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Art by Yuming Li

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backward into first causes—stone in the pond of things, splash splash—or we throw ourselves into the future. we all move forward anyway. ripples in all directions.

what is a ghost?

— landscape with fruit rot and millipede, by richard silken

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@hotvintagepoll crucial propaganda for a glamorous singing queen

stumbled upon this amazing 1080p quality clip of Yoshiko Yamaguchi singing Fragrance of the Night (夜來香) in her final film A Holiday in Tokyo (1958) that i feel compelled to share

the movie is directed by Kajiro Yamamoto (Kurosawa's mentor) and famously features an all-star cast from the toho studio, including Toshiro Mifune, Setsuko Hara, Takashi Shimura, and many more. i mean, literally every supporting role/cameo in this film was an A-list japanese movie star, a true tribute to Yoshiko's incredible 20-year career

in this performance, Yoshiko slips seamlessly between perfect japanese and chinese while showcasing her gorgeous soprano skills. the song remains a staple in today's classical mandarin repertoire

12 hours left to vote for Yoshiko Yamaguchi here!

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Catherine Deneuve in PEAU D’ANE (1970) dir. Jacques Demy

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soothsayer at salt-pillar house

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Mia Wasikowska on Stoker for The Telegraph

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Seen on Twitter

The Sopranos “Walk Like a Man”

“Perhaps the most consistent throughline of the entire series has been the relationship between Tony and Christopher. Really, only the Soprano marriage even comes close to the level of detail and shading that’s devoted to Tony’s connection with his “nephew,” the man who was supposed to succeed him someday but has only managed to piss Tony off and strain the two’s relationship to the point of breaking. What’s doubly sad about this is that a major contributing factor is that every time Chris tries to better himself, or tries to prove his loyalty to Tony, he gets mired more deeply in the situation, unable to escape from the man who increasingly views everybody in his circle as his subject… (Fittingly, in a late-episode moment, Chris sees Tony laughing in slow-motion, wreathed by cigar smoke. He looks like the devil.)”

AV Club on Christopher Moltisanti and Tony Soprano (x)

Succession “This Is Not for Tears”

“I know my father’s a bastard, and I know he’s cruel. But I don’t think I’ve ever quite seen the gorgon head of his evil before, and I think that has a real effect. Despite the glaring evidence of my father being a false god, I have been worshipping at his altar for so long. I’m ready to be his sacrifice. But I think, in that moment, I finally see him for what he is.”

Jeremy Strong on Kendall and Logan Roy (x)

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the atelier a/w 2023 bridal collection

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You don't understand how badly I need someone to find The Last Embrace (1953) dir. Masahiro Makino

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Mary & George episode 1 "The Second Son" (2024) dir. Oliver Hermanus

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leslie cheung photographed at cannes film festival, 1993

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well, no point waxing poetic in front of the grace kelly train, let's get right down to business

“she blooms like a plant that doesn’t exist, a flower that can turn into any flower.” by Masahiro Shinoda, the leading japanese new wave director who’s also Shima’s husband

so for those who are interested in the japanese new wave and want to see Shima's beauty in its purest form, Shinoda made 19 films starring his wife, all crafted with sincere devotion that oozes through the screen

Propaganda

Shima Iwashita (Goben no Tsubaki)—Shima Iwashita was THE leading lady of Shochiku (one of the 3 major movie studios in Japan) for over 16 years, including the entirety of 1960s. She's been two-time winner of the Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actress and the winner of the Japanese Academy Award of actress in a leading role in 1977. Famously known in Japan as the actress best suited to wearing kimono, Iwashita often played elegant, strong-willed, and sometimes vengeful female characters. She is particularly adept at portraying women's independence and self-reliance, as well as their delicate inner feelings, and has portrayed a number of sentimental and individualistic women in her many period and contemporary dramas. Her talent was discovered by Yasujirō Ozu, one of the world's greatest filmmakers, who told Shochiku executives at the time, "She is an exceptional talent who comes along only once in a decade." Ozu cast her as the female lead in his final film An Autumn Afternoon before he died of cancer in 1963. Now at the age of 83, she is as beautiful as ever.

Grace Kelly (Rear Window, High Society, Dial M for Murder)—The literal princess of Hollywood (she retired at 26 to become princess of Monaco), her name said everything about why she was so hot. She carried herself with a grace and elegance you just don't see anymore. Her voice was sultry without being overbearing, and she had the ability to be sweet but suggest a deep sensuality at all times.

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Shima Iwashita:

Grace Kelly:

flawlessly beautiful and a literal princess

Her facial structure? Flawless. Her eyes? Stunning. Her hair? Gorgeous. Her style? Immaculate. Every second she’s on screen, she just exudes this elegance and sophistication. It’s no wonder she ended up marrying a prince. But she’s got this mischief in her eyes that is compelling.

She was so elegant, so beautiful and perfect I could cry for real. A fairy disguised as a woman.

the most beautiful of Hitchcock's "icy blondes". elegant, glamorous, she left hollywood to became an actual princess, I mean, COME ON

she's so pretty and refined and elegant! I'm pretty sure taylor swift's blonde hair red lip look is modeled partly after her

She's just so elegant, look at her all dressed up like a Barbie doll in the latest fashions. There's a quiet dignity about her.

Not only was she princess of Monaco she also is Stéphanie de Monaco's mother and yeah, vote for her she's soooo pretty That red dress in Dial M.... hot damn

To me, she is the first and only blonde. She earned it. Paired with Edith Head's costume design she is unstoppable. I dare anyone to watch her as Lisa Carol Fremont in Rear Window and not be completely blown away by her hotness.

SHE IS SO PRETTY AND FASHIONABLE!! Not only that but she has an alluring aura to her in whatever film I've seen her in! Rear Window is just one of my personal favorite films she was in, especially for her costumes in that. And how many actresses can you say was a princess consort in addition to being a famous leading lady?

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Yoshimi Sekiguchi "A dream I had one day".

せきぐちよしみ『いつか見た夢』

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PROPAGANDA TIME FOR MY FAV HK VINTAGE HOT LADY

(moving some of my round 1 propaganda here but also get ready for plenty new hot facts and pics 🔥)

her name literally means summer dream in chinese! the name was inspired by shakespeare's a midsummer night's dream and fits her perfectly

one of her first acting experiences was playing joan of arc at the protestant girls' school she attended as a teen and it was an instant hit!

she's about 170cm (5'7'') which was unusually tall for actresses in hk at that time. apparently some actors jokingly complained about her being too tall when she first joined the studio, but soon they were all busy wearing raised shoes so they could still act opposite her

look at her!! literally like a model!! perfect legs!!

it is said that in the early 60's in shanghai, people would queue up for three days and nights to see a film starring her

when she played the male lead (cross-gender acting gotta be a must-have in vintage hot lady resume) in the yue opera (yes she can sing traditional chinese opera) movie Bride Hunter, she played a male character who then disguised as a woman as part of the plot. the gender switcheroo was apparently so gripping and convincing that many yue opera fans begged her to switch career

i couldn't find pics from Bride Hunter with a decent quality so have some pretty Xia Meng in traditional opera looks instead

notice how her makeup and facial expression are pretty much the same in these two pics but she looks somehow more handsome in the left and more adorable in the right? THATS RANGE

there's sth androgynous about her face that i absolutely looove and allows her to play with so many different shades of beauty

her striking beauty made her the muse of countless creative figures, inspiring novels (most of Jin Yong's femme fatales are based on her), poems, songs, etc.

for Wong Kar-wai, she was the epitome of classical chinese beauty

but almost everyone close to her always said that her talent and wisdom were more impressive than her beauty, which really says a lot about her intellectual hotness (she's introverted and nerdy! her favorite pastime was reading and tea drinking!)

the hk film archive calls her "an embodiment of allure and wisdom"

although Xia Meng was not born in hk (her family emigrated from shanghai during the chinese civil war), she considered hk her home and made it her mission to learn cantonese and immerse herself in cantonese culture. she's one of the very few actors/actresses of her era to be adored in both hk and the PRC, uniting a generation of audiences that were otherwise completely divided by politics

(personal anecdote: my chinese mother and my hk auntie disagreed on almost everything when they first met, but then bonded immediately after realizing they both had a Xia Meng phase as teenagers trying to copy her looks)

she was a foundational figure in hk cinema history, both as an actress and later as a producer. some of the most renowned figures in the hk movie industry nowadays such as Ann Hui and Andy Lau owe their success to her early support

so plsss vote for this ICON not only of (inner and outer) beauty but also of cinematic legacy – a true summer dream of an era

Propaganda

Xia Meng, also known as Hsia Moog or Miranda Yang (Sunrise, Bride Hunter)—For those who are familiar with Hong Kong's early cinema, Xia Meng is THE leading woman of an era, the earliest "silver-screen goddess", "The Great Beauty" and "Audrey Hepburn of the East". Xia Meng starred in 38 films in her 17-year career, and famously had rarely any flops, from her first film at the age of 18 to her last at the age of 35. She was a rare all-round actress in Mandarin-language films, acting, singing, and dancing with an enchanting ease in films of diverse genres, from contemporary drama to period operas. She was regarded as the "crown princess" among the "Three Princesses of the Great Wall", the iconic leading stars of the Great Wall Movie Enterprises, which was Hong Kong's leading left-wing studio in the 1950s-60s. At the time, Hong Kong cinema had only just taken off, but Xia Meng's influence had already spread out to China, Singapore, etc. Overseas Chinese-language magazines and newspapers often featured her on their covers. The famous HK wuxia novelist Jin Yong had such a huge crush on her that he made up a whole fake identity as a nobody-screenwriter to join the Great Wall studio just so he can write scripts for her. He famously said, "No one has really seen how beautiful Xi Shi (one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China) is, I think she should be just like Xia Meng to live up to her name." In 1980, she returned to the HK film industry by forming the Bluebird Movie Enterprises. As a producer with a heart for the community, she wanted to make a film on the Vietnam War and the many Vietnam War refugees migrating to Hong Kong. She approached director Ann Hui and produced the debut film Boat People (1982), a globally successful movie and landmark feature for Hong Kong New Wave, which won several awards including the best picture and best director in the second Hong Kong Film Award. Years later, Ann Hui looked back on her collaboration with Xia Meng, "I'm very grateful to her for allowing me to make what is probably the best film I've ever made in my life."

Anita Ekberg (War and Peace, La Dolce Vita)— I'm going to be frank with you. Every time I look at this woman, I lose my ability to form sentences.

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Xia Meng:

Anita Ekberg:

“I haven't seen much starring her (YET) but the scene of her in the Fontana di Trevi in La Dolce Vita is some of the most jealous I've ever been of Marcello Mastroianni maybe and that's saying a lot. Cinema history. Historical.”

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Blue Flowers - Antonio Barahona , 2024.

Spanish, b.1984 -

Oil on panel , 50 x 40 cm.

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This is my favourite picture of Paulette Goddard, I have it up on my mirror!