Movie Cliche´s - The Antihero wore Tweed

[Hemingway Jones]

I have recently watched quite a few movies where the antihero wore tweed. This is somewhat of a movie cliche´ from the late sixties up into the 1980s. It made me think of some of the classic characters from late sixties to mid seventies cinema.

The following are some great characters from the golden age of the disillusioned antihero.

Here we have Dirty Harry Callahan:



And here we have Steve McQueen in "Bullitt":



And Robert Reford in "Three Days of the Condor":



And the great Patrick McGoohan in "Ice Station Zebra":



Tweed, of course, is an excellent look. It gives a man a certain tough confidence, that what he is wearing is strong enough to hold up to his active lifestyle and will not wrinkle. All of these characters wear it well.

Can you think of characters that are similarly attired? Why do you suppose they chose tweed? Are there any modern equivalents to these sorts of characters and, if so, how are they attired?

 

[carebear]

Lee Marvin as Walker in Point Blank

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Lee Marvin as Walker in Point Blank

Excellent pick, carebear.

Though I cannot argue that he was this sort of character, but did you notice that Dan Brown in "The DaVinci Code" goes to great lengths to described Robert Langdon as wearing a Harris Tweed jacket? Is this proof that he was influenced by these sorts of films, or proof that he received the Orvis Catalogue?

I am really surprised that no one has come up with Sergeant Roger Murtaugh from "Lethal Weapon."

Come on, where are my film critics with some comments???

 

[Feraud]

O.k., after thinking about this thread for a while I am officially stumped!
I am still wondering if tweed was intentionally chosen as a piece of clothing for the anti-hero or was it a mere a coincidental fashion?
We could not debate if articles of clothing are used to intentionally to put a "look" across. They definitely are!
It could be I am not versed in the films of the three decades mentioned. As I think of the anti-hero in film I cannot see a trend of tweed wearing anti-heroes. The characters mentioned below are examples dressed in tweed but I wonder if this denotes a trend or is it merely a fashion choice dictated by the times? The harder I think about it the more I lean towards the latter.
I cannot think of enough examples to see a trend. You fellas will have to enlighten me!

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Well it certainly seems to be the uniform for the rebellious cops and other who stood up in an unconventional manner for the public at large.

For Popeye Doyle it was really the hat that embodied the character, though he had a tweedy jacket. Serpico, well, he wasn't particularly well dressed.

Anthony Quinn in "110th Street:"

Charlie Bronson in "Death Wish" here from "Death Wish 2:"

Perhaps next time, Movie Cliche´- The hero wore leather!

 

[Feraud]

Nice examples! I never noticed the tweed jacket as a staple of the cop who has to fight the bad guys and corruption within the force.
I will see you at the "hero who wore leather" thread.

 

[carebear]

Jimmy Caan in Thief

 

[Feraud]

Let us revive this interesting thread..

Are anti-heroes too prominent in today's films? It seems to me every cop, computer hacker, and gangster is an anti-hero stereotype. Do you agree, disagree, never thought/care about it?

Is the present day slew of anti-heroes relevant based on the origin of the type? What are they actually rebelling against today anyhow? Or is the character type actually a profit making "cash cow" based on outdated (post WWII & Nuclear Age) disillusionment?

Thoughts...

 

[McPeppers]

Bizarre Anti-hero spotting
Actor: Chev Chelios
Character: Jason Statham
Movie: Crank (2006)



just...wow

 

[carebear]

Let us revive this interesting thread..

Are anti-heroes too prominent in today's films? It seems to me every cop, computer hacker, and gangster is an anti-hero stereotype. Do you agree, disagree, never thought/care about it?

Is the present day slew of anti-heroes relevant based on the origin of the type? What are they actually rebelling against today anyhow? Or is the character type actually a profit making "cash cow" based on outdated (post WWII & Nuclear Age) disillusionment?

Thoughts...

The idea of the traditional "good guy" is considered quaint in this relativistic world. After all these wars and unnecessary death for corrupt corporations and governments, who can really define "good", who would be so simple minded as to believe in good triumphing over evil. So we're left with cool anti-heros who don't want to be bound by the inefficient and amoral society around them. There's nothing worth defending or fighting for except their own sense of honor.

I recommend an essay by William Kitteridge called "Silver Bullets" (written in the 80's) for a discussion of the changing view of heroism in American society.

 

[Feraud]

After all these wars and unnecessary death for corrupt corporations and governments, who can really define "good", who would be so simple minded as to believe in good triumphing over evil. So we're left with cool anti-heros who don't want to be bound by the inefficient and amoral society around them. There's nothing worth defending or fighting for except their own sense of honor.

In spite of faceless corporate and political entities, we can define what is "good". Most people would create similar lists of what they define as good and bad. If believing in good over evil is simple minded what does that say about society? Are we merely brainwashed to behave as proper cogs to keep the wheels turning? When someone rebels that could bring us to a discussion of the hacker as anti-hero, Neo in The Matrix.

The anti-hero certainly know right from wrong! They may feel overly restrained by red tape as in the case of "Dirty" Harry Calahan. When he steps outside the boundaries of "good police work" to mete out his form of Justice, it falls exactly within the bounds of what we would call good! We generally agree the bad guys have it coming to them.

Then there is the anti-hero protagonist who is violent and mentally unbalanced yet we identify (or tolerate?) him. I am thinking Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver? Here is a man who confessed to "not taking it anymore", who stood up against the filth....

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I don't live in a relativistic world and I have a clear idea as to what is good and evil. I think we were all reminded as to the fact that it is not so relative afterall, that true evil does exist; this happened almost exactly five years ago.

However, I don't think that has been reflected in our films yet. In film, the modern anti-hero is an anarchist.

Though it is from the 1990s, It isn't so much the "hacker" Neo as it is the kung-fu doing, black pleather wearing, and very big gun carrying murder machine that was "Neo." Remember, the police and military in those films were regular people. Also, there was no resolution to that conflict; in the end, the series concluded with a cease-fire. There was really very little point to it all.

The anit-hero of the seventies was breaking free of the restrictions of the system, a system that had failed ordinary people.

Is "John McCain" in this mold? I think not. He is a regular guy put in a bad situation. "Sonny Crockett?" The system always seemed to break him. Al Pacino in "Heat?" Nope; pretty much a standard cop. "Officer Wendell 'Bud' White" You beatcha!

It's a bad film, but "The Transporter 2" was in the mold of a late sixties to mid-seventies anti-hero. Black suit taking the place of tweed. Perhaps this is post- "Pulp Fiction?"

Let's expand this to a discussion of the anti-hero over the last forty years.

 

[MrBern]

Interesting thread. Never thought of tweed as 'anti-hero' garb.
I think maybe some of these anti heroes listed are cops, so theyre tweed jackets might be decended from th look of tweed shooting jackets.

I tend to think of tweed as a college professor's look. Like SeanConnery as ProfessorJones.

As for knowing right from wrong, they know. The anti-hero is often just trying to take care of himself & not the greater good.
Take Cary Grant in MrLucky.
He's a DRAFT DODGER gambler. He intends to swindle a charity. A war relief charity. Could you imagine anything lower in 1943?
But he uses his dubious skills to win the girl. Not to help out the war effort.

 

[MrBern]

Let's expand this to a discussion of the anti-hero over the last forty years.

Well , lets keep it close to the original idea of this thread & talk about the costumes & what they mean.

Is Indiana Jones a hero, or anti-hero? Sure he's up against Nazis, so you know he's the protagonist, but is he that good? Belloq sure didnt think so.
Marion greeted him with a slug to the jaw. Everyone there seemed to be in it for the money.
Great costume

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Well , lets keep it close to the original idea of this thread & talk about the costumes & what they mean.

Is Indiana Jones a hero, or anti-hero? Sure he's up against Nazis, so you know he's the protagonist, but is he that good? Belloq sure didnt think so.
Marion greeted him with a slug to the jaw. Everyone there seemed to be in it for the money.
Great costume

Well, we have a fairly narrow thesis here which would relate to a narrow scope of characters. I think we have touches on most of them, though you and I were the only ones to comment as to why anti-heroes would wear tweed.

Stay tuned for the Indy discussion. The next in the series of Movie Cliche´posts will be: The Hero Wore Leather.

I would like to get into a broader discussion of the rise of the anti-hero cop and his incarnations these days.

 

[MrBern]

good cop bad cop, burnt out cop.

Well, amongst my favorites are MelGibson in MadMax:RoadWarrior.

BladeRunner.
And TerminatorI & II.

I'd also like to point out MagnumForce the Dirty Harry Sequel.

Lots of cop imagery & lots of classic motorcycle jkts as well.

 

[carebear]

Well, Dirty Harry pretty well laid out why he did what he did, the system had failed.

Over-concern (in his view) with the rights of the perpetrators meant that justice wasn't being done. He wasn't going to try to "understand" or treat bad guys. He was going to do what it took to catch them and put them away. Even if it meant ticking off his bosses or even the society he was trying to protect.

His personal code, being true to what he knew was right, was all that mattered.

Sam Spade, Jake Gittes and their ilk had lost faith in the system as well and were "knight's errant" trying to do good according to their own codes.

Bonnie and Clyde (the movie versions) responded to the failure of government in the Depression by playing Robin Hood. Only hurting "the system" not the regular folks.

Walker (Point Blank) and the other professional thieves (Wild Bunch, De Niro in Heat) don't even pretend to defend the "greater good", they just want to be left alone to live on their own terms, by their own codes, and expect a bit of personal honor from themselves and their fellows. They consider cops their professional opponants and regular citizens suckers or impediments but not the enemy.


They are all adrift and alone in a society that lacks a moral compass and even a code to live by. That's what I meant by relativism and a lack of sense of good and evil. In their world honor is a cliche and selfishness and nihilism rule the day.

That's why they are "anti"-heros as opposed to the Old West straight shooters who stood for God Country and the American Way, honored by the noble citizenry who would rally to the colors and form posses at need. Who were good and decent and only needed a Matt Dillon to occassionally strike down the evil folks.

Hemingway, track down that essay. You'd like it, it's a brief exploration of the evolution of the hero over the past 40 years in cinema.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I like what you wrote above as a further explanation and I will seek out that essay; it sounds like something I would be very interested in.

Perhpas "The Godfather" started it all showing the corruption of the police and government on a equal basis with the gangsters. Now this theme is updated in films like "Heat."

"Who's being naive now, Kate?

 

[carebear]

You might also look at Stephen Hunter's non-fiction book "Violent Screen: A Critic's 13 Years on the Front Lines of Movie Mayhem". It's a collection of essays and movie reviews on violence in film, particularly the evolution of the hero archetype.

Hunter, as you may know, is a film critic for the Washington Post as well as a novelist. Hunter is, as he says, "stirred" by violence and it features large in his books. Not as a glorification, though his accuracy and realism in describing what really happens in a fight are high, but more of an understanding of the men who use it for good and ill and why.

Oh, where I first found the Kittredge essay was in a collection called "The Truth About the Territory: Contemporary NonFiction from the Northwest" from Owl Creek Press. It's full of modern essays about "The West". Fantastic collection of fantastic writers. There are companion volumes of poetry and short fiction.

 

[carebear]

The idea of a society not worth a hero goes back before "Godfather".

"High Noon", made in what, '52? shows it pretty plain. Gary Cooper has just saved a town that wouldn't raise a finger to help him save itself, but who now thanks him. What does he do? Throws his badge down in contempt and rides away with his bride, the only one who acted to help him. Dirty Harry would have done the same thing.

The Wild Bunch precedes Heat...

The "anti-hero" is primarily a post-war man. Josey Wales was born of the Civil War. Sam Spade and his fellow's are post-WWI scarred and disillusioned veterans. Disgusted by what happened to the society they fought to protect. The next wave started after WWII and the beginning of the Cold War. "High Noon" is a Western-styled parable. Then, of course, Vietnam. "Godfather" falls into that war's reaction.

I'd throw some of the '80's "anti-heroes" into a reaction not so much to a war (though the Cold war was ongoing) but to the "greed is good" philosophy of excess.

It will be interesting if today's writer's and directors, so enamored of huge CGI blowouts, will come up with new characters and movies that aren't just rip-offs of those that went before. What form will the post-"War on Terror" anti-hero take?