the fact that poor Audrey didn't get to do her own singing as the cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle. She was able to show off all of her talents in Funny Face a few years earlier, though, singing and dancing alongside Fred Astaire. The sequence in the Parisian café, where Audrey, in a black leotard and hair up in a ponytail, does a modern jazz number is just a stunner. She'd had training as a ballerina in her youth and it's really a shame that she wasn't given more opportunities on film to display her incredible dancing ability. As for her singing, though not as notable as her dancing, I still find her voice to be warm and lovely when she sings the wistful and poignant "Moon River" in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Composer Henry Mancini figured out what a comfortable vocal range was for Audrey, and wrote "Moon River" tailored specifically to her admittedly limited range. Frankly, I find it hard not to get misty-eyed when I hear her singing it as she strums her guitar in her Manhattan apartment window. It's a very beautiful sequence.



For my caricature of Audrey Hepburn, I had first started doing some sketches of her (including the one above) from Paris When It Sizzles, in which she costars with William Holden. Though I love her 1960's stylish looks in that film, I must admit that I find the film itself to be one of her weakest. Therefore, I decided to switch my attention to her role in Charade, where she costarred for the only time with the wonderful Cary Grant. This was a team-up on screen that was just meant to be, with the two stars obviously enjoying working with each other immensely. For me, that was Hollywood royalty at its best, and the film itself just sparkles with wit and sophistication.

Interestingly, just recently I heard a couple of my Sheridan animation students discussing Charade before class started, as it turns out they're both big Audrey Hepburn fans themselves. And so I would like to dedicate this post to students, Justin Hartley (a fellow classic film buff, pictured in my recent Sheridan caricatures post) and Nicole Kozak, who coincidentally resembles Audrey Hepburn with her big dark eyes, as you can see in this caricature of her at right!

So, now let's end off this tribute to lovely Audrey with the aforementioned scene of her singing "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Hugh Grant!

As one who has a distinct preference for older films, I must admit there aren't many stars working today who I am particularly keen on. However, I do really like this Hugh Grant bloke, as I find him to be one of the most engaging actors on the screen today. Whereas most contemporary actors seem to want to show just how versatile they are, taking on a variety of contrasting roles, Hugh Grant seems content to always be, well...Hugh Grant! In that sense, I think he's a bit of a throwback to the Golden Age of movies, when stars tended to have very distinct personalities and audiences knew what to expect when going to see their films. In fact, Hugh Grant reminds me a lot of that other famous British Grant of yesteryear, one Cary by name. Like Cary Grant, Hugh is always charming and witty, looking rather bemused at that which is going on all around him onscreen. Obviously, many people have made the same comparison and here's an entertaining quote that shows Hugh Grant's response to that observation:

"The truth is, I'd never seen a Cary Grant film. Since then I have watched his stuff and it's astounding, but I don't see any similarity between us. Except for the fact that I'm told he used to wear ladies' underwear, which is something I also do."

The caricature above is one I did of Hugh from the film, "Notting Hill", along with his leading lady, Julia Roberts. This was the second of several collaborations he's had with screenwriter/producer, Richard Curtis (who had achieved much success previously, writing the Brit TV shows, "Blackadder" and "Mr. Bean"). Their first film together was the incredibly funny, yet heartbreakingly poignant, "Four Weddings and a Funeral", which is also probably the film in which audiences first took notice of Hugh Grant. Richard Curtis seems to have a knack for writing the kind of dialogue that seems perfectly natural for Hugh to speak, and I suspect they share a similar sense of humour. I've seen many interviews that Hugh Grant has done on various talk shows over the years, and he seems to be just as naturally witty offscreen as well as on film. Here's a good example from the Letterman show in 2002, at which time he was promoting his latest, "About a Boy", which also happens to be my personal favourite Hugh Grant film. This interview runs about 11 minutes, but it's time well spent I can assure you. Enjoy!