#Theadora Van Runkle

[sesiondemadrugada]

New York, New York (Martin Scorsese, 1977).

[kiki-de-la-petite-flaque]

Liza Minnelli, New York, New York by Theadora Van Runkle

[reds1981]

Theadora Van Runkle’s costume sketches for Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

[chicinsilk]

Suits created by costume designer Theadora Van Runkle for Faye Dunaway in the film, "The Thomas Crown Affair" directed by Norman Jewison in 1968.

Tailleurs créés par la costumière Theadora Van Runkle pour Faye Dunaway dans le film, "L' Affaire Thomas Crown" réalisé par Norman Jewison en 1968.

[byneddiedingo]

Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)

Cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Denver Pyle, Dub Taylor, Evans Evans, Gene Wilder. Screenplay: David Newman, Robert Benton. Cinematography: Burnett Guffey. Art direction: Dean Tavoularis. Film editing: Dede Allen. Music: Charles Strouse.

Calling a film a landmark, as Bonnie and Clyde so often has been called, does it a disservice in that it prioritizes historical significance over the aesthetic ones. It makes it difficult to appreciate or criticize the movie without recalling what it was like to see and to talk about the first time you saw it -- if, like me, you saw it in a theater when it was first released. It's a landmark because its success showed the Hollywood studios, which were mere surviving remnants of the old movie factories of the '30s and '40s, that there was an audience for something other than the big musicals and epics that had dominated American movies during the 1960s. There was a young audience out there that had grown up with the French New Wave and the great Italian and Japanese films of that decade, and was resistant to piety and platitudes. Along with The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967), Bonnie and Clyde gave this audience something they were looking for, and fed the revolution in filmmaking that made the 1970s one of the most adventurous decades in film history. It's no surprise that the screenwriters, Robert Benton and David Newman, were so familiar with the New Wave that they wanted François Truffaut or Jean-Luc Godard to direct their movie. And even today Warren Beatty, in the opening scenes of Bonnie and Clyde, is bound to remind one of Jean-Paul Belmondo in Breathless (Godard, 1960). It was a movie that launched the careers of Faye Dunaway and Gene Hackman, not to mention giving Beatty a boost into superstardom. It also put an end to some careers, most notably that of Bosley Crowther, who had been the New York Times's film critic since 1940 but was undone by his vitriolic attack on  Bonnie and Clyde, which he denounced not only in his initial review but also, after protests from the movie's admirers, in two subsequent articles. Crowther was replaced as the Times critic in 1968. On the other hand, Newsweek's critic, Joe Morgenstern, initially panned the film but, after being urged by readers to reconsider, recanted his original critique. So the question persists: Historical significance aside, is Bonnie and Clyde really any good? I'd have to say, after seeing it again for the first time in many years, that it holds up as entertainment. The acting is superb, and Burnett Guffey's cinematography, Dean Tavoularis's art direction, and Theadora van Runkle's costuming all provide a fine 1960s interpretation of 1930s style. Where it falls down for me is in substance: The screenplay, which was worked over by Robert Towne, is too preoccupied with Bonnie and Clyde as lovers with (especially Clyde) some psychosexual hangups. It only feints at demonstrating why the pair became cult figures in the Great Depression, most notably in a scene when Clyde refuses to take the money of a farmer who is in the bank they're robbing, and in a scene in which the wounded couple and C.W. Moss (endearingly played by Michael J. Pollard) stop for help at a bleak migrant camp. Only in scenes like these do we get a sense of the deep background of Depression-era misery, a fuller treatment of which might have elevated the film into greatness, the way Francis Ford Coppola's first two Godfather films  (1972, 1974) turned Mario Puzo's popular novel into an American myth. Otherwise, the criticism that it glamorizes the outlaws by turning them into fashion-model beauties still has some merit.

[deniroarchives]

“Bruce McBroom (American, b. 1939) [Publicity still, The Godfather, Part II, Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone] Ca. 1974 Gelatin silver print Dick Smith [Makeup test photographs of Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone] Ca. 1973 Gelatin silver print Bruce McBroom (American, b. 1939) [Publicity still, The Godfather, Part II, Robert De Niro and Francis Ford Coppola] Ca. 1974 Theadora Van Runkle's costume design for Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II, Ca. 1973 Gelatin silver print with fabric swatches Note by Robert De Niro for The Godfather, Part II, "Impressions of older me," 1973 Robert De Niro Papers 66.3, 66.1, 65.7, 65.4, 182 --- Francis Ford Coppola considered casting Robert De Niro in the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather but ultimately cast Al Pacino instead. The film was a blockbuster hit, nominated for 11 Academy Awards and winning three: Best Actor for Marlon Brando, Best Adapted Screenplay for Coppola and author Mario Puzo, and Best Picture. Coppola initially had no intention of making a sequel but was eventually persuaded by Paramount Pictures to do so. To play the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II, Coppola chose Robert De Niro, remembering De Niro's audition and his performance in Mean Streets. True to his process, De Niro studied the screenplay, conducted background research, and traveled to Sicily to improve his Italian and master the accent. He also arranged for videotapes of The Godfather to be made so he could study Brando's performance, noting the gestures and movements he might use in building his own portrayal of the character on the page here titled, "Impressions of Older Me." In an interview with Photoplay magazine, De Niro said, "I didn't want to do an imitation, but I wanted to make it believable that I could be him as a young man. I would see some little movements that he would do and try to link them to my performance." Celebrated special effects makeup artist Dick Smith, who had created Brando's makeup in The Godfather, created De Niro's makeup. And Theadora Van Runkle, known for her costume design work on Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Bullitt (1968), also helped De Niro construct the character of the young Vito Corleone. The film was an artistic and popular triumph, becoming Paramount Pictures' highest grossing film of 1974 and prompting many critics to declare the film superior to the original. The film's success and De Niro's win for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards amplified his clout in the film industry and gave him more power to choose roles he found interesting and satisfying.”

[sundaynightfilms]

Faye Dunaway’s outfits in The Thomas Crown Affair, 1968

[mgmpluto]

Troop Beverly Hills (1989)

[nowvoyagerit]

Theadora Van Runkle costume sketch of Bette Davis for Myra Breckinridge (Michael Sarne, 1970) created in preproduction before Miss Davis turned down the role.

[sesiondemadrugada]

Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967).

[purelypacino]

Photographer Bruce McBroom took this iconic image of Michael at his mother's viewing. (His work on Godfather II was officially uncredited.) The all-black, three-piece suit was designed by Theadora Van Runkle and is also the one he is wearing when he seals Fredo's fate on New Year's Eve. Talk about your versatile pieces!

[voguefashion]

Faye Dunaway in Theadora Van Runkle at the 40th Academy Awards at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California on April 10th 1968.

[costumeloverz71]

Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) Yellow target dress.. Bonnie & Clyde (1967).. Costume by Theadora Van Runkle..

[lentecreativo]

[jadecoded]

The Butcher’s Wife (1991) costume design by Theadora van Runkle

[operaqueen]

Lucille Ball, Mame. 1974