Recent Film - Maleficent (2014)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587310/

Maleficent was released on May 28, 2014, starring Angelina Jolie (Maleficent), Elle Fanning (Aurora), Sam Riley (Diaval), Sharlto Copley (Stefan), Brenton Thwaites (Prince Phillip) and Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville and Juno Temple (The three flower pixies).
The film was directed by Robert Stromberg.

Maleficent is a fantasy film which is based on sleeping beauty but has a different twist to it because in the film sleeping beauty maleficent is made to be the bad one, however in the maleficent film she is the good one.

I chose this film to watch and reflect on because I feel all the make-up and costumes created are all so fascinating and amazing! It is something completely different and with all the dazzling special effects used I knew it would give me inspiration. 

The main character I have decided to reflect on is Maleficent herself; she is a fairy who is very kind, loving and caring to everyone in the kingdom in which they live in, the Moors. A boy named Stefan comes from the human kingdom to the Moors and spends a lot of time with Maleficent and they grow together until Maleficent realises she has fallen in love with him. However the king said whoever brings Maleficent dead to him can have the crown, so Stefan cares about nothing more at this point apart from making his fortune, so he therefore decides to turn his back on Maleficent and betray her. Stefan felt that he could not kill her so instead he decides to cut Maleficent’s wings off and takes them to the king. Stefan is now king and Maleficent is astonished by what he had done and becomes heartbroken; she never believed he would let her down like this. In time to come the king then meets a lady who he marries and has a baby with called Aurora, however because Maleficent is still very upset and angry because of how Stefan betrayed her to become King she curses the newborn baby by saying on Aurora’s 16^th birthday she will prick her finger on the needle of a spindle and will fall into a deep sleep and will only be able to be woken by a true loves kiss. The King and Queen take Aurora away from the Kingdom of Moors to keep her safe and put her in a small cottage in the middle of nowhere with three pixies, one red, one green and one blue who are all disguised as normal human beings. Maleficent watches over Aurora continuously and overtime she becomes to love her and then wants to take back the curse in which she made and wasn’t sure how this would be possible. Aurora then puts her finger on the needle of spindle wheel and she falls into a deep sleep and the three pixies then take Aurora back to the kingdom. Maleficent then goes to the kingdom with a prince as she knows that true loves kiss can break the spell but it didn’t work. However because Maleficent had fallen in love with Aurora after all this time she then decides she will kiss her and it worked but the King still thinks Aurora is sleeping. Maleficent then goes into a room and finds her wings in there so puts them back on and when the King sees this they both battle it out and the King eventually dies. Aurora then goes to live with Maleficent in the magical forest where they live happily ever after.

The way I believe Maleficent's character changes throughout the film is because in the beginning she is very sweet, loving and caring and when she becomes heart broken she turns bitter, angry and hurt which is when she curses the spell on Aurora. However throughout the film you can see how she slowly learns to love again by falling in love with Aurora and eventually her soul comes back to life and she becomes the nice, loving fairy she was in the beginning.

The make-up used on Maleficent in the film I feel is very bold. Prosthetics was used to create Maleficents prominent cheek bones and she wears a subtle nose piece, pointy ears and sharp molars.
In the film Maleficents face looks very pale and this was created by using MAC Select Cover Concealer with a wet sponge in a colour paler than Angelina's natural skin tone without any blush.
To get the red lips MAC's Pro Longwear Lipgloss in Anthurium was used.
Labradorite stone was used to get the colours for the creepy eye look for Maleficent and the contact lenses in which she wears are hand painted which matched Angelina's natural eye colour but they just made them look more magical.
Maleficent's nails were painted a bone colour red on the inside of the nail and on the outside of the nail was just clear, however they looked slightly different in certain scenes of the film.

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/maleficent-nails/

https://www.pinterest.com/lovee0226/maleficent/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2546565/Lana-Del-Reys-rendition-Once-Upon-A-Dream-Maleficent-premieres-Grammys-90-second-sneak-peek-trailer.html

With the costumes in which Maleficent wears they all have very exaggerated shoulders and collars. Cow leather was used as well as sting ray and ostrich leather.
For Maleficent to have those amazing horns, a bald cap was put over her head to cover her hair and the horns were attached with magnets so it would be easy to take them on and off. The horns gave Maleficent an extra foot of height and the shoes which were created for her gave her an extra five inches in height!

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/interviews/a2446/maleficent-costumes-oliver-garcia/

http://www.fashiongonerogue.com/maleficent-costume-designer-interview-angelina-jolie/

Source Information
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587310/
http://www.disney.co.uk/movies/maleficent/characters/maleficent
http://fashionista.com/2014/05/maleficent-makeup-costumes

Film during the 1990's - Pretty Woman (1990)

Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic film set in Los Angeles, California produced by Steven Reuther and Gary W. Goldstein.

I have chosen this film because it is a film I hadn't seen in a while and by watching it again reminded me of why I had never forgotten it and what an amazing film it actually is! I feel everyone has to see this film at least once in their lifetime as it is absolutely brilliant.

The character I have chosen to reflect on is Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) as I feel it is incredible to see how she transforms herself throughout the film. At the start of the film Vivian is seen as a lower class woman as she has lost her way in life and was working as a prostitute alongside her friend in Hollywood Boulevard. However her world changes when she is rescued by a billionaire.
It all begins when Vivian is working one night on the street with her friend when a man pulls up in his nice lotus car Edward Lewis (Richard Gere), Vivian's friend insists she goes over to him which she eventually does and the man is needing directions to Beverley Hills which Vivian asks money for and after Edward gives in she finally jumps into the car and directs him. They both take a liking to one another almost straight away. When Edward arrives at his destination instead of letting Vivian get a Taxi back he invites her to stay with him for the weekend at the posh hotel Beverley Wiltshire where she gets a taste of the high-life by being spoilt with champagne and strawberries. Edward loved being in Vivian's company so much that he hired her to play the role of his girlfriend in some upcoming business events and they agreed to him paying her $3,000 for her to stay another week as well as staying in five star hotels and Vivian getting a full wardrobe and a cosmetic makeover. So now Vivian has completely transformed from being a ugly duckling to a charming swan. Their relationship grew stronger and stronger and Vivian began to get back on her feet again (thanks to Edward). Edward suddenly realises he doesn't actually want to let Vivian go and it ends up with both of them falling in love with one another and Edward proposing to Vivian and it all being a happy ending.

The visual motif of this film is not just two people from the opposite sex, but two people from the opposite spectrum of society. Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) on one hand was a successful, wealthy lawyer who was extremely rich. However Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) on the other hand was a woman who had lost her way in life and turned to prostitution as a way of survival more than a lifestyle. However both their paths cross and although their worlds were far apart their was still something within each of them that captured each other's hearts.

The Hair, Make-Up and Styling by Vivian Ward changes a few times throughout the film. In the first scene when Vivian is working as a prostitute she wears a bubble padded Lycra minidress, miniskirts,  a blonde wig with a beatles cap, several cheap bangles, hooped earrings, red blazer with its black lapels and rolled up sleeves and definitely not forgetting the PVC thigh boots. However when Vivian's look is in transition she loses the blonde wig and starts dressing completely different. One of the items which I picked up on was the white shirt which belonged to Edward and I loved how she styled it her own way as she knotted over the working girl dress with the sleeves rolled up and I feel this style made her look a lot more natural and innocent looking. Then even later in the film Vivian started to completely own the look, especially in the "she rescues him right back" scene where she is dressed in a black blazer, high waisted straight leg jeans followed by a tucked in white t-shirt where she is now looking extremely classy.

   

Images
http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/feb/12/pretty-woman-25-years-five-finest-fashion-moments
http://ivona.bigmir.net/beauty/zvezdniy_stil/370010-Modnye-sapogi-2013--Zvezdy-v-botfortah

Source Information
http://www.yidio.com/movie/pretty-woman/11618?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Search&t_source=64&utm_campaign=uk-1&gclid=CjwKEAjwhdOwBRDFsYTfhvzX1hYSJAAfCUcLC_hd6SSXv2ZVV3Ki_Jr5RquqllQiBfiaNxN-eyjEKhoCakLw_wcB
http://festivals.iloveindia.com/valentines-day/romantic-movies/pretty-woman.html
http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/feb/12/pretty-woman-25-years-five-finest-fashion-moments

Film before the 90's - Grease (1978)

http://musicalmathematics.co.uk/five-film-soundtracks-you-should-listen-to/

Grease is a musical film made in 1978 directed by Randal Kleiser. The film is about a teenage male name Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and a teenage Australian female named Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) who fall in love with one another in the 50's.

The reason I chose Grease is because this is a film in which my mum loved watching in her teen years and is one of her all time favourites! So we decided to sit down together and watch it together, I have seen Grease many times before but was more than happy to watch it again because I loved the music, the humour, the love story and I am fascinated by the fashion back in the 50's. 

I decided to reflect on Sandy's character because I feel her transition as a character changes the most throughout the film. She starts off as a clean cut girl with straight blonde hair, with a fringe and an Alice band. She would always dress in plain, formal looking clothes, usually in the colours pink or yellow! I would describe Sandy's character as innocent and naive, she was the perfect role model for doing the 'right' thing at high school. However Sandy fell in love with Danny who was in fact the complete opposite to herself, he hung around with a group of boys known as T-Birds whom Danny was the leader of. T-Birds were all seen as hit cool dudes with an egotistic image and would taunt others to make themselves look more superior. However they would only hang out with the cool, rock 'n' roll girls, known as Pink Ladies who had taken Sandy under their wing. Although Sandy was friends with the Pink Ladies she was still very prim and proper and Danny didn't feel her image fitted in with his so even though he loved her he dissociated himself from her when he was with the T-Birds and this broke Sandy's heart. By Danny doing this was the start of Sandy's transformation throughout the film and you are able to see how Sandy dealt with a broken heart and how she got advice from her friends who were seen to be cooler than she was through the eyes of others, so she ended up hanging on to their every word and took all their advice in a bid to rekindle her romance with Danny. Sandy suddenly gained a lot of confidence and made a drastic decision, she completely restyled herself by piercing her ears and curling her hair, but the biggest transformation of all was her clothing. She wore skin tight satin leggings, boob tube top and plat-formed high heels. Sandy done this so she could be this rock chick that would fit in with Danny's image so she could win his heart back, which she surely succeeded in, so this is one love story that had a very happy ending.

The visual motif of the film was Sandy loosing her innocent, timid self and transforming herself into a rock 'n' roll chick to win the heart of the man she loved, Danny.

I completely loved the fashion styling in the 50's so I was amazed by all the costumes, make-up and hairstyles used in the film.
It was always easy for the Pink Ladies to rock a good look, Sandy with her pretty dresses and Rizzo with her cropped do and scarlet lips. Their Make-Up throughout the day was a soft, peachy complexion which gave them a healthy glow. However in the evening their Make-Up was more dramatic with high arched eyebrows, liquid black eye liner and caked on mascara for flirty lashes. They also wore scarlet lipstick so they had bright red lips to give them that real retro look.

One of the most classic items of clothing was the leather jackets which all the T-Birds wore throughout most of the film keeping their bad boy reputation up at all times. Towards the end of the film once Sandy gains all her confidence she also daringly wears a stylish leather jacket. Also what seemed to be the 'in' trend at Rydell High was the rolled up denim which the majority of the boys wore and felt this was a very bold fashion statement in the film. Full length skirts were also a big fashion statement, all the Pink Ladies wore these along with dresses, it was the cute and carefree casual style of the 1950's. Midi pencil skirts were another item of clothing which was popular for the girls at Rydell High, this allowed them to show off more of their curves but still keeping the traditional ideal of the 50's. Lastly another popular clothing was the varsity/bomber jackets in which the Pink Ladies wore. This showed their identity as a group by wearing matching jackets, although throughout the film the Pink Ladies built up their own personal character and style which is when they no longer wore their jackets at the same time.

http://blog.doodleheart.co.uk/2013/01/a-sweetheart-but-with-punk-rock-manners.html

http://www.fashiontimes.com/articles/487/20130816/fashion-fame-grease-modern-looks-inspired-classic-musical.htm

http://www.cinema.de/stars/star/jeff-conaway,1545131,ApplicationStar.html

https://www.pinterest.com/laurenanne4280/greased-lightning/

http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/net/ViewEntry.aspx?entryId=4981252&skip=1

http://www.fashiontimes.com/articles/487/20130816/fashion-fame-grease-modern-looks-inspired-classic-musical.htm

Source Information

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077631/fullcredits/

https://greasetheofficialvideogame.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/how-to-get-the-50%E2%80%99s-grease-look-hair-and-make-up/

http://www.fashiontimes.com/articles/487/20130816/fashion-fame-grease-modern-looks-inspired-classic-musical.htm