Ready to Wear (1994)

A chronicle of the interconnected lives of a group of people in the lead up to Paris Fashion Week.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Robert Altman, Barbara Shulgasser

Stars:

Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts, Marcello Mastroianni

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A fashion show in Paris draws the usual bunch of people; designers, reporters, models, magazine editors, photographers. Lots of unconnected stories which all revolve around this show, and an all-star cast.

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Plot Keywords:

fashion | fashion show | journalist | fashion industry | pantyhose | 

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Taglines:

At the world's hottest fashion show, there's been a murder and now everyone's a suspect. If you've got something to hide, you'll need something to wear.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian Russian Spanish

Release Date:

25 December 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ready to Wear

Filming Locations:

Champs Elysées, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,026,295, 26 December 1994

Gross USA:

$11,300,653

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,300,653

Company Credits

Production Co:

Etalon Film, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Altman filmed extensively during the real Parisian fashion catwalks, capturing the real spring collections of that year and a host of real-life celebrities. Altman and his writer Barbara Shulgasser then integrated several different storylines into the footage that they had acquired.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[subtitled version - opening lines are in French, the English subtitles are a very rough translation]
Olivier de la Fontaine: [opening letter] Moscow? What's this about? Put that on the desk. Dear Mr. de la Fontaine: blah, blah, blah, blah... blah, blah, blah, blah...
Isabella de la Fontaine: [to dog] Robin. Robin. I told you not to! It's dirty. You shouldn't do that. Not in the house.
[to Olivier de la Fontaine]
Isabella de la Fontaine: You're a shit.

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Crazy Credits

The film's opening scene where Mastroianni buys the 2 Dior ties is set in Moscow's Red Square and the first 2 lines of credits (a Miramax production and a Robert Altman film) appear solely in Cyrillic characters

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Connections

Referenced in The Divorce (2003)

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Soundtracks

La Vie en Rose
Music by Louiguy
French lyrics by Édith Piaf
English lyrics by Mack David
Performed by Grace Jones
Courtesy of Island Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Not classic Altman, but solid Altman

There's one thing in this film that I love in a very film nerdish sort of way and that is Danny Aiello's character, which is, in a strange way, a homage to an earlier character in Altman's California Split (a film well worth revisiting). And while some of the characters may seem over the top, my own experience in the fashion world would attest to them being pretty realistic. While it feels as fragmented as any Altman, there is a story here, and it's a pretty subtle one, but perfectly satisfactory in my opinion. I think the film, overall, is woefully under-rated. I feel like everyone got caught up in the idea of "ALTMAN" and then got confused by "THE STARS" and then didn't really bother to look at the movie, which has some lovely grace and is well worth the time. Then again, why listen to me, I liked Ishtar.