The Duchess

As we gear up for the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees for Best Costume Design. It's a big year for this category as the films nominated represent vastly different historical periods. Be it 18th-century England or San Francisco in the '70s, these films include some gorgeous threads. Today's featured movie is The Duchess.

Oh lucky, lucky Keira Knightley! She plays Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire, and while the dramatic life of this charismatic woman was probably what drew her to the role, I'm sure the movie's lavish period costumes were a nice little bonus. Who wouldn't want to adorn herself in such gorgeousness? There's 18th-century costumes and then there's this movie: The wigs, the jewelry, the dapper menswear, the exquisite detail . . . The Duchess is a frenzy of beautiful period costuming — and I can't get enough of it.

To see a gallery of the costumes, just read more

Usually the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays, but there are a handful of big releases out today so I thought I'd alert you. Today, just like I do each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I'm sorting through the best of the batch to suggest some additions for your queue.

The Duchess
I'm glad this sumptuous movie is out on DVD because it's so beautiful to look at. The costumes in this period drama starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes are gorgeous and the rest of the movie is pretty good too.

Knightley plays Georgiana, wife of William Cavendish (Fiennes), the Duke of Devonshire. While their relationship grows bitter in private, Georgiana starts to become quite popular in public and immerses herself in the world of politics and high society. As her husband puts other women between them, Georgiana finds herself falling in love with a young politician, Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper). However, the threat of scandal proves too great for the Duke and Duchess, and a relationship with Charles is forbidden.

Special features include a featurette titled, "Georgiana in Her Own Words," the making of the movie, and a costume diary.

Two more up next so read more

If the photo below were a Caption It contest based on this weekend's box office results, my entry would go something like: "Well Leo, there's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to come out with it. We got beat by the little talking dogs. Beat bad."

That's right, Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua was No. 1 for the second weekend in a row followed by the horror flick Quarantine. Ridley Scott's Body of Lies, which came in third, was expected to do much better "based on its star power alone" but the combination of mediocre reviews and the fact that audiences continue to eschew Iraq War-related movies probably worked against a successful opening weekend. Eagle Eye and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist rounded out the top five respectively.

The new sports film The Express came in at No. 6 followed by Nights in Rodanthe, Appaloosa, The Duchess, and City of Ember at No. 10.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Of course The Duchess is dramatic. Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire, led a dramatic life and she herself was a dramatic — and smart, and charismatic — woman. I really liked this movie, but I might have liked it more if it were a slightly broader examination of the Duchess. I don't mean that they should have included more years in her life (I think that would have been a mistake) but the vast majority of the film is about her romantic and reproductive woes. She was a daring, intelligent, and remarkably influential woman during a time when women were expected to be anything but those things. While I liked this sweeping period drama, I might have enjoyed less soap opera and a tad more substance.

The costumes, however, cannot be disputed, for they are devastatingly gorgeous. I would watch this movie over and over with the sound off just to feast my eyes on the clothes. Dressed to perfection in every scene, Keira Knightley plays Georgiana, who marries William Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire when she is just a teenager. The marriage is soon strained as it appears that Georgiana will only bear daughters. While the relationship grows bitter in private, Georgiana starts to become quite popular in public and immerses herself in the world of politics and high society. She's a natural charmer and trend-setter, though her husband puts more and more distance between them, choosing other women over his wife. Before long, Georgiana finds herself falling in love with a young politician, Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), but the threat of scandal proves too great for the Duke and Duchess and a relationship with Charles is forbidden. There's much more to the story, but I won't spoil things for you. I can still share some thoughts, though, so read more

At the premiere of The Duchess in London, Keira Knightley wore bronzy eye shadow and an inky lined eye. This is not a big departure from the makeup she wore to the Pirates 2 premiere in 2006, so this is clearly a look she's fond of. Want to get it? Find out how when you read more

I fully believe that Keira Knightley is well-suited for period pieces, and I certainly have faith in her ability to play a controversial historical figure, as is the focus of period drama The Duchess. Yet I wonder if Keira herself will be enough to make this movie better than just your average ho-hum period piece, as today's teaser trailer doesn't seem to stretch much beyond ordinary stuff.

This new teaser trailer for the fall 2008 release is itself rather average. There's a big reveal of the Duchess of Devonshire (Knightley), some alluding to bearing an heir and then an impassioned line from the Duchess about not wanting to battle her heart, before the brief glimpse of a love scene. So far, it's no Atonement, but I'll be curious to watch a full-length trailer when that comes out.

To check out the teaser trailer for The Duchess and tell me what you think, read more

Keira Knightley was all dressed up in her 18th century costume on the set of The Duchess. Her boyfriend Rupert Friend helped her umm, let's say, relax in between sets. We just think it's hilarious to see him looking so sloppy in his many layers, puffy scarf and ugly hat while she is picture perfect. That said, they certainly look very happy together.

To see more of Keira and Rupert making out just read more