The Last Picture Show is Coming Back!

Just when you thought we'd have to stick it with Jeff Bridges hiding behind his straggly beard and advancing years....a piece of retro-tinged fortune from Hollywood! Whilst I am a big fan of the later work of the great man who brought us the Dude, I was delighted to learn last week that The Last Picture Show is getting re-released this April.

I have to admit I was totally surprised when I found out, because I had thought that this kind of movie - whilst it is a classic, and was nominated for several Oscars (winning two for Best Supporting Actor and Actress) - wasn't exactly made for mainstream appeal in the twenty-first century. But how wrong I clearly am! Perhaps it is thanks to Bridges continual presence in award-nominated lead roles, from True Grit to Crazy Heart, that the cultural world is suddenly turning back to survey his whole career.

Film critics and fans alike recognise The Last Picture Show as one of the archetypal coming-of-age movies, tackling the boredom, anticipation and unease of growing up in small town America. It's a beautiful story, subtly told, that has influenced so many films after it - I think the 1980s trend for popcorn, glossy reimaginings of these coming-of-age structures is completely indebted to this film. (Whilst I'm sure Bogdanovich won't appreciate the references, what you see with films like Footloose and Stand By Me is a kind of lite-and-sweet take on the painful discoveries of The Last Picture Show's Sonny. Like many great artworks which often spawn unfavourable tributes, these 80s films are inspired by one or two aspects of the Bogdanovich without covering quite the same range or depth.)

But whether you're a Bridge-o-phile or a bookish cineast, the fact that The Last Picture Show is coming back seems telling...part of a bigger trend that is influencing lifestyle as well as culture. I guess it's another step in our love affair with all things retro and vintage. I know that I for one am always more influenced by styles from the 50s, 60s and 70s. You can take the girl out of America, but you can't take America out of the girl - I go crazy for real down-home classic looks, and I particularly love the plaid shirts and denim on display in Bogdanovich's film. (And I spend too much time oggling cheap jeans in different styles, desperately searching for the right look!)

And it makes me laugh that this film which is coming back in part due to our nostalgia and retroism, is retro in itsef. Because this classic 70s film is actually set in....the 1950s. It's so brilliant because it depicts society on the edge of a big change: the sleepy town of Thalia, Texas, doesn't know the sexual revolution nor the Civil Rights movement which were part of the social fabric in 1971.

Bogdanovich's piece is deliberately stylised - shot in black and white, with a real intensity to the performances (see Cloris Leachman's incredible work: this coffee pot moment was done in one take, not even rehearsed - it's incredible). The great performances of the actors also let you know that this is a society about to blow - perfectly capturing the frustrations and transient thrills of small town life, as well as the often brutal discoveries of adolescence.

What is more - it gives us one iconic decade (the 1970s) scrutinising another iconic decade (the 1950s). It's like a style kaleidoscope as well as political commentary. The film seems to comment on the impending historical changes through clothes - sleeves get shorter, crudely rolled up, hair gets messier, longer, gruffer. And I think you can only do that with hindsight: carefully styling the characters so that even their collars and shoelaces say 'revolution is on its way'. Check out the lens I wrote over on Squidoo, taking a closer look at my love of 'Americana'.

Either way, I for one am going to be swanning down to the BFI in high-waist jeans and a check shirt for a showing of this film, brimming with happiness about getting to indulge all of my nostalgic loves at once: fashion, adolescence and film.