Friday, May 28, 2010

Booty: Hollywood vs Reality

As I mentioned in the comments on Monday, I went to town with the screen grabs from That Hamilton Woman and now I have nothing to do with them. Friday Booty to the rescue! Above is a lovely still of Emma and Horatio at a ball. Of course her costume is wrong for the period that the two were lovers but I've a sneaking suspicion that Regency gowns were probably too "simple" for the movie, so they went with the full blown Georgian fashions. One other point before we move on: everything is sparkly in this movie.
Even the battle scenes. Here are some Frenchies getting ready to fire on the British. The striped shirts give their nationality away.
Here's a particularly heroic portrait of Nelson done around the time he and Emma fell for one another. He's not quite Laurence Olivier, is he? Please note the chelengk in his hat, which he was given after the Battle of the Nile. That was made entirely of diamonds and if the costumers got nothing else right in That Hamilton Woman, they outdid themselves on Nelson's chelengk.
Look at it; gorgeous. The eye patch was a bit of a problem, I guess. The dresser kept forgetting which eye gave Nelson trouble. Since he was only blind in the eye - it wasn't like he had an empty socket, pirate-style - you can imagine their confusion.
This is Nelson's favorite portrait of Emma. As I understand it, he took it to sea and had it with him when he died. She is handsome, but it is obvious that she is no longer the nymph painters like Reynolds clambered for. Those cheeks are chubby indeed.
And here's Emma from the Carnival scene in the movie. My favorite thing about this still is her jewels. Her necklace and earbobs sport diamond Ns. Click the pic to enlarge.
Happy Friday, Brethren. I'm off to spend a vacation day with the family. See you tomorrow for Sailor Mouth Saturday.

6 comments:

Isis said...

I think the Regency was very much out of fashion at the time. There's a version of Pride and Prejudice that is set in the 1830's, for example.

Pauline said...

Ahoy, Isis and I agree totally. I believe the 1830s P & P is the one with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. I love it just for the acting but it's hard not to miss the delightful regency costumes - as in the most recent Sense and Sensibility film.

Annah said...

Gorgeous woman that she was :)

Pauline said...

Ahoy, Annah and welcome aboard! I hope you'll come by often. Gorgeous is certain an accurate assessment.

Timmy! said...

Ahoy, Pauline! First time back on the ol' computer since last Thursday... Anyway, I like the juxtaposition of the screen shots with the paintings... it gives you a nice comparison between the "reality" and the Hollywood fantasy. Thankee, Pirate Queen.

Pauline said...

Ahoy, Timmy! Me too. The differences are interesting but what I like most is the paintings of the real people from life. Just me.