Some of the most memorable films of all time are remembered for their costumes and props rather than their stories. Films like The Terminator and Risky Business are represented in the modern day with pictures of the respective main characters donning the classic sunglasses that made them famous. Both are testament to what can happen when prop and costume designers excel at their jobs.
There are literally thousands of props used in a typical movie. To illustrate the point, this post will focus on sunglasses. What are a common piece of protective eyewear we all take for granted can become an integral part of a film without any real effort to make them so.
The first thing to know is that sunglasses are sometimes part of the story. In The Terminator, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s robotic character wears dark sunglasses to hide an exposed mechanical eye. The sunglasses are required by the story for functional purposes. Yet what people remember is how they looked on Schwarzenegger’s face.
Period-Correct Sunglasses
It could very well be that the costume designers working on The Terminator did not have to look long and far for Schwarzenegger’s shades. But consider the recently released Matt Damon and Christian Bale film, Ford v Ferrari. This film tells the story of Ford and Shelby working together to build a car that could beat Ferrari.
It is a story that takes place in the mid-1960s at a time when Ford was hoping to push its pony cars to the limit. For a story like this, it is important that props and costume designers pay attention to the details of the period. This includes the sunglasses worn by the film’s two big-name actors.
Their shades had to be so accurate to 1960s styles that you wouldn’t even notice them. The sunglasses had to essentially be part of the story but fade into the background of viewer consciousness as just a natural part of the scene unfolding before their eyes. That is not easy to do.
Creating a Certain Look
Where the sunglasses in Ford v Ferrari were intentionally designed to be just another part of the scene, other movie sunglasses are not supposed to go unnoticed. They are put into action for the sole purpose of creating a specific look that creates an emotional response in viewers. The sunglasses featured in Men in Black are a perfect example.
That film’s two main characters, played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, were secret agents of an organization tasked with keeping the lid on the existence of real-life extraterrestrials. The characters had to look cool, collected, and somewhat mysterious given their jobs. Neither character would have fit the story without sunglasses.
As the title of the film suggests, the two lead characters dressed in black. They wore classic black suits with white shirts and black ties. Their faces were adorned by black wayfarers with dark black lenses. Now, can you imagine those same characters wearing silver-rimmed aviators with lenses tinted a light blue? It would not have worked.
More Important Than You Think
It turns out that sunglasses as movie props are more important than you might think. It all boils down to the fact that we human beings have certain ideas about the message sunglasses send. According to Utah’s Olympic Eyewear, public perception of sunglasses guides a lot of what costume and prop designers do when choosing shades for a particular film.
Ford v Ferrari might go on to be remembered for a fine story and equally fine acting. If the film flops though, at least you will remember the iconic 1960s sunglasses.
