Masquerade
Masquerade
‘Masquerade’ explores identity constructed through clothes, makeup and accessories. From a deceptive tool of hidden identity or purpose through to a positive reclaiming or remaking of self image and lifestyle, the films highlight the mutable nature of appearance and personality. The program includes Kon Ichikawa’s examination of an actor’s manipulation of on stage and off stage persona An Actor’s Revenge 1963 through to the highly manufactured world of Patrick Bateman in Mary Harron’s American Psycho 2000.
Vertigo 1958 PG
Sat 25 Sept 2.30pm and Fri 1 Oct 8.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 128 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: ALFRED HITCHCOCK / SCRIPT: ALEC COPPEL, SAMUEL TAYLOR / CINEMATOGRAPHER: ROBERT BURKS / EDITOR: GEORGE TOMASINI / COSTUME DESIGN: EDITH HEAD / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: UNIVERSAL
Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece delves into the making of identity, desire and obsession. Vertigo is a highly personal film for the director, reflecting his own complex and often controlling relationship with women and their appearance. The film's attention to identity both implicit and imposed explores various guises of femininity and the notion of the perfect woman. The nuances in costume which lent a distinct style to each female character were designed by Edith Head, who worked extensively as costume designer for Hitchcock's films.
Some Like it Hot 1959 PG
Sat 2 Oct 3.00pm and Fri 8 Oct 8.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 120 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: BILLY WILDER / PRODUCER: / SCRIPT: BILLY WILDER, I A L DIAMOND / CINEMATOGRAPHER: CHARLES LANG / EDITOR: ARTHUR P SCHMIDT / COSTUME DESIGN: ORRY-KELLY, BERT HENRIKSON / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: CHAPEL DISTRIBUTION
After an unlucky run in with gangsters, jazz musicians Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are desperate for a gig out of town and the only place hiring is an all-girl band headlined by Marilyn Monroe as ‘Sugar' Kane. Director Billy Wilder plays with identity and gender roles as the newly frocked male musicians head off to Florida. The comic trio of Monroe, Lemmon and Curtis is beautifully balanced with Monroe offsetting Lemmon and Curtis's confused femininity with her own self-assured sexuality that is the very essence of sultry in one of her most celebrated screen roles. The film pushes the rules of masquerade as the boys grapple with the intricacies of the feminine wardrobe and the attention of male hotel guests, while juggling their multiple identities.
“Transvestism, impotence, role confusion, and borderline inversion — all hilariously innocent, always on the brink of double-entendre.” – Pauline Kael.
Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) 1960 Ages 18+
Sat 14 Aug 3.00pm and Fri 27 Aug 8.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 115 MINUTES, FRANCE, FRENCH (ENGLISH SUBTITLES) / DIRECTOR: RENÉ CLÉMENT / PRODUCER: RAYMOND HAKIM, ROBERT HAKIM / SCRIPT: RENÉ CLÉMENT, PAUL GÉGAUFF / BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY’ BY PATRICIA HIGHSMITH / CINEMATOGRAPHER: HENRI DECAË / EDITOR: FRANÇOISE JAVET / COSTUME DESIGN: BELLA CLÉMENT / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: CULTURESFRANCE
‘This iconic French thriller, which was remade in The Talented Mr. Ripley 1999, is a portrayal of a murderer who is at once alluring and terrifying. Much of Ripley’s anti-hero mystique is tied up with his ambiguous sexuality, expressed in the film not only through his bronzed torso but also through the use of fashion and adornment. His polished look of Gucci loafers, white jeans and suede shirts brings to the screen a breeze of wealthy and easy living, but also comes to represent his perverse criminality.’ The 2nd Fashion in Film Festival 2008
Yukinojo Henge (An Actor’s Revenge) 1963 M
Sat 16 Oct 3.30pm and Fri 22Oct 8.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, MONO, 113 MINUTES, JAPAN, JAPANESE, (ENGLISH SUBTITLES) / DIRECTOR: KON ICHIKAWA / PRODUCER: MASAICHI NAGATA / SCRIPT: NATTO WADA / CINEMATOGRAPHER: SETSUO KOBAYASHI / EDITOR: SHIGEO NISHIDA / COSTUME DESIGN: YOSHIO UENO / PRINT SOURCE: BRITISH FILM INSTITUE / RIGHTS: MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT
‘…In An Actor's Revenge, a Kabuki actor knowingly manipulates the gossamer walls between theater, life, and afterlife to wreak a terrible vengeance on three villains responsible for his parents' death. "An actor's revenge is always a surprise," comments one character, and indeed, the film's audacious screen formalism can be compared to a dazzling, multilayered jazz improvisation. Ichikawa juxtaposes painted sets with naturalistic scenes, lets shadows go free of the figures who made them, combines comic-book with Bertolt Brecht to bring the artifice of traditional Kabuki-with its lifts, revolving stages, and disappearing flats-into the film age. Matinee idol Kazuo Hasegawa recreates the dual roles he had played in Kinugasa's 1935 version of the story, that of the onnagata (female impersonator) whose persona is maintained offstage as well as on; and of the burly small-time crook Yamitaro, who enjoys nothing more than spying on the actor in his offstage charades.’ JB, Pacific Film Archive.
Desperately Seeking Susan 1985 M
Sat 18 Sept 3.00pm and Fri 24 Sept 8.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 104 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: SUSAN SEIDELMAN / PRODUCER: SARAH PILLSBURY, MIDGE SANFORD / SCRIPT: LEORA BARISH / CINEMATOGRAPHER: EDWARD LACHMAN / EDITOR: ANDREW MONDSHEIN / COSTUME DESIGN: SANTO LOQUASTO / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS
Roberta (Rosanna Arquette), stuck in the New Jersey suburbs and desperate for action gets tangled up with Susan; a glamorous, free spirited, risk taker (Madonna). After an accident robs Roberta of her memories she has to reconstruct her identity through Susan's suitcase of clothes. Rediscovering her sense of self, her transformation through adventure is mirrored by her steadily evolving wardrobe from shapeless pastel dresses to teased hair, black lace crop tops and fingerless gloves. Madonna in her role as a glamour icon is captivating on screen and her signature dress style inspired the costuming for the film.
Tanin no kao (The Face of Another) 1966 Ages 18+
Sat 21 Aug 3.00pm and Fri 3 Sept 8.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 124 MINUTES, JAPAN, JAPANESE (ENGLISH SUBTITLES) / DIRECTOR: HIROSHI TESHIGAHARA / PRODUCER: NOBUYO HORIBA, KIICHI ICHIKAWA, TADASHI ONO / SCRIPT: KÔBÔ ABE / CINEMATOGRAPHER: HIROSHI SEGAWA / EDITOR: YOSHI SUGIHARA / COSTUME DESIGN: TAMIKO MORITANI, TAICHIRO AKIYAMA (MASKS) / PRINT SOURCE: JANUS FILMS / RIGHTS: TOHO CO. LTD / IMAGE COURTESY: © 1966 TESHIGAHARA PRODUCTIONS
‘A staggering work of existential science fiction, The Face of Another dissects identity with the sure hand of a surgeon. Okuyama (Yojimbo‘s Tatsuya Nakadai), after being burned and disfigured in an industrial accident and estranged from his family and friends, agrees to his psychiatrist’s radical new experiment: a face transplant, created from the mould of a stranger. As Okuyama is thus further alienated from the strange world around him, he finds himself giving in to his darker temptations. With unforgettable imagery, Teshigahara’s film explores both the limits and freedom in acquiring a new persona, and questions the notion of individuality itself.’ Criterion Films
Nikita 1990 MA15+
Sat 23 Oct 1.00pm and Sat 30 Oct 3.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 117 MINUTES, FRANCE, FRENCH, ITALIAN, (ENGLISH SUBTITLES) / DIRECTOR/SCRIPT: LUC BESSON / PRODUCER: PATRICE LEDOUX / CINEMATOGRAPHER: THIERRY ARBOGAST / EDITOR: OLIVIER MAUFFROY / COSTUME DESIGN: ANNE ANGELINI, VALENTIN BRETON DES LOYS, MIMI LEMPICKA / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT
After a pharmacy break in ends in policemen dead Nikita is given two options: grave site row 8 plot 30 or assume a new identity and work for the government as an assassin. In a Pygmalion style transformation, Nikita undergoes a makeover to turn her from junkie to sophisticated femme fatale. Iconic French actress Jeanne Moreau who teaches Nikita to be a woman as well as a cold and precise killer is the ideal of refined femininity dressed impeccably in Yves Saint Laurent.
The celebrated documentary Paris is Burning explores the late 1980s Ball culture within the gay African American and Latino community of New York city. A fashion catwalk-style competition, the Balls were the birthplace of the voguing dance style, a natural progression from the contestants ability to 'walk' the floor being judged on costume, make up and deportment. The Ball is characterised as both a site of highly constructed masquerade - in which contestants live out fantasy identities - and a place of unmasking, a shedding of daily protective barriers in a unique public space that allows participants to openly express their sexuality. Ball culture drew people from poor backgrounds and most of the constructed personalities on display were members of society that as black, gay and poor were not within their reach such as military man, colleague girl, supermodel and the most prized of all – rich. God help you girl if you wear polyester.
Screening in conjunction with the 6th ReelDance International Dance on Screen Festival 2010 presented by ReelDance Inc in association with the Australian Cinémathèque, Brisbane.
Batman Returns 1992 M
Sat 11 Sept 3.00pm and Fri 17 Sept 8.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 126 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: TIM BURTON / PRODUCER: TIM BURTON, DENISE DI NOVI, LARRY FRANCO / SCRIPT: DANIEL WATERS / CINEMATOGRAPHERS: STEFAN CZAPSKY, GEORGE D DODGE / EDITOR: BOB BADAMI, CHRIS LEBENZON / COSTUME DESIGN: BOB RINGWOOD, MARY VOGT / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS
The 1992 sequel sees the return of the tormented Caped Crusader, joined by a veritable parade of fantastically dark and macabre characters, all bent on revenge. Tim Burton brings his distinct visual style to the forefront, exploring an alternate world of masquerade and make-believe. From the metamorphosis of dowdy secretary, Selina Kyle, (Michelle Pfeiffer) into the masked, leather-clad Catwoman, to the transformation of Gotham City itself into a fairy-tale metropolis, Batman Returns is an imaginative, take on the superhero genre.
Single White Female 1992 M
Sat 30 Oct 1.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 107 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: BARBET SCHROEDER / PRODUCERS: BARBET SCHROEDER, ROGER JOSEPH PUGLIESE / SCRIPT: DON ROOS / BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘SWF SEEKS SAME’ BY JOHN LUTZ / CINEMATOGRAPHER: LUCIANO TOVOLI / EDITOR: LEE PERCY / COSTUME DESIGN: MILENA CANONERO / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: SONY, AMALGAMATED MOVIES / SCREENING FORMAT: 16MM
Single White Female delivers a new strain of domestic urban dread to the psychological thriller. The film explores young fashion conscious entrepreneur, Allie, (Bridget Fonda) and her duplicitous, emotionally wayward roommate, Hedy (Jennifer Jason Leigh), in her campaign to become the persona of Allie, her one true friend. Hedy is transformed from wallflower to psychotic doppelganger, adopting Allie’s mannerisms, wardrobe, and chic hairstyle. The production design is effective, the grandly dilapidated apartment building playing perfect host to Hedy’s disturbed sense of identity.
Face/Off 1997 MA
Sat 4 Sept 3.00pm and Fri 10 Sept 8.30pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 141 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: JOHN WOO / PRODUCERS: TERENCE CHANG, CHRISTOPHER GODSICK, BARRY M OSBOURNE, DAVID PERMUT / SCRIPT: MIKE WERB, MICHAEL COLLEARY / CINEMATOGRAPHER: OLIVER WOOD / EDITOR: STEVEN KEMPER, CHRISTIAN WAGNER / COSTUME DESIGN: ELLEN MIROJNICK / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT
In an extreme identity exchange, adversaries FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) and terrorist Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage) literally swap faces after complex facial surgery. Sean Archer in Castor Troy's persona must lure Troy's brother into revealing the location of a bomb set to explode within days. The film's dance of masquerade between Castor Troy and Sean Archer is charged with the actors relishing their roles as Nicholas Cage acts Travolta and John Travolta plays Cage. Face/Off was the film that ensured Hong Kong director John Woo's transition into the Hollywood film industry. The film combines a fine-tuned balance of Hong Kong and Hollywood sensibilities with Woo afforded less artistic interference from studio executives in order to develop his signature bullet ballet action sequences and his preference for more character development than was afforded in the original script.
Boys Don’t Cry 1999 R
Sat 9 Oct 2.30pm and Fri 15 Oct 7.30pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 118 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: KIMBERLEY PEIRCE / PRODUCERS: JOHN HART, EVA KOLODNER, CHRISTINE VACHON / SCRIPT: KIMBERLEY PEIRCE, ANDY BIENEN / CINEMATOGRAPHER: JIM DENAULT / EDITOR: TRACY GRANGER, LEE PERCY / COSTUME DESIGN: VICTORIA FARRELL / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
Based on the true story of Teena Brandon, Boys Don't Cry is a compelling story of a young woman who transforms her appearance in order to pass as the young man Brandon Teena. Brandon is a magnetic persona when he strides into small town Nebraska full of boyish swagger and heartbreaking fragility by turn. Hilary Swank's Oscar winning performance as Brandon portrays a desperate yearning to live out his chosen identity and the enormous risks he takes to find love and a sense of belonging. Writer/Director Kimberley researched Brandon's tragic story for years, interviewing many of the people who met Brandon “Here was a girl living in a small town, with little money and few, if any, role models for her to make herself into the person she wanted to be... [it was remarkable] the audacity it took to make the dream come true against the stark landscape of the American heartland.”
The Talented Mr Ripley 1999 M
Fri 20 Aug 8.00pm and Sat 28 Aug 3.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 139 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: ANTHONY MINGHELLA / PRODUCERS: WILLIAM HORBERG, TOM STERBERG / SCRIPT: ANTHONY MINGHELLA / BASED ON THE NOVEL BY PATRICIA HIGHSMITH / CINEMATOGRAPHER: JOHN SEALE / EDITOR: WALTER MURCH / COSTUME DESIGN: GARY JONES, ANN ROTH / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT
‘Based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, and a remake of Rene Clement’s Purple Noon, Minghella’s film is filled with beautiful imagery... Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), a restroom attendant in Manhattan, befriends a wealthy man under false pretences and, at the man’s behest, travels to Italy to lure his son back home. After ingratiating himself into the son’s life, Ripley’s moral flexibility and skill at impersonation lead to an attempted usurpation of the man’s identity…’ Harvard Film Archive
American Psycho 2000 R
Sat 23 Oct 3.00pm and Fri 29Oct 8.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, DOLBY DIGITAL, 102 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: MARY HARRON / PRODUCER: CHRISTIAN HASLEY SOLOMON, CHRIS HANLEY, EDWARD R. PRESSMAN / SCRIPT: MARY HARRON, GUINEVERE TURNER / BASED ON THE NOVEL BY: BRET EASTON ELLIS / CINEMATOGRAPHER: ANDRZEJ SEKULA / EDITOR: ANDREW MARCUS / COSTUME DESIGN: ISIS MUSSENDEN / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: SONY, AMALGAMATED MOVIES
Based on the controversial Brett Easton Ellis novel of the same name, American Psycho delves into the world of Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a psychopath whose immaculate designer wardrobe, wall street job and privileged social status mask a compulsive serial killer. Bateman's meticulously constructed façade is an impenetrable identity enabling him to murder without suspicion yet it has slowly become a vacuum which has consumed any last vestiges of his humanity. The elaborate grooming ritual which underpins Bateman's world opens the film. As he peels off his herb mint facial mask he remarks in voice over “There is an idea of Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory...”
