Summary
1. The simplest: Buster Keaton in “Steamboat Bill Jr.” 2. The most diabolical: Rudolf Klein-Rogge in “The Testament of Doctor Mabuse” 3. The most stylish: Clark Gable in “New York Miami” 4. The most choreographed: Gene Kelly in “An American in Paris” 5. The most traditional: Chishu Ryu in “Early Summer” 6. The most musical: Jean Gabin in “French Cancan” 7. The most photogenic: James Stewart in “Rear Window” 8. The classiest: Paul Newman in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” 9. The most elegant: Cary Grant in “Indiscreet” 10. The most seductive: Marcello Mastroianni in “Eight and a Half” 11. The best accompanied: Cary Grant in “Charade” 12. The most virile: Sean Connery in “Goldfinger” 13. The most bewitched : Christopher Lee in “The House That Kills” 14. The most new wave: Jean-Pierre Léaud in “La Nuit américaine” 15. The most complex: Erland Josephson in “Scenes from a Marriage” 16. The most “outerwear”: Peter Falk in “A Woman Under the Influence” 17. The most oversized: Gérard Depardieu in “Loulou” 18. The most closely watched: Jonathan Pryce in “Brazil”In cinema, clothing is not just a supporting role, it sometimes even plays a leading role. As a seasoned film buff, Jérôme wanted to take an interest in pajamas in cinema and share with you his view of this piece through a selection of 18 films. Perhaps you will want to watch them or re-watch them to look at them with a different eye. Enjoy reading. Christophe.
(Cover photo credit: Marcello Mastroianni in “Eight and a Half,” 1963 - Photo John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images / Article updated 05/20/22)
1. THE SIMPLEST: BUSTER KEATON IN “ STEAMBOAT BILL JR ” BY CHARLES REISNER & BUSTER KEATON (1928)
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The poster for "Steamboat Bill Jr.", 1928.
Okay, it's not exactly pajamas. More like a nightgown or what used to be called a liquette. It's white, loose, really long , with buttons that go up to the collar.
This was the outfit before pajamas, a piece brought back from India in the 19th century. It later became the nightwear that we all know. What is seductive here, beyond the simplicity of the outfit: an impassive face, a body that allows itself all the antics. Because Buster Keaton is not only an actor. He is also a stuntman.
By the way, note in the photo below that he wears the uniform very well. It's funny, a little wacky and soon to be a hundred years old. This film from before the stock market crash is a treasure trove of visual ingenuity and strange, poetic humor.
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Video and photo excerpt: Buster Keaton in “Steamboat Bill Jr,” 1928.
For those of you who are not familiar with this universe, take a look at "The Cameraman", "The Mechanic of the General" . Or "Sherlock Jr", my favorite of all.
There are many things to look at in Buster Keaton's films: the boater hat of course, but also a whole series of outfits and costumes with lunar elegance , magnified by an attitude, a gesture. That of an atypical star of silent cinema, both funny and melancholic, who was nicknamed "the man who never laughs".
The thing is, between Keaton's debut in 1917 and the post-war period, cinema changed a lot. It started to talk. Despite some notable roles in Charlie Chaplin's "Limelight," Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" and Samuel Beckett's "Movie," Buster Keaton never really recovered.
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2. THE MOST DIABOLICAL: RUDOLF KLEIN-ROGGE IN FRITZ LANG’S “ THE WILL OF DR. MABUSE ” (1933)
Before going any further, let's be transparent. Know that I have the same relationship with Fritz Lang as Benoît has with techwear . It's impossible not to mention these very special pajamas in this little history of cinema.
These are simple striped pajamas. They are a great classic of the male indoor wardrobe that we also find several times in the films in this selection.
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Its originality is less to be sought in its style than in the person who wears it. The scene I am thinking of takes place in the "room" of a psychiatric hospital. This man who is nervously scribbling in his notebook is obviously crazy.
This is Doctor Mabuse, the greatest criminal of pre-war cinema. What is notable here: the elegance of the madman , as if from an innocuous outfit could transpire even the personality of its wearer.
Fritz Lang's last German film, "The Testament of Doctor Mabuse" is still astonishing in many ways. First, for its legend. Fritz Lang often said that he fled the country when Goebbels offered him the position of director of German cinema. Second, for its sense of rhythm and suspense, its visionary visual and sound style.
Let's also pay tribute to the actor Rudolf Kleine-Rogge. All the villains of modern cinema owe him a little something.
The cherry on the cake is that if Doctor Mabuse is an expert in the art of manipulating minds, he also has the gift of disguise. This is especially remarkable in his first adventure (1922). But nothing prevents us from looking at the 1930s style of "The Testament of Doctor Mabuse" with the eyes of a fashion lover.
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3. MOST STYLISH: CLARK GABLE IN FRANK CAPRA’S “ NEW YORK MIAMI ” (1934)
"Now just to show you my heart's in the right place, I'll give you my best pair of pajamas." What do you mean, a woman wearing men's pajamas on screen? It's a scandal, for an era that must, among other things, deal with the puritanism of the Hays Code. We are indeed at the beginning of the 1930s. Welcome to America!
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Long before he played the sullen cowboy in "The Misfits," Clark Gable stood up to Claudette Colbert here. The duo worked wonders in this spirited comedy by the most optimistic of American filmmakers, Frank Capra.
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Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable in pajamas, in "New York Miami", 1934.
Beyond the film, which has not aged a day, let's appreciate the assertive style of the "King of Hollywood": this fine moustache, this impeccable suit, this houndstooth scarf full of charm and especially these pajamas, which he wears like everything else with a sovereign nonchalance.
For example, admire the pattern, the collar, the cuffs, the white piping and finally the belt which brings a supreme touch of distinction. So many small details that are highlighted by the many close-ups of the camera. Day or night, Clark Gable was certainly one of the best dressed men of his time.
In "New York Miami", he also delivers a few essential messages: how to hitchhike properly, eat donuts or undress elegantly. The American public then discovers with amazement that he is not wearing an undershirt under his shirt .
It is a "heresy" that will influence men's fashion without seeming to. Underwear sales will indeed collapse when the film is released. If you are a fan of Panache , you will like "New York Miami".
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4. MOST CHOREOGRAPHED: GENE KELLY IN VINCENTE MINNELLI’S “ AN AMERICAN IN PARIS ” (1951)
Paris, 1951. Vincente Minnelli's camera approaches the window of an apartment. There is a knock at the door. A man in his bed wakes up quietly. It is the American Gene Kelly, one of the most famous dancers in Hollywood.
He wears comfortable striped pajamas, alternating cream and pastel colors. The entire sequence will make apprentice dancers and small space designers dream as much.
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If we remember Gene Kelly's sparkling smile and beautiful body mechanics, nothing prevents us from also stopping at some great outfits from this iconic film. A spring outfit that hits the mark, for example? Brown loafers, white socks, cream pants (loose and with cuffs), brown belt, sky blue shirt, sand-colored blazer. And "voila", in French in the film.
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Gene Kelly in "An American in Paris," 1951.
A classic of American musicals, " An American in Paris" is a tribute to the music of George Gershwin. It is also a film full of references to French painting. The sets echo the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir and Le Douanier Rousseau. The last 20 minutes of the film, all in pictorial dreaminess and millimeter-perfect choreography, still have their little effect today.
Of course, one can smile at this "postcard" vision of a bohemian Paris. However, there remains something very current in this Technicolor film: life that sings, its little dance steps, its perpetual tap dancing. In other words, a whole art of movement, which Gene Kelly masters here to perfection.
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5. MOST TRADITIONAL: CHISHU RYU IN YASUJIRO OZU’S “ EARLY SUMMER ” (1951)
Ah Japan, its textiles, its denims, its philosophy! None of this escapes you, if you read us regularly. But what about Japanese cinema?
At the beginning of the 1950s, he did not yet exist on the maps of the West. If Akira Kurosawa triumphed at the Venice Film Festival (with "Rashomon", 1951), very few people had heard of all the others, in particular the great masters Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu.
It would take a long time, at least until the end of the 70s, for Ozu to finally become more widely known in France. And even then, only for a few films. It has often been said that Ozu's cinema was Zen, that it contained within it everything that makes up the spirit and culture of Japan. But his gaze extends well beyond the society and daily life of his island. There is something universal about it.
This is evidenced by this very beautiful film from 1951 in which we discover a marvelous cinema of purity and also, this is what interests us here, outfits based on traditional kimonos, suits with wide lapels, beautiful cardigans.
Each image could be a poem, a photograph. What is astonishing with this very particular aesthetic, filmed at the level of the tatami, is that we feel everything, down to the grain of the fabric. No pajamas here, however, but a beautiful indoor/night kimono worn by Chishu Ryu, Ozu's favorite actor. It is a black and white piece by force of circumstances, but in the image of everything we love in Japanese textiles. The little story, the texture, the nuances.
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6. THE MOST MUSIC-HALL: JEAN GABIN IN “ FRENCH CANCAN ” BY JEAN RENOIR (1954)
The village is asleep, the atmosphere is 1900. Paris is preparing to discover the Moulin Rouge revues and the French Cancan. But for now, we discover a room, a bed, a force of nature and the bare back of a woman as Renoir the father would paint.
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For Jean Gabin's character, the awakening is rather brutal: "Hey, boss, get up! It's the bailiff." This is how we discover a grumpy fellow in a beautiful pair of ecru pajamas. Peter Pan collar and striped dressing gown . A gentle echo of the Commedia dell'arte spirit of Renoir's previous film ("The Golden Coach")?
Between Jean Gabin and Jean Renoir, there is obviously quite a story: "Les Bas-Fonds", "La Grande illusion", "La Bête humaine", three of Gabin's best films before the war, undoubtedly his most inspiring period in terms of style.
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Jean Gabin and Françoise Arnoul, in “French Cancan”, 1954.
When he shot "French Cancan", Renoir had already completed the majority of his cinematographic work. It is an inexhaustible source. Let us recall, if necessary, that he resolved in one film the greatest mystery of the universe .
In the absence of being able to film as he wanted, he enjoyed a nice consolation status at the end of the 50s, that of tutelary figure of the New Wave. Thank you Truffaut. And French Cancan, in all this? Well it's a great film about the music hall, served by a businessman and seducer Gabin and a Technicolor that almost makes us forget that the father Renoir knew how to do things with colors.
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7. MOST PHOTOGENIC: JAMES STEWART IN ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S " REAR WINDOW " (1954)
If we had to keep only one film on the theme of pajamas, it would probably be "Rear Window" by Alfred Hitchcock. Admit that the Stewart/Kelly tandem is incredibly elegant. And this unique setting also acts as a real "Proust madeleine".
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A wheelchair, a cast, pajamas and a breathtaking view of the neighbors: James Stewart plays the role of a photojournalist who never gets dressed. But the most observant will nevertheless notice that he wears no less than four different pajamas throughout the film.
The colors are soft. At least two beautiful light blues in the wardrobe and a few well-felt details (the buttons, the texture, the discreet patterns) make you forget that the cut is essentially the same from one pajama to another.
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James Stewart in "Rear Window," 1954.
If James Stewart lights up the screen from his wheelchair, his partner Grace Kelly is not far behind. The fashion in the film is her: the dresses, the catwalks, Harper's Bazaar and that navy flannel suit that she could see Stewart wearing, if only he wanted to leave his life as an adventurer.
"Rear Window" is a film about the gaze. Therefore a film about cinema. It is also one of the most popular films by an author who is a regular at creating masterpieces ("The Chained", "Vertigo", "Psycho"...).
To top it all off, the film's reading levels are multiple enough that you can never really get around it. There's always something to see. It's also Hitchcock's ingenuity that makes a brief appearance here, as is often the case, in his film. Can you find it?
8. CLASSIEST: PAUL NEWMAN IN RICHARD BROOKS'S " CAT ON A HOT TINY TIN ROOF " (1958)
Without a doubt one of the best-worn pajamas in this selection. Almost a second skin. It's so striking that we can't imagine anyone other than Paul Newman in it, or even this film without it . The color has a certain haunting je-ne-sais-quoi, the cut is perfect, ultra comfortable from the first glance. The little stylistic extras (the pockets, the collar, the cuffs, the buttons) complete the process of making it an obscure object of desire. The same charm works a little later, on another outfit that I won't spoil any more, however.
This strange phenomenon is all the more remarkable since Paul Newman plays the role of an angry and frankly unpleasant man for three-quarters of the film. He is an alcoholic, indifferent to his wife (we are talking here about the very young Liz Taylor). He is also willingly unpleasant with everyone, especially his family who is not far behind.
The film draws its story from a Southern author who was quite in demand in the 1950s: Tennessee Williams, to whom we owe, among other things, "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Suddenly, Last Summer."
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Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," 1958.
Note that at this time, the issues of sex and homosexuality in cinema were still being swept under the carpet. Director Richard Brooks therefore imagined another path to the original script.
The result is a slightly strange film, rather theatrical and a bit talkative. It shines above all for its silences, its unsaid things and this guy on crutches and pajamas who sips his drinks peacefully, from a sofa in the depths of Mississippi. American class, if you will.
9. MOST STYLISH: CARY GRANT IN STANLEY DONEN’S “ INDISCRET ” (1958)
Cary Grant, the most elegant of American actors, needs no introduction. He is equally at home in a bomber jacket (Howard Hawks' "Only Angels Have Wings") as he is in an advertising suit (Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest"). The formula applies to almost any type of clothing, even pajamas. As evidenced by the two silk pieces he wears in "Indiscreet." It is a relatively unknown romantic comedy by Stanley Donen (he's "Singin' in the Rain").
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Let's take a closer look at Cary Grant's pajamas. The first one is as daring as the scene is brief. The impression is reinforced by the Technicolor, which here lets a bright and truly orange garment burst forth. The style is strong, punctuated by a simple white border. Clearly not for everyone. But it's Cary Grant, he's in his bed, on the phone with Ingrid Bergman, and it works.
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Cary Grant on the set of "Indiscreet", 1958.
The second one is more sober, on the same model but with a half-beige half-flesh color. It's perfect, cocooning as desired. Note that Cary Grant is back in his bed, still on the phone with Ingrid Bergman and that it works too.
The exchange is rather long, the screen is split. It's a filmmaker's trick to get around the ban: no couples in the same bed on screen! It's 1958, all that will soon change.
In the meantime, this little film by Stanley Donen is not lacking in humor, tenderness, or even beautiful outfits. It is a festival of charm, good-natured, which also takes place largely in an apartment.
Like a present-day air? Not really. Because the confinement of "Indiscreet" is willingly five-star: red roses, champagne and Picasso paintings everywhere on the walls.
10. MOST SEDUCTIVE: MARCELLO MASTROIANNI IN FEDERICO FELLINI’S “ EIGHT AND A HALF ” (1963)
A mirror, a man, a pair of pajamas. In the pale hospital-style light, this is how the drawn features of one of the most iconic actors in Italian cinema are revealed in the first minutes of “Eight and a Half”. The sequence only lasts a few seconds. But the image has probably been seen around the world several times.
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For his second collaboration with Federico Fellini (the first was none other than the legendary "Dolce Vita" from 1960), Marcello Mastroianni plays the double of the artist more than ever. Here he is both a filmmaker and a man on the run, tired, confused, in search of meaning and inspiration.
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Marcello Mastroianni and his pajamas in “Eight and a Half”, 1963.
We feel it even in her outfit, seductive but untidy, not really awake. In detail: a fine dressing gown, beautiful dark-colored pajamas that we imagine to be a very deep blue, brightened by what could be a light-colored pocket square.
Who would really push elegance to the point of wearing a pocket square in their pajamas pocket? This is one of the many enigmas of this film with its crazy aesthetic, magnified black and white and often major music by Nino Rota.
In the cast, Claudia Cardinale and Anouk Aimée are magnificent. Mastroianni, for his part, is not far from holding his most charismatic role with "Eight and a Half". He also wears the suit, the loafers and the dark glasses like no one else.
But this is clearly not the only asset of this very autobiographical film and so rightly lost in its thoughts, entirely dedicated to cinema. It is 1963, a new era is opening for Federico Fellini. The show can go on.
11. BEST ACCOMPANIED: CARY GRANT IN STANLEY DONEN'S " CHARADE " (1963)
It's pop, it's light, it's fresh. The duo formed by Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn is worth the detour alone. No "Moonriver" here, even if the composer Henri Mancini holds the baton well. But outfits that parade, lines that fly and winks to cinema everywhere. Don't try to resist! Director Stanley Donen knows his job: it's perfect, very colorful, well-paced, even if a little old-fashioned.
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Films like "Charade" were no longer made very often in 1963. The golden age of Hollywood was over, the big stars were disappearing, and independent cinema was making its debut.
Halfway between a romantic comedy and a spy film, this fast-paced Parisian adventure seems a little offbeat. Its strength probably lies in the fact that it was cleverly written for its movie stars. On one side, C ary Grant, always very chic in his many costumes but let's admit it, a little tired and aging +. On the other, the radiant Audrey Hepburn, already basking in the glory of the success of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (Blake Edwards, 1961) and here once again propelled into fashion icon status, all dressed in Givenchy.
Among the curiosities of the film: the tragic fate reserved for men in pajamas. It is incomprehensible, and rare enough to be underlined. The only exception to this rule is Cary Grant's character who offers himself a beautiful sequence of charm indoors.
Him: very pale green pajamas buttoned up to the collar, slippers and a thin gray dressing gown cleverly tied at the waist . Her: a simple and magnificent dressing gown, white and deep blue edging to drown your eyes in. One of the most beautiful "couples" in pajamas in cinema.
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12. MOST MANLY: SEAN CONNERY IN GUY HAMILTON’S “ GOLDFINGER ” (1964)
Here is one that is unlikely to appear in the summary of the very interesting book by Iris Brey "The Feminine Gaze". The James Bond played by Sean Connery is both the most virile and the most sexist of all. But for the part that interests us, he is above all one of the most stylish.
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While Daniel Craig's more recent adventures are less well-documented, almost everything has been written about the James Bond franchise of yesteryear. The women, the clothes, the watches, the cars, you probably already know everything about 007. But have you ever stopped to consider the pajamas from "Goldfinger"?
Proof that all hope is not lost for our secret agent, it is the shared pajamas of the saga: the bottom for Sean Connery, the top for Shirley Eaton. It is a nice light blue masculine/feminine, most likely in silk, with the white drawstring that goes well , for the spirit of relaxation.
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Sean Connery and Shirley Eaton in "Goldfinger," 1964.
Another notable outfit from this colorful film: the terrycloth playsuit that appears by the pool. It's not the most accessible piece in the world, but for a confident Sean Connery and his style, anything is definitely possible.
How can we talk about "Goldfinger" without also paying tribute to the character of Pussy Galore? Because here the style (and the character) is also on the side of its female interpreter Honor Blackman. She was already unforgettable in the little-known third season of "The Avengers" . For the more curious, know that she is at the origin of a book called "Honor Blackman's Book of Self-Defense" on which I do not despair of getting my hands one day. But that is another story.
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12BIS. “ FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE ” BY TERENCE YOUNG (1963)
For once, another James Bond film, this time directed by Terence Young, for an enlightening but somewhat futile discovery. In the world of records, we would call it a hidden song. Here, it is a pair of pajamas. Or rather its ghostly presence, which calls out to us.
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Released just before "Goldfinger", also with Sean Connery, "From Russia with Love" is certainly less colorful, drier and more nervous than Guy Hamilton's film. It does not lack richness, especially in its outfits. This is also one of the particularities of the series as a whole.
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Sean Connery and Daniela Bianchi in "From Russia with Love", 1963.
From Sean Connery's adventures to those of Daniel Craig, there is always more or less a question, in filigree, of style and masculine fashion. Note for example here: many costumes, a brown trilby hat, a beautiful navy wool car coat in an explosive scene. We find a few other typical pieces from the early 60s, a period which was also very pivotal for cinema.
And the pajamas in all this? We can note a light blue pajama that we assume is very chic. We see it very furtively, impeccably folded in a customized briefcase that we have been told about since the beginning of the film and which will finally turn out to be what saves our agent's life.
It's both absurd and completely magical. For the record, know that these hidden pajamas could well be the ones we discover in "Goldfinger".
13. MOST BEWITCHED: CHRISTOPHER LEE IN PETER DUFFELL’S “ THE HOUSE OF KILLINGS ” (1971)
Don't be fooled by the title: this is definitely a horror film, even if you won't see a drop of blood. Disappearances, monsters, witchcraft and also vampires, all in the bucolic setting of the English countryside .
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This old house has everything you need to scare. The ticking of the clock sets the tone, the library is full of dust and fantasy books (Poe, Tolkien, Carroll), the wood of the staircase creaks just right and each room is full of old antiques. Welcome to the world of the English horror film popularized in the late 50s by Hammer productions and a little later by Amicus.
In the cast of this modest and borderline trashy sketch film, two of my favorite actors: Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, two fine examples of gentlemen with a very British style. For fans, we come across turtlenecks, cardigans in the style of Inverallan , lots of scarves, pants and typically British jackets. But also knitted ties, improbable dressing gowns and colors that are not easy to wear.
I won't talk about the vampire 's cape here (RIP Bela Lugosi) to focus more on the garment that interests us: the pajamas of the great Christopher Lee . Ecru and brown edging, very chic, most likely silk.
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Christopher Lee and Nyree Dawn Porter, in "The House That Kills," 1971.
It's a play to sleep well in. Except that the scene quickly turns into a nightmare. Wrapped in his sheets, feverish, struggling with black magic, he gives us a glimpse of the dark side of pajamas. Christopher Lee will find another dark side many years later in "Star Wars", then to another extent through his metal records. Yes, this man had an extraordinary life.
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14. THE MOST NEW WAVE: JEAN-PIERRE LÉAUD IN “ AMERICAN NIGHT ” BY FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT (1973)
Style, wit, panache. Here is an actor who will delight fans of Panache as much as those of Sapristi . You certainly know him: his name is Jean-Pierre Léaud. Of course, when you say "new wave" pajamas, you say Antoine Doinel and his unforgettable blue pajamas .
We discover it in "Stolen Kisses". It is carried by an electric Jean-Pierre Léaud, reciting at will, as if in a trance and facing the mirror, his almost mantra "Fabienne Tabard".
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But pajamas can also be found in our beautiful favorite of the day, also directed by François Truffaut and still with Jean-Pierre Léaud. Filmed in 1973, "La Nuit américaine" is marked by the fashion of its time. Checks are everywhere, yellow and brown triumph, trouser bottoms and shirt collars become wider.
In the stylistic curiosities department, let us mention the astonishing modernity of the actor Bernard Menez for his dark velvet trousers, his hairy shoes (several pairs here) and his prettily colored striped shirt.
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Dani and Jean-Pierre Léaud in “American Night”, 1973.
As for pajamas, they are most often discovered at night, in the rooms and corridors of a hotel. Let's take Jean-Pierre Léaud's: a white nightie, like an oriental reminiscence of the piece worn at the very beginning of our journey by Buster Keaton. His other "homewear" asset? A beautiful terry dressing gown with cream and salmon stripes that he wears bathed in sunlight when he wakes up.
Finally, let us mention the blue pajamas of François Truffaut, here an actor and filmmaker of his own film. It is in this outfit that he dreams at night of his "400 Blows", of Orson Welles and of movie theater neon lights. An enticing program, to be rediscovered in this moving and very romanticized mise en abyme of the profession.
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15. MOST COMPLEX: ERLAND JOSEPHSON IN INGMAR BERGMAN'S " SCENES FROM A MARRIED LIFE " (1974)
Let's just say it right away: pajamas are very, very common in Ingmar Bergman's films. As for the style, it is perhaps more to be found on the women's side, often in the unforgettable Bibi Andersson, one of the Swedish filmmaker's favorite actresses along with Liv Ullmann and Ingrid Thulin.
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Let us cite for example the timeless class of his character in "Persona" or, from memory, the almost prophetic modernity of his silhouette in "The Devil's Eye", jeans and white shirt as if they had escaped from the BonneGueule women's capsule .
That being said, back to men's fashion, which is not so bad at Bergman: if my first choice was the pajamas of the late Max Von Sydow in "Shame" (1968), those that the complex character of Erland Josephson wears in "Scenes from a Marriage" are not bad either.
In detail: a brown/orange with white edging and its adjoining brown dressing gown as well as two striped models, one cream and honey, the other blue-grey-white. All three are very comfortable and the bed duvets are also soft as you want .
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Erland Josephson and Liv Ulmann in "Scenes from a Marriage," here in its television version broadcast one year before the film's theatrical release.
Everywhere else: ties, tweed jackets, a pipe, glasses, a Volvo station wagon and two children that we never see but often talk about. Obviously, the whole subject of the film is in its title and it is very beautiful, as much in the acting as in the photography, even if we can of course prefer the 1973 television version, which is a bit longer and nicely sequenced, in the manner of a series.
16. MOST “OUTERWEAR”: PETER FALK IN “ A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE ” BY JOHN CASSAVETES (1974)
In terms of style, we could devote an entire article to the American filmmaker and actor John Cassavetes. He is responsible for the film "Husbands", among other things, and while I don't know the precise history of the beautiful brand of the same name, I like to think that Cassavetes has something to do with it.
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The character is in any case fascinating and his films are unique. He would also have his place as an actor in this selection, if only for the pajamas he wears in Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" (1968). However, how can we ignore Peter Falk's homewear and truly all-terrain piece in "A Woman Under the Influence"?
Let's be clear: these are not pajamas but a light blue terry dressing gown that here serves as a coat (the cut and design of the collar lend themselves to this ), an indoor jacket (with his everyday clothes underneath, a gray shirt and brown pants), a dressing gown of course, but also... pajamas ! Because yes, Peter Falk sleeps with them, in a sofa bed that we imagine is anything but comfortable.
All this is of course reminiscent of the iconic piece of his career: Lieutenant Columbo's immovable raincoat. Same sagging and crumpled effect here, like an amused wink to the series in a film that is otherwise very serious and upsetting, carried out at arm's length by the interpretation of Gena Rowlands.
This is one of Peter Falk's finest roles and the most astonishing piece in this selection. I'll let you enjoy the rest of his wardrobe, especially his shapeless bob hat and his very nice Sunday teddy jacket.
17. THE MOST OVERSIZED: GÉRARD DEPARDIEU IN “ LOULOU ” BY MAURICE PIALAT (1980)
With Maurice Pialat's cinema, we touch on a (personal) youthful obsession. No notion of style here except for the films themselves: intense, raw, tenacious, often truer than life itself and sometimes also popular . They are to be taken as they come and very often, it feels like a good slap in the face.
This is evidenced by this slightly hard-hitting film from 1980, a period that I love for its regularly dry, nervous films , with a slightly pale light in the eyes.
At the heart of a social and romantic intrigue that brings together Isabelle Huppert and Guy Marchand, "Loulou" could only be Gérard Depardieu, here at his peak. Note that the actor and the character are inseparable.
© New Yorker Films/Getty Images
"Loulou's" pajamas are therefore oversized by nature. You won't see them much, by the way. Because here, nudity is much preferred in the bedroom. However, we discover them in the hospital, in a relative moment of tranquility: they are uninhibited, of course, but above all , blue with stripes, in perfect harmony with this resolutely unusual character.
Everywhere else, we find a lot of what made the style of that era in France. Knitwear, of course, undershirts too perhaps, but not only. In this sense, the countryside scene will give you other ideas, and also certainly, a few shivers: it really is as if you were there.
As for Depardieu, he sports an all-black outfit that we don't usually recommend here: a late-life perfecto, boots, a T-shirt, a shirt and black jeans. It's the ideal wardrobe for this king of confusion and it works precisely because this film has something definitely rock'n'roll about it.
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18. MOST WATCHED: JONATHAN PRYCE IN TERRY GILLIAM’S “ BRAZIL ” (1985)
It's 1985. Science fiction is enriched by at least two new cinema classics: Robert Zemeckis's timeless "Back to the Future" and Terry Gilliam's darker "Brazil."
It is precisely there, at the home of this former member of Monty Python, that we find our pajamas of the day, those of a sweet dreamer played by Jonathan Pryce .
One is red with white stripes, pleasant to wear, almost nice if you accept to live in a society governed by force and bureaucracy. The other is plain, gloomy, blue-gray, prisoner of a situation that really does not bode well.
© Embassy International Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
Jonathan Pryce and his pajamas in "Brazil", 1985.
"Brazil" is the story of a man who dreams and a revolting, absurd world surrounded by gray. On the program of this adventure under very high surveillance: overcoats, suits and hats for everyone, but only those of Humphrey Bogart and the American film noir of the 40s.
Everywhere else: loneliness, empty and sad people, tons of forms and procedures, police uniforms, intervention outfits as armed as they are muscular and for offenders, chains and a reinforced straitjacket.
In this world, fashion no longer exists and Robert de Niro is forced to live in hiding. We have known more fun, more freedom and more color. Welcome to the ultra-police world of "Brazil", a beautiful homage to the noir cinema of Fritz Lang and a true waking nightmare, here clearly inspired by the writings of Franz Kafka and George Orwell.
If the picture is dark, baroque and, let's admit it, sometimes too much, there is however a way out of this avalanche of gray. For the style: our Vini striped suit. For everything else: the Great Escape, even if the title is already taken.
To go further, a small selection of homewear from the editorial team: