The
major new film “The Monuments Men,” directed by George Clooney, tells the
amazing and true story of a small group of men– curators, architects, artists, and
art historians – who risked their lives to turn detective and track down the
hidden caches of stolen art before Nazi fanatics carried out a plan to dynamite
the lot when they realized the Third Reich was about to lose the war.
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| Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox |
The film, starring Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman and Bill
Murray, follows the Monuments Men (officially, the Monuments, Fine Arts and
Archives (MFAA)) of the Allied army as they land on the Normandy beaches in
search of the Nazis’ 1000 or more hidden art repositories – secreted in mines
and remote castles within the Reich.
Louise Frogley, the costume designer, says that her challenge was of logistics
and scope. “There were so many big scenes involving uniformed and civilian people
in different stages of deterioration,” Frogley remembers. “There were
large quantities of people involved and large amounts of costume, and we had to
do pre-fits while filming was still going on. Plus, we would be shipping stuff
ahead while we were filming. Plus, we had to clothe people in one location
while we were pre-fitting people in another. We had to find watches for
every main actor, multiples for them. We had to do glasses, coated and
uncoated. And sunglasses, coated and uncoated. For people with reading glasses,
we had to do coated and uncoated, plus blank, coated and uncoated. It went on
and on and on. We were driven mad with all of these details, but we did it.”
Despite the number of past World War II films, military uniforms were not so
easy to come by. “Many of the original uniforms have been sold, destroyed
or are in bad condition,” Frogley says. “This stuff doesn’t last long if it’s
not looked after. There’s original stuff still in existence, but the sizes are
almost always too small. We had some wonderful, original Nazi jackets, but in
sizes like 36-chest – and no trousers.”
Frogley, along with costume supervisor John C. Casey and military costume
supervisor Joe Hobbs, had the added task of outfitting actors who represented
several different armies: American, German, British, French and Belgian.
“And, of course, mid-way through the war, the uniforms changed,” Frogley
adds. To pull it off, Frogley explains, it turned into a true
international effort. “The uniforms came from all over the place,”
Frogley explains. “We had stuff made in Poland. We had the fabric made in
Pakistan. We bought stuff from dealers in Holland. We had boots from Mexico.”
But although the Monuments Men spend most of the movie in uniform, it was
important to design costumes in the early scenes that reflected their civilian
lives. “We were very much trying to reflect who they were first as
civilians because they weren’t the normal military types,” Frogley says. “That
way we would show what difference being in the military must have made.
Stokes (George Clooney) is an intellectual, so he’s smartly dressed,
appropriately but not outstanding. Granger (Matt Damon) is slightly more
arty; we first see him in nice period overalls over more casual clothes before
he dresses up a bit to meet with Stokes. Campbell (Bill Murray) is an
architect, so we see him in a suit, on site of a building project. Garfield
(John Goodman) is a sculptor, so we meet in him a sculpting smock and cap; in
uniform, he’s still a bit of a mess, because that fits the character. Savitz
(Bob Balaban) works in the world of dance; we dressed him a little more
flamboyantly.”
Once they’ve joined the military, each man becomes part of a unit, working
toward the same goal. “Of course, the actors still bring individuality to their
characters and they can use the way they wear their uniforms to reflect that – a
shirt tucked into a waist just so, a collar askew, little things that show
different traits. These guys are all pretty smart actors. They’re going to use
every last thing they can, anything to enhance the character.”
“Louise Frogley is a brilliant designer,” says Cate Blanchett. “I always find
her wardrobe fittings really informative and creative. Together, you kick
images and ideas around. Louise always approaches recognizable periods in
unexpected yet true ways.
“The Monuments Men” opens February 12 in cinemas from 20th Century
Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.
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