MovieChat Forums > The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2007) Discussion > Woody's hair and Moore's outfits

Woody's hair and Moore's outfits

posted 19 years ago by centava99
5 replies | jump to latest

I just saw this movie at an advanced preview here in DC, and thought it was good, though I'm not terribly fond of gimmicks such as talking to the audience.

Anyway, I was impressed at Woody Harrelson's performance. Quite good, and not overdone, but what about his hair?? A bad dye job if I ever saw one, and the hue seemed to change throughout the film, and not growing white as he aged, but literally, different shades of orangey-red. It was very distracting, and they would have done better just leaving him blond.

My other nitpick, and I fully admit these are nitpicks, was the quality of Moore's outfits. For a family just scraping by, her dresses were nicer than the clothes of the kids. I didn't see one threadbare dress or sweater. Every one looked brand new, which didn't ring true for me. Sure, for her visit to Goshen, she'd wear a nice dress, but all throughout the film, every dress, save perhaps the one used as a diaper, looked right off the rack. For how well they captured other period aspects of the film, Woody's hair and her dresses really missed the mark.

[–] bboyd333 19 years ago

ah...the hair..woody has no hair all the hair you see in prizewinner is man made ....ie..wigs.

[–] hess-4 19 years ago

Did ja know? The dress Julianne wore in the Goshen scene was a dress from Evelyn Ryan's wardrobe, refitted for the actress. Other dresses were designed from pieces provided to the wardrobe department by the family. Evelyn and the Affies were a stylish group of ladies, and the movie makers took painstaking steps to assure authenticity. As for Woody's hair; wigs, fer sure.

[–] halabahmet 19 years ago

The costume dept. made the Goshen dress. 5 of them. Multiples were needed for stunt driving, jello toss, etc. One of Evelyn's actual dresses was used several times in the film - with different aprons, sweaters, etc. It shows that Evelyn, like many women in her generation, took excellent care of her clothing and wore it for years!! In those days everything was line dried (gentler on the clothes) and ironed!!! Numerous garments in the film where from the 30's and 40's and were quite aged and well worn. One 1930's era dress (scene with the priest) was carefully mended in several areas, as were a number of house dresses and aprons.
Virtually all of Julianne's casual costumes were based on home sewing patterns of the era. Evelyn was an excellent seamstress, making many of her own clothes as well as many costumes for the children. The costume dept. carefully chose patterns that were accessible to homemakers like Evelyn.
I personally appreciate when costume departments don't artificially "age" the clothes to look like they currently do in vintage shops. Fifties dresses, in the fifties, were "new" looking because they WERE new!
Not the faded droopy 60 years on a hanger gathering dust garments you see in thrift stores.
Note to centava99: Evelyn's wardrobe is consistent with the research. She took amazing care of her clothes and would rather make a new dress (or alter a hand-me-down from a relative) than wear threadbare clothing. One of Evelyn's actual blouses (a white embroidered sheer cotton from the late thirties) was worn by Leanne for a school picture in the fifties, and loaned to the costume dept. in PRISTINE condition 70 years later! The children's clothes were more distressed because they were handed down numerous times and were worn for sports, outdoor play, and boisterous activities. All of their "dress" clothes showed the same care as Evelyn's. The "poop-y diaper" dress and apron were made (in multiples) of vintage fabrics by the costume dept.

[–] harrigan-3 19 years ago

Great information about the costumes! Perhaps someone can tell me when the movie will be released to more theaters. I live in Central Ohio and can't find it anywhere. Woody Harreleson was on Live with Regis and Kelly today and made no mention of this movie!

[–] mlaiuppa 8 years ago

My Mother made all her clothes and mine too when I was going to school, right up until high school.

Clothes made at that time lasted because the fabric was a much better quality.

I still have some of the outfits I wore in elementary school in a trunk. They still look new because I didn't play in them. I had to take them off when I got home. I grew out of them before they wore out.

She made my younger brother's clothes too. When my sister had her children, she got some of them out of the trunk and they were like new. My sister's boys wore my brother's hand me downs until they wore out.

Clothes lasted. The fabric was better, they were line dried and when they finally did wear to the point of looking to shabby to wear, you repurposed them. They became aprons, potholders and towels, bandanas, dusting clothes and rags. My Mother cut down some of her dresses and remade them as clothes for us. Scraps became doll clothes or stuffed toys.

The one thing that differed from Evelyn Ryan and my Mom were that my Mom didn't wear such formal house dresses. Hers were a bit more casual. And my Mother never wore a girdle for just around the house. It was only worn when she went out. (Things may have been different in Ohio.) In those days you held your stockings up with a girdle as it had clips. There was no panty hose. I remember having to buy a girdle to wear my first pair of stockings. Panty hose was just coming out when I was in middle school and was more common when I was in high school but stockings were still cheaper and more available. My Mother didn't wear stockings around the house just to do housework. They might get snagged or run. So no stockings, no need for a girdle.

The styles and fabrics were quite authentic. I do think they should have changed her hair style a bit over the years. I know my Mother changed her hair every few years to keep up with the times until the 70s. Then she just left it in a short bob.

I am surprised at Evelyn's reliance on so much frozen food. My Mother cooked almost entirely from scratch all the way until I was in college with the exception of fish sticks and some frozen vegetables. She even canned peaches and tomatoes from the garden. I would have thought with 10 kids and being a stay at home mom Evelyn would be doing a lot more preserving, cooking from scratch and have a vegetable garden since they owned their own home.