What characteristics define your choice of character?
After researching different aspects of Cabaret, Goodbye to Berlin and Christopher and his Kind, at the moment, my two chosen characters are Sally Bowles and Fraulein Kost. According to Isherwood, the famous novelist, “She had a surprisingly deep, husky voice. She sang badly, without any expression, her hands hanging down at her sides – yet her performance was, in its own way, effective because of her startling appearance and her air of not caring a curse of what people thought of her,” - Christopher Isherwood. To me she came across as a particularly confident character, but in some ways, I think this is just a persona she holds to fool the public. Her look is very severe, quite sharp and consists of block colours. Her hair is one shade of black, her eyeshadow is bold and she always wears a red lip.
Fraulein Kost earns
money
by
offering
favours
to
sailors
, she exhibit
s a strong
sexual
and
commanding
nature. We do not see much of Kost in Cabaret, however I imagine her to be a little more toned down than Sally, with less heavy make up and softer hair.
What knowledge of the period did the designer consider to be able to develop these characters?
Sally Bowles in the classic musical Cabaret was a poster girl for divine decadence, from the tips of her green manicured nails to her heavy kohl rimmed eyes, fluttering eyelashes, perfect bob and Twenties flapper styling. Although released in 1972, Cabaret is set during the 1930’s. The pale powdered skin, heavy black eyes and red lips are all very true to the era, although I did notice some white eyeliner in the water line on many of the showgirls, which lends itself to a sixties style.
According to your research so far, do you feel that the character designs in the film are appropriate?
In my opinion, the styling of the showgirls and female characters in Cabaret is not exactly what i'd call a 1930's style. In the thirties, women wore dresses and kept their hair close to their head. Fur was in and so were floral patterns. The only female character I notice wearing a floral pattern is Fraulein Scnheider, and she is much older than the other females. Sally wore a bowler hat, a tailored halter neck waistcoat with a plunging neckline, mini hot pants with a sparkly detail, suspenders and the heels...this is definitely appropriate for her character, just not appropriate for the fashion styling of the time.
Which techniques were used to create the hair and make up?
During the 1930's, there was no bolder way to express your femininity than with make-up. In the early 30's women often had quite a pale complexion, their skin often looked white and waxen or very porcelain with a touch of pink to give the look some life. Therefore powders were applied in rich ivory colours too. Blushes became ever so popular applied during daytime and night time, with cream rouges becoming popular, followed by powder to intensify the colour. Women wore pencil thin eyebrows and bold, red lips became the statement look. Mascara was now a necessity in a make-up kit too. Sally also wore heavy eye kohl, just like the women of the 1920s. The showgirls hair was often cut into short, sharp bobs which set them apart from other women of the time.
Comment upon the colour palette of the film?
The colour palette in Cabaret varied quite a lot depending on the location of the scene. The colours used in the scenes when they were travelling the Berlin streets seem to represent the unhappiness of the Berlin citizens and the poverty they're facing; dull, gloomy tones of brown symbolise the working class community, where as richer colours like red and purple are used to represent the upper class.
