Prêt-à-Porter (1994)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers (WGA):

Robert Altman (written by) &
Barbara Shulgasser (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The year's most seductive comedy!

Plot:

A fashion show in Paris draws the usual bunch of people; designers, reporters, models, magazine editors...

Plot Keywords:

Fashion Show | Paris | Fashion | Textile | Pregnant Woman Nude

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win

Cast

Marcello Mastroianni	...	Sergei / Sergio
Sophia Loren	...	Isabella de la Fontaine
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Olivier de la Fontaine
Kim Basinger	...	Kitty Potter
Chiara Mastroianni	...	Sophie Choiset
Stephen Rea	...	Milo O'Brannigan
Anouk Aimée	...	Simone Lowenthal (as Anouk Aimee)
Rupert Everett	...	Jack Lowenthal
Rossy de Palma	...	Pilar (as Rossy De Palma)
Tara Leon	...	Kiki Simpson
Georgianna Robertson	...	Dane Simpson
Lili Taylor	...	Fiona Ulrich
Ute Lemper	...	Albertine
Forest Whitaker	...	Cy Bianco
Tom Novembre	...	Reggie
Richard E. Grant	...	Cort Romney
Anne Canovas	...	Violetta Romney
Julia Roberts	...	Anne Eisenhower
Tim Robbins	...	Joe Flynn
Lauren Bacall	...	Slim Chrysler
Lyle Lovett	...	Clint Lammeraux
Tracey Ullman	...	Nina Scant
Sally Kellerman	...	Sissy Wanamaker
Linda Hunt	...	Regina Krumm
Teri Garr	...	Louise Hamilton
Danny Aiello	...	Major Hamilton
Jean Rochefort	...	Inspector Tantpis
Michel Blanc	...	Inspector Forget
François Cluzet	...	Nina's Assistant
Katarzyna Figura	...	Sissy's Assistant (as Kasia Figura)
Sam Robards	...	Regina's Assistant
Tapa Sudana	...	Kerut
Laura Benson	...	Milo's Entourage #1
Laurent Lederer	...	Milo's Entourage #2
Constant Anee	...	Milo's Entourage #3
Yann Collette	...	Coroner
Alexandra Vandernoot	...	Sandra de la Notte, Sky TV Reporter
Jocelyne Saint Denis	...	Hotel Manager
André Penvern	...	Hotel Clerk
Maurice Lamy	...	Bellboy
Pascal Mourier	...	FAD TV Cameraman
Adrien Stahly	...	FAD TV Sound Engineer
Denis Lepeut	...	FAD TV Sound Engineer
Harry Belafonte	...	Himself
Paolo Bulgari	...	Himself
Anello Capuano	...	Himself
Cher	...	Herself
Helena Christensen	...	Herself
Gamiliana	...	Herself
Elsa Klensch	...	Herself
Serge Molitor	...	Himself
Claude Montana	...	Himself
Thierry Mugler	...	Himself
Tatjana Patitz	...	Herself
Sonia Rykiel	...	Herself - Designer Featured with Her Collection
Ève Salvail	...	Herself
Nicola Trussardi	...	Himself
Jean-Paul Gaultier	...	Himself - Designer Featured with His Collection
Christian Lacroix	...	Himself - Designer Featured with His Collection
Issey Miyake	...	Himself - Designer Featured with His Collection
Gianfranco Ferré	...	Himself - Designer Featured with His Collection, for Christian Dior
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Susie Bick	...	Herself (as Suzie Bick)
Carla Bruni	...	Herself
Naomi Campbell	...	Herself
Adriana Karembeu	...	Herself (as Adriana Sklenarikova)
Christy Turlington	...	Herself
Björk	...	Model (uncredited)
Greta Cavazzoni	...	Model (uncredited)
David Copperfield	...	Himself (uncredited)
Linda Evangelista	...	Herself (uncredited)
Kristen Fick	...	Model (uncredited)
Yvette Horner	...	Herself (uncredited)
Laurent Lambert	...	Security Guard (uncredited)
Claudia Schiffer	...	Herself (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Altman

Writing credits (WGA)
Robert Altman		(written by) &
Barbara Shulgasser		(written by)

Produced by
Robert Altman	....	producer
Scott Bushnell	....	co-producer
Ian Jessel	....	executive producer
Jon Kilik	....	co-producer
Brian D. Leitch	....	associate producer
Angelo Pastore	....	executive producer: Moscow
Bob Weinstein	....	executive producer
Harvey Weinstein	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Michel Legrand

Cinematography by
Jean Lépine
Pierre Mignot

Film Editing by
Geraldine Peroni

Production Design by
Stephen Altman

Art Direction by
William Abello

Set Decoration by
Françoise Dupertuis

Costume Design by
Catherine Leterrier

Makeup Department
Loli Avellanas	....	hair stylist (as Lolita Avellanas)
Jean-Charles Bachelier	....	hair stylist
Jacques Clemente	....	key makeup artist
Christophe Danchaud	....	makeup artist
Paul de Fisser	....	key hair stylist
Jack Freeman	....	makeup artist
Judith Gayo	....	key makeup artist
Mirella Ginnoto	....	hair stylist (as Mirella Ginotto)
Franck Mendoche	....	hair stylist
Jean-Christophe Roger	....	makeup artist
Jane Schweigler	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Frédéric Doniguian	....	assistant unit manager
François Pulliat	....	assistant unit manager
Carl Shimkin	....	production manager
Daniel Wuhrmann	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jérôme Enrico	....	first assistant director
Olivier Greco	....	assistant director
Emmanuel Hamon	....	second assistant director
Jean-Marc Joly	....	second assistant director
Philippe Landoulsi	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Laure Balzan-Sorin	....	assistant art director
François Borgeaud	....	assistant property master
Jean Canovas	....	set designer
Pierre-Emmanuel Chatiliez	....	lead scenic artist
Pascal Declercq	....	property master
Michel Paris	....	assistant art director
Christian Portal	....	property master (as Christian 'Coyotte' Portal)
David Ronan	....	on-set dresser
Vincent Sentis	....	construction coordinator
Sophie Campbell	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Samuel Cohen	....	boom operator
Bertrand Come	....	sound assistant
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Alain Curvelier	....	production sound mixer
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Germann	....	adr editor
Frank Kern	....	foley editor
Skip Lievsay	....	supervising sound editor
Eliza Paley	....	dialogue editor
Brigitte Taillandier	....	sound assistant
Philip Stockton	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Rémi Canaple	....	stunts
Patrick Cauderlier	....	stunt coordinator
Patrick Cauderlier	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Stéphane Cry	....	electrician
Pascal Delaunay	....	grip
Gil Fontbonne	....	key grip
Christian Fournié	....	first assistant camera
Charlie Freess	....	key grip (as Charles Freess)
Jean-Yves Freess	....	grip
Jean-Michel Gageat	....	generator operator
Michel Gonckel	....	gaffer: second unit
Rodolphe Gonckel	....	electrician: second unit
Guy Guermouth	....	generator operator: second unit
Michel LeFrançois	....	key gaffer
Benjamin Moreau	....	grip
Philippe Peyraud	....	electrician
Philippe Ramdane	....	second assistant camera
Gérard Rival	....	grip
Martial Segui	....	electrician
Nicolas Sommermeyer	....	grip
Jacques Stricanne	....	grip
Alain Tanguy	....	electrician
David Ungaro	....	second assistant camera
Michel Védié	....	electrician: second unit
William Watterlot	....	first assistant camera
Anne Marie Fox	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Alberte Garo	....	extras casting
Guylène Péan	....	casting: France

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Angela Anzimani	....	wardrobe assistant
Olivier Bériot	....	wardrobe supervisor
Ann Dunsford	....	wardrobe mistress (as Anne Dunsford-Varenne)
Karen Muller Serreau	....	wardrobe mistress
Pascale Stelzer	....	wardrobe assistant
Radija Zeggai	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Suzy Elmiger	....	film editor
Mario Ontal	....	apprentice editor
Tom San Martin	....	negative cutter
Arnold Shuster	....	negative matcher
Patricia Sztaba	....	negative matcher
Stan Sztaba	....	negative matcher
Dylan Tichenor	....	assistant editor
Agnes Grandits	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Michelle Belcher	....	soundtrack coordinator
Jeffrey Kimball	....	music executive: Miramax
Michel Legrand	....	orchestra conductor
Pilar McCurry	....	soundtrack coordinator
Jill Meyers	....	music business and legal affairs
Allan F. Nicholls	....	music supervisor (as Allan Nicholls)
Suzana Peric	....	music editor
Nic Ratner	....	assistant music editor
Pamela Turbov	....	soundtrack consultant

Transportation Department
Eric Duchêne	....	transportation captain
Sebastien Peronne	....	wardrobe driver

Other crew
Agnes Bermejo	....	production coordinator
Konni Corriere	....	assistant: Robert Altman
Signe Corriere	....	assistant: Robert Altman
Christian Guerinel	....	manager trainee
Christine Jolimoy	....	fashion coordinator
Catherine LeGuay	....	travel coordinator
James McLindon	....	assistant: Scott Bushnell
Véronique Mutrel	....	production secretary
Donna O'Neal	....	assistant: Kim Basinger
Leslie Porter	....	assistant to producer
Nathalie Rykiel	....	creative consultant
Cornelius Schultze-Kraft	....	assistant: video unit
Carmen Soriano	....	script supervisor
Thierry Valletoux	....	reportage
Stéphane Weibel	....	production assistant

Thanks
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac	....	special thanks: The Designers
Chantal Thomass	....	special thanks: The Designers
Yohji Yamamoto	....	special thanks: The Designers

Production Companies

• Miramax Films

Distributors

• Miramax Films (1994) (USA) (theatrical)
• Concorde Film (1995) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Rialto Film AG (1995) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Senator Film (1995) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Spentzos Films (1994) (Greece) (theatrical)
• TriPictures (1995) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• Boxxz Screen Entertainment (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Miramax Home Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Miramax Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cerruti 1881  costumes: Sandra Lo's Collection by
• Vivienne Westwood  costumes: Cort Rooney's Collection by
• Xuly Bet  costumes: Cy Bianco's Collection by
• Larry Mahan Western Boots  boots: Lammeraux's Western Boots by
• Jean Paul Gaultier  costumes: Designers featured with their collection
• Christian Lacroix  costumes: Designers featured with their collection
• Issey Miyake  costumes: Designers featured with their collection
• Sonia Rykiel  costumes: Designers featured with their collection
• Christian Dior  costumes: Designers featured with their collection (as Gianfranco Ferre for Christian Dior)
• Ima Films  executive production: In Moscow (as IMA Films)
• FMC Inc.  publicity
• Agnès B.  special thanks: to The Designers
• Azzédine Alaïa  special thanks: to The Designers
• Chanel  special thanks: to The Designers
• Chantal Thomass  special thanks: to The Designers
• Comme Des Garçons  special thanks: to The Designers
• Giorgio Armani  special thanks: to The Designers
• Jean-Charles de Castelbajac  special thanks: to The Designers
• Paul Smith  special thanks: to The Designers
• Yohji Yamamoto  special thanks: to The Designers
• Yves Saint Laurent  special thanks: to The Designers
• Air France  special thanks
• Aéroports de Paris  location
• Balsmeyer and Everett  titles
• Cinema Research  subtitle composite
• Citroën  special thanks
• Columbia Records  soundtrack
• Hermès  special thanks
• Le Carrousel du Louvre  special thanks
• Lolita Lempicka  special thanks
• Match Cut Film Services  negative cutting
• Ministère de la Culture et de la Francophonie  special thanks
• Miramax Records  soundtrack
• Musée National de Moyen-Âge  special thanks
• Musée Rodin, Paris  special thanks
• PMK Public Relations  publicity
• Sound One Corporation  re-recording facilities
• Syzygy Digital Cinema  computer graphics for main titles
• Transpalux  electrical equipment

Also Known As:

Prêt-à-Porter: Ready to Wear (Canada: English title)
Ready to Wear

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian | Russian | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Germany:6 (bw) | Iceland:L | Israel:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Karl Lagerfeld successfully blocked the film's release in Germany by launching a lawsuit against the makers over a line spoken by Forest Whitaker's character that Lagerfeld had plagiarized all his designs.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the hotel room, Anne Eisenhower lifts a glass of wine from Joe Flynn's dining cart with her left hand and takes a drink. Joe makes a comment and it can be seen that Anne's left arm is up to her face (she is visible from the chest down), but when we cut back to Anne the glass is in her right hand as she puts it down.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gossip Girl: Pret-a-Poor-J (#2.8)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Keep Giving Me Your Love (West End Mix)

The Fashion Gospel According to Altman

Back in 1994, when Robert Altman made "Prêt-à-porter", he was 70 years old. He was one of the few important auteurs of a métier celebrating its first centennial. Again, the wise filmmaker and his satirical approach to fashion were misunderstood. On this occasion, the maestro dealt with consumerism on a global scale, by covering a convention of the haute couture circle, in which fashion was the vehicle to expose the dehumanised materialism of contemporary world.

Starting with a prologue at Dior's in Moscow (which could be Rome or Paris), Altman described a multinational microcosm defined by its unrestrained marketing of material goods. Altman did not underestimate fashion as a key element in our lives: as a matter of fact, he used fashion as the clue to gain access to the film. As expected, "Prêt-à-porter" was not a paean to designers, models, photographers or fashion magazine editors. After the convention's creator unexpectedly dies, Altman and co-writer Barbara Shulgasser aimed at the surface of the fashion world, searching for its essence, for a trace of humanity, and led us to an unexpected ending, which is a sort of purification, a baring of the bodies and souls. Altman, at 70, knew very well that mankind's main alternative was (and is) the transparent ethics that radiates from pure spirits committed to preserve life on this planet, beyond fabrics and fashions.

To tell the story of this garment catharsis, Altman used as his stylistic technique the superficiality that permeates the milieu he's describing (one I know after working in a couple of such events in my youth.) Everything is bright and beautiful, but somehow it seems as if "nothing is happening." The audience is deprived of all the myths that have led many designers and models to haughtiness, so their attitudes become more vacuous, and their incentive to rapacious consumerism is more obvious. Being unable to speak of art or the "fashion essence" in a contemporary setting where commerce rules, Altman used a fragmented narrative, with overlapped dialogues –often improvised- as in his other reflections on the crisis of communication, a central theme in "Nashville." Altman is one of the few filmmakers who is able to reunite large casts and create characters of high sociological value (mainly in "McCabe & Mrs. Miller", "Nashville", "A Wedding", "Short Cuts" and "Gosford Park", and to a lesser degree in "HealtH" and "The Player"), but he is also averse to psychological realism, that old strategy inherited from the 19th century novel, and that some people still ask for in our post-post-modern world...

In this film, Altman relied on famous faces to construct a game of facades with few strokes, choosing among the best of them: those who are able to create a believable character with a few significant details, those who can go from the subtle –as the wine spot on a reporter's sweater- to the pompous, as the dark glasses of the Irish photographer or Sophia Loren's hats. On the other hand, he relied on the audiences' own information, making them interact with the film, adding data or making associations. For example, only those who have seen Vittorio de Sica's "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" and "Sunflower," can enjoy to the full the cinematic homage to Sophia and Marcello Mastroianni. Their story echoes "Sunflower", while there is a reprise of Sophia's strip-tease in "Yesterday…" with a different (and sad) effect on Marcello; or if you have been in an event like the one in the film, you may remember people as the characters played by Tim Robbins and Julia Roberts, two reporters who spend the whole event making love in their hotel rooms.

"Prêt-à-porter" is a good film, which contains some of the typical Altmanian digressions that some do not enjoy. But, as Andrei Tarkovsky once said: "When you are in front of a really major figure, you have to accept him with all his weaknesses, which become distinctive qualities of his aesthetics."