Claudia from The Paris Apartment have compiled a list of great Christmas movies from the past that will no doubt get in anyone the perfect holiday jingle-jangle mood! Classics such as Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas and Holiday Inn are just a few of these retro gems from times gone by. Head over to her blog to see the full list of movies.
Happy Holidays and have a merry retro Christmas!
Exploitation films are usually films that exploit a certain part of for instance popular culture and everyday life such as ethnicity, zombies, bikers or even sex. These types of films were especially common in the 1960s and 1970s, screened at drive-ins and grind houses and by a few years later often gaining a cult reputation and a horde of followers. The plot in these movies won't win any Academy® awards and in some cases probably neither the acting — instead they offer a zany and bonky trip into another world, a world of retro kitschyness and cool awkwardness — often set to very memorable funky grooves and beats. Directors, such as Quentin Tarantino have revived the genre lately with modern classics such as Pulp Fiction, Death Proof, Kill Bill etc. So turn off the lights, fetch the popcorn and let the exploitation begin!
Contributor Klara have been busy time traveling into the golden age of science fiction, on a mission to find three classics that will please and catch the imagination of the readers of Ultra Swank. So, head out to the launchpad and strap your self in, our rocket's first stop is the moon!
This documentary about the life of famed photographer Julius Schulman looks very appealing to me. If you have been reading my earlier architecture posts you will immediately know who I am referring to. [Thanks Cam]
Film noir was used to describe a particular type of Hollywood crime movies that was made popular in the 1940s and 1950s. It usually centered around murders, damsels in distress and private investigators and set in a heavy black and white contrast – creating the famous visual style with long shadows and very little light. The term Film noir (dark film) was actually first used in 1946 when a French critic applied to it to describe the movies in America at that time. A guy that goes under the mysterious name Doctor Macro has scanned and retouched a huge bunch of posters and photographs of celebrities of the time and is presenting them in high resolution downloads on his website – so for more 'femme fatales' and mysterious men in hats, head over there straight away.
Christian from the Netherlands, graphic designer by day and movie buff by night sends me this link to a website of his which features stills from hundreds of movies back from the silent movie era up until today. For anyone who is interested in movies or graphic design here is your chance to admire the great work of of talented title designers. Not only have Christian captured stills from the titles, but also the end title and trailer if available. Apparently, the movies featured are all movies that Christian has seen so I am sure that the collection will grow quite quickly. Above are a few of my favorites, which are yours? Head over to The Movie Stills Collection to browse the entire archive.
One of my all time favorite John Barry scores is the one from British movie Follow Me! (also known as The Public Eye). Released in 1972 and set in London it portrays the story of a wealthy jealous banker hiring a eccentric and strange private detective played by Topol to follow his wife, played by Mia Farrow around London in a cat and mouse type of game. Not only does London play a big part in the movie, it is almost a character on its own and it is really thrilling to see it come alive in the early and some what gloomy 1970s post flower-power era. More info and a clip from the movie after the jump.
Stumbled upon these fabulous end titles from various classic mid-century movies. Above "My Fair Lady" directed by George Cukor from 1964 and at the bottom the end title from a MGM cartoon produced in the 1940s. It seems that these kind of end titles are a long lost art form and all we can do now is admire the style and grace of times gone by. If you want to see the rest of the stills, be sure to stop by the The End photo group on Flickr.
Ultra Swank takes you back in time into the kitsch, chic and swank living of the 50s to the 70s. We mainly focus on the design, architecture and the lifestyle of the happy-go-lucky and space-age-living mentality from that era - but also on the mood music that takes you back to happier times. Ultra Swank is run by Chris who resides in Sweden. More | Contact
Join Trans World Airlines and Ultra Swank for a flight to the city that never sleeps, New York city! We will depart from Los Angeles and set down at New York, Idlewild airport (soon to be known as JFK airport). Our flying time is estimated at around 8 hours. Fasten your seat belts and enjoy [...]
Spacemen Magazine was a relatively short-lived publication. It was published from July 1961 to July 1965 and was a spin off from the more successful “Famous Monsters of Filmland.” Both were edited by the late Forrest J. Ackerman and Published by James Warren. The cover art for the 1965 Yearbook was by well-known comic book [...]
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Ultra Swank is your blast from the past that takes you back to a more civilized and elegant era with lush cocktail parties, retro design, tasteful architecture and dreamy mood music.
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