Inspired by Anna Karenina, I have made a compilation of movies that are easy on the eye -clearly, I am drawn to costume dramas (I love the dresses). And yes, I narrowed it down to 12, not 10. I couldn't help it.Marie Antoinette
I loved Sofia Coppola's adaptation of Antonia Fraser's biography of Marie Antoinette. It was actually very historically accurate. Many of the lines are straight out of history. Setting it to the modern music surprisingly didn't throw me. The whole movie looks like candy. Sumptuous.
"Is your hair quite tall enough today? Maybe you can keep a pet in there or something." -Emperor Joseph to his sister, Marie Antoinette
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The most beautiful of the trilogy. The Shire is lusciously green and whimsical, and the elves are ethereally captivating.
"I miss the Shire. I spent all my life pretending I was off somewhere else. Off with you, on one of your adventures. But my own adventure turned out to be quite different." -Frodo, to Bilbo
Memoirs of a Geisha
This movie was based on Arthur Golden's novel, and I loved the geisha outfits. The geisha women (Sayuri, Mameha, and Hatsumomo) move so gracefully it is captivating to watch.
"Remember, Chiyo, geisha are not courtesans. And we are not wives. We sell our skills, not our bodies. We create another secret world, a place only of beauty/ The very word "geisha" means artist and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art." -Mameha, to Sayuri
Anna Karenina
Not much about this movie was enjoyable other than the costumes and jewelry.
"There can be no peace for us, only misery, and the greatest happiness." -Count Vronsky, to Anna Karenina
Vanity Fair
Director Mira Nair added an Indian flair to this adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic, Vanity Fair. She ignored the fashions of the time, and chose to make everything bright and interesting, including the uniforms of the soldiers. She even opted to move the finale to India.
"India? I cannot think of anywhere I'd rather see. The palaces of Delhi, the Taj Mahal, the Burning Ghats...I'm enraptured with every scent and flavor of the East." -Becky Sharp
The Duchess
I enjoyed this movie based on Amanda Foreman's biography on Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. Georgiana was at the forefront of fashion in her day, and we get to enjoy it all in this movie.
"When she arrives, all eyes are upon her. When absent, she is the subject of universal conversation. And what we see her wearing tonight, I look forward to seeing the rest of you wearing tomorrow!" -Announcer, introducing Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
A fictional portrayal of Pocahontas, and her relationships with John Smith and John Rolfe. There is very little dialogue, and the pacing is very slow. It relies mostly on visuals, which are very serene and peaceful to watch. Great raw shots of nature.
"I will find joy in all I see." -Pocahontas
Frida
An excellent movie about the painter, Frida Kahlo, and her husband, Diego Rivera, also a painter. Frida Kahlo's unique, vibrant, and sometimes brutally honest art is worked into the movie extensively.
Diego Rivera: What do you care about my opinion? If you're a real painter, you'll paint because you can't live without painting. You'll paint till you die, okay?
Frida Kahlo: I have to work to earn a living, so I don't have time to fool around just for vanity. If I'm not good enough, I have to do something else to help my parents.
ChicagoThe Oscar-winning musical had amazing 20s costumes, spectacular cinematography, and dance numbers you couldn't tear your eyes from.
"Give 'em the old razzle dazzle. Razzle razzle 'em. Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it and the reaction will be passionate." -Billy Flynn, singing Razzle Dazzle
Moulin Rouge!
Baz Luhrmann is known for making aesthetically marvelous movies, and he outdid himself in this love story that is beautiful in every way.
"A magnificent, opulent, tremendous, stupendous, gargantuan, bedazzlement, a sensual ravishment. It will be: Spectacular Spectacular." -Harold Zidler
The Phantom of the Opera
Lush costumes, from Christine's pure white gown in Think of Me to the spectacularly flashy ensembles in Masquerade, almost make up for the fact that the movie fails to live up to stage musical in almost every other way (and the fact that the Phantom, in this case, could not sing). Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, and Jennifer Ellison were well cast as Christine, Raoul, and Meg, but other performers lacked the necessary vocal power -this is most obvious in Gerard Butler's case, as the Phantom is required to have a hauntingly powerful voice (think Michael Crawford). He had the physical presence, but they should have dubbed in a different singer. If they could do it for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, they could do it for Gerard Butler.
"But his voice filled my spirit with a strange, sweet sound. In that night there was music in my mind. And through music my soul began to soar! And I heard as I'd never heard before...Yet in his eyes, all the sadness of the world. Those pleading eyes, that both threaten and adore." -Christine Daae
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The movie was mostly unexceptional, and offensively anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic, but the costumes (and the music) were remarkable.
"The forces that shape the world are greater than all of us, Majesty. How can I promise that they'll conspire in your favor even though you're the Queen? This much I know, when the storm breaks, some are dumb with terror and some spread their wings like eagles and soar." -Dr. John Dee to Queen Elizabeth I
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