When film meets fashion

TO CATCH A THIEF (1955)

The absolute ruler in the world of motion pictures in the 1920s was Hollywood. Although German cinema stood its ground in Europe, the American west coast was at the helm of the ship called film. The situation changed when a roundish little man with a strange facial expression appeared, directing the sails of that ship towards the United Kingdom whose cinema, cradled in the melodramas of ordinary screenplays, was barely sustaining itself in a surrounding of a public scornful of the artform. Specific by, among other things, brief appearances in his own movie,s in “cameos”, Alfred Hitchcock immediately upon stepping into the film scene, permanently altered the climate of world cinema. In viewing his productions, the world was finally introduced to a “thriller master” who played with the fears, anxieties and minds of an exhilarated public.

     Celebrating three decades since his emergence in the global film scene in the 1950s, Alfred Hitchcock could boast with a reputation as one of the most skilled directors of psychological thrillers with titles to his name such as “Psycho”, “The 39 Steps”, “The Lady Vanishes”, “Rebecca”, “Strangers on a Train”, “Dial M for Murder”, “Rear Window”, etc. His realizations were recognizable not just by the emphasized music and play of light and shadow, but also by neglecting dialogue in favor of the visual. For all these reasons, the audience loved Hitchcock’s movies, and feared them at the same time. In 1955, Hitchcock replaced dark studio spaces with refined beaches of the Azure coast, and with the help of a proven crew comprised of his pets, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, was resolved to give his audience 106 minutes of romance riddled with excitement and mystery. So came to be the film “To Catch a Thief”, which, if it wasn’t for the small but significant difference – there are no detectives in the story, only thieves – would be a classical detective production. Cary Grant, in the role of a hardened, retired jewel thief attempts to solve the mystery of a series of jewel burglaries in order to clear his name and is helped by a prominent woman craving adventure and excitement, played by Grace Kelly.

Police injustice

If we delve deeper into the plot, we will recognize discernable Hitchcock moments, even though this film can be grouped in the uncharacteristic “bright period” of his career. The ineptness of the police, which was many times at the brunt of Hitchcock’s director’s punch, is enhanced in the “Thief” by its incompetence to catch a serial burglar, which Grant has better luck with at the end of the film. According to biographical information, the five-year-old Hitchcock was traumatized when the Chief of Police locked him up in a cell at his father’s request, to demonstrate in a practical way what happens to people when they are “not good”. This event had a permanent influence on his relationship with the police, so that in almost all of his films he portrayed the negative feelings he harbored towards this institution. The theme of accusing and arresting innocent people, very common in his films, is also present in “To Catch a Thief”, where Grant’s character, due to his bad reputation is accused for robberies he did not commit.

Another, no less obvious of Hitchcock’s passions, present in “To Catch a Thriller”, was his fondness of blondes. Tippi Hedren, Kim Novak, and Ingrid Bergman are just a few of the golden-haired beauties that graced his films with their acting talents. In the hierarchy of blonde tresses, the highest place was reserved for a woman of angelic beauty, aristocratic poise and exceptional acting talent. It was Grace Kelly, a woman whose appetite for men made Hollywood legend – such as the one about the car-shaped badges she gifted her partners, who carrying them under their lapels, recognized each other – the future Princess of Monaco, and Hitchcock’s main muse. The contradiction of Grace’s looks and demeanor, her cold bearing that concealed passion and lust, was the perfect foundation for the role of the wealthy woman in “To Catch a Thief”. The scene where Grace, driving Grant in her convertible, speeding through the serpentines above the French Riviera, is as if the director predicted the tragedy that 27 years later took the actress’ life.

The elegance of Grace Kelly

Sunny beaches of the French coast that served as the setting for this movie enabled the audience to indulge in luxury, which is uncharacteristic for Hitchcock’s films. With the staple psychological effect of play with light and shadow present, keeping viewers in constant uncertainty as to the identity of the thief, the elaborate hotel lobbies, luxury villas and perfect costumes by Edith Head, winner of seven Oscars – the largest number of Oscars won by one woman since the onset of this award – takes the audience into a world of wealth, glamour and fashion. The historic film fashion moment was realized in the crucial scene where Grace, dressed in an elaborate white ball gown, begins to doubt Grant’s truthfulness. Grace Kelly’s elegance dominates every scene in which she appears. Whether she wears a mini-dress for the beach, a day plisse skirt with a gentle rose blouse and scarf around her neck, or is dressed in glamorous evening wear – her beauty is breathtaking. Grace’s status as a fashion icon is not defined as much by time pieces, such as in the case of style icons like Audrey Hepburn of Jackie Onassis, but by her intrinsic elegance with which she would make even the most ordinary house dress seem extravagant. The lasting influence Grace has on fashion designers is best illustrated by the most recent example – Kate Middleton’s wedding gown, which is remarkably reminiscent of the one Helen Rouz designed for Grace Kelly’s wedding. One of the greatest Hollywood divas and star of Hitchcock’s films, who Hermes named one of his most famous hand bags after, had an exhibition procured in her honor in the London museum “Victoria and Albert” where her style is shown in three phases of development, and where the exhibited pieces were representative of both fashion and film history.

In summary, the elegance of Grace Kelly is as timeless as the influence of Hitchcock’s films on international cinema. To the great dismay of the ladies, Grace’s elegance is very difficult to emulate as it something innate. In case you’ve grown up with Spielberg’s and De Palma’s thrillers, its time you know on whose foundation they built their realizations, and whose ideas were their guides: you will find the answer in the name that is signed to more than 50 titles. “To Catch a Thief” is the ideal movie for everyone, as it is a cult classic in the history of international cinema, so any form of attempts at categorization by the viewer would be an ungratifying task.

U FOKUSU  PRIČA SE DA  KULTURA  UMETNOST  FOTOGRAFIJA  FILM  POZORIŠTE  KNJIŽEVNOST  MUZIKA  ARHITEKTURA  DIZAJN  ENTERIJER  TERAPIJA STANOVANJA  MODA  STRIP  HIGIJENA UMA  RIZNICA  STIL  AUTO  ASTRO  KREATIVNI DNEVNIK

FilmFILM

Kad se sretnu film i moda

UHVATITI LOPOVA (1955)

Apsolutni vladar u svetu pokretnih slika 20-ih godina prošlog veka bio je Holivud. Iako je nemačka kinematografija branila boje Evrope, američka zapadna obala držala je kormilo broda zvanog film. Situacija se promenila kada je na svetsku filmsku scenu stupio debeljuškasti čovečuljak bizarnog izraza lica usmerivši jedra tog broda ka Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu čija je kinematografija, uljuljkana u melodramama uobičajenih scenarija, jedva opstajala u okruženju potcenjivački nastrojene javnosti prema filmskoj umetnosti. Specifičan, između ostalog, po kratkotrajnim pojavljivanjima u sopstvenim filmovima u vidu takozvanih "kamea", Alfred Hičkok je, odmah po stupanju na filmsku scenu, trajno izmenio klimu svetske kinematografije. Gledajući njegova ostvarenja, svet je konačno upoznao "majstora trilera" koji se poigravao sa strahovima, strepnjama i umovima oduševljene publike.

    Proslavljajući 50-ih prošlog veka tri decenije od proboja na svetsku filmsku scenu, Alfred Hičkok mogao je da se pohvali reputacijom najveštijeg reditelja psiholoških trilera koji je za sobom ostavio naslove poput "Psiha", "39 stepenica", "Dame koja nestaje", "Rebeke", "Stranca u vozu", "Pozovi M radi ubistva", "Prozora u dvorište" itd. Njegova ostvarenja postala su prepoznatljiva ne samo po naglašenoj muzici i igri svetlosti i senki, nego i po zanemarivanju dijaloga u korist vizuelnog. Zbog svega toga publika je volela Hičkokove filmove, u isto vreme strahujući od njih. Mračne studijske prostorije Hičkok je 1955. zamenio mondenskim plažama Azurne obale i, uz pomoć oprobane ekipe koju su činili njegovi ljubimci, Keri Grant i Grejs Keli, rešio da publici pruži 106 minuta romanse prožete uzbuđenjem i misterijom. Tako je nastao film "Uhvatiti lopova" koji bi, da nema male, ali značajne razlike - u priči ne postoje detektivi, samo lopovi - predstavljao klasično detektivsko ostvarenje. Keri Grant u ulozi prekaljenog penzionisanog kradljivca dragulja pokušava da reši misteriju serijskih krađa dragulja ne bi li skinuo ljagu sa svog imena, u čemu mu pomaže bogatašica željna avanture i uzbuđenja koju tumači Grejs Keli.

Policijska nepravda

Ako zaronimo dublje u radnju filma, prepoznaćemo u njemu upečatljive hičkokovske momente, iako se ovaj film može svrstati u, za ovog režisera nekarakterističan, "svetli period" njegovog stvaralaštva. Nemoć policije, koja se mnogo puta do tada našla na udaru Hičkokove rediteljske palice, u "Lopovu" je potencirana njenom nesposobnošću da uhvati serijskog lopova, što na kraju filma polazi od ruke domišljatom Grantu. Kako biografski podaci navode, petogodišnji Hičkok doživeo je traumu kada ga je šef policije, kojem je na očev zahtev odneo poruku, zatvorio u ćeliju u nameri da mu na praktičan način pokaže kako završavaju oni koji "nisu dobri". Ovaj događaj ostaviće trajne posledice na njegov odnos prema policiji, pa će negativna osećanja koja je gajio prema toj instituciji Hičkok prikazati u gotovo svim svojim ostvarenjima. U vezu s tim dovodi se i motiv optuživanja i hapšenja nevinih ljudi, veoma čest u njegovim filmovima među kojima je i ostvarenje "Uhvatiti lopova", gde Grantov lik, usled loše reputacije, biva okrivljen za pljačke koje nije počinio.

Još jedna, ne manje upečatljiva, Hičkokova strast, vidljiva i u filmu "Uhvatiti lopova", bila je njegova sklonost plavušama. Tipi Hedren, Kim Novak i Ingrid Bergman samo su neke od zlatokosih lepotica koje su glumačkim umećem obeležile Hičkokove filmove. U hijerarhiji plavih kovrdža najuzvišenije mesto zauzela je žena anđeoske lepote, aristokratskog držanja i izuzetnog glumačkog talenta. Bila je to Grejs Keli, žena o čijem su apetitu prema muškarcima kružile holivudske legende - poput one o značkama u obliku automobila koje je poklanjala partnerima i koji su se, noseći ih ispod revera, međusobno prepoznavali - buduća princeza od Monaka i najveća Hičkokova muza. Kontradiktornost Grejsinog izgleda i ponašanja, njena hladna spoljašnost iza koje se krila strast i požuda, predstavljala je savršen temelj za ulogu bogatašice u filmu "Uhvatiti lopova". Uspešna saradnja Hičkoka i Grejs Keli prekinuta je, nažalost, posle ovog filma. Scenom u kojoj Grejs, vozeći Granta u kabrioletu, juri serpentinama nad francuskom rivijerom, autor kao da je predvideo tragediju koja će glumicu 27 godina kasnije zadesiti u saobraćajnoj nesreći.

Elegancija Grejs Keli

Sunčane plaže francuske obale, koje su poslužile kao scenografija za ovaj film, omogućile su publici uživanje u luksuzu, što je, inače, nesvojstveno Hičkokovim ostvarenjima. Iako psihološki efekat poigravanja senki i svetlosti ni ovde nije izostao, držeći gledaoce u konstantnoj neizvesnosti po pitanju identiteta lopova, raskošna hotelska predvorja, luksuzne vile i perfektni kostimi iza kojih stoji Edit Hed, dobitnica osam Oskara - najveći broj Oskara koji je jedna žena dobila otkad se ova nagrada dodeljuje - publiku uvodi u svet bogatstva, glamura i mode. Istorijski modno-filmski trenutak ostvaren je u krucijalnoj sceni filma u kojoj Grejs, odevena u raskošnu belu balsku haljinu, počinje da sumnja u Grantovu iskrenost. Elegancija Grejs Keli dominira svakim kadrom u kojem se ova glumica pojavljuje. Bilo da nosi mini haljinu za plažu, dnevnu "plise" suknju s nežno roze bluzom i maramom oko vrata, ili je odevena u glamuroznu večernju haljinu - njena lepota zaustavlja dah. O Grejsinom statusu modne ikone ne svedoče toliko vanvremenski komadi, kao u slučaju drugih ikona stila poput Odri Hepbern ili Džeki Onazis, koliko njena elegantna pojava na kojoj bi i najobičnija kućna haljina delovala ekstravagantno. O trajnosti modnog uticaja koji je Grejs izvršila na kreatore najbolje svedoči najsvežiji primer - venčanica Kejt Midlton koja neverovatno podseća na onu koju je Helen Rouz dizajnirala za venčanje Grejs Keli. Jednoj od najvećih diva Holivuda i zvezdi Hičkokovih filmova, po kojoj je Hermes nazvao jednu od svojih najpoznatijih tašni, bila je posvećena izložba londonskog muzeja "Viktorija i Albert" na kojoj je njen stil prikazan u tri faze razvoja, pri čemu su izloženi komadi podjednako odslikavali delove modne i filmske istorije.

Da rezimiramo. Elelegancija Grejs Keli besmrtna je koliko i uticaj Hičokovih filmova na svetsku kinematografiju. Na veliku žalost dama, Grejsinu eleganciju veoma je teško podražavati budući da je ona urođena. Ukoliko ste odrasli uz Spilbergove i De Palmine trilere, vreme je da saznate na čijim temeljima su oni sagradili svoja ostvarenja i čije ideje su im bile vodilje; odgovor ćete naći u imenu koje potpisuje više od 50 naslova. "Uhvatiti lopova " idealan je film za svakog, jer predstavlja kultno, klasično ostvarenje zabeleženo u analima svetske kinemaografije, pa bi bilo koja vrsta kategorizacije publike bila više nego nezahvalan posao.

Autor: Branislava Antović