Not only is it one of the greatest movies of all time, one of the most quoted film in history (“[he] sleeps with the fishes”), and an epic tribute to mafia romance and tragedy, The Godfather is also a dedication to the back alleys and glamorous landmarks of New York. Before filming began, the movie on its way to Hollywood for production to the obvious disappointment of director Francis Ford Coppola, who waged a determined battle to have the gangster epic filmed on-location in New York City. And to the great relief of the loyal fan base for the original novel, the famed director won. From Staten Island to the Bronx, The Godfather, in its trademark sophisticated gangster swagger, gave the city its due amount of respect that even Don Corleone would be proud of.
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Following in the Footsteps of The Godfather
January 27th, 2012Comments ( 0 )
I Spy: Museyon Guides
January 23rd, 2012
Last week we swept the streets of New York City to visit our books in some of our favorite stores. Here are some of the places where you can find them in Manhattan!
Whitney Museum of American Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art Store, Rockefeller Center
Barnes and Noble, CitiCorp Center
Lower East Side Tenement Museum
NYU Bookstore (Go Violets!)
Spotlight On: Coco Chanel
January 20th, 2012
Coco Chanel and the artist Salvador Dalí
Coco Chanel. Gracefully rolling off the tongue, the name itself exudes a fierce confidence sewed together with a charming grace. Born August 18, 1983, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel would grow up to revolutionize the fashion industry with her modernist mind, keen fashion sense, belief that women could sport the styles usually found on men, and of course, her little black dress. Chanel’s way to fashion began in a nunnery, where she learned the talent that would propel her forward into the Parisian fashion world: dressmaking. Bold, audacious, and determined, a young Gabrielle landed on the singing stage of bars for officers, who nicknamed her “Coco” short for “coquette” (a flirt) or “coquina” (naughty). One of her officer-lovers and textile mogul, Étienne Balsan landed her a job as a dressmaker and introduced her to Parisian high society, which was all the charismatic Coco needed to begin her industrious career.
She began designing hats at first and as she moved on from her new lover, Englishman Arthur Edward Capel, to the Duke of Westminster, Coco familiarized herself with British public figures, and, most importantly, English tailoring. The stylish and bold dress suit for woman erupted onto the fashion scene followed shortly by the now-legendary perfume, Chanel No. 5. Then, in 1926 came the little black dress, cementing Coco’s infamous status in not only fashion, but in everything chic and glamorous. After a short stint in Hollywood, where she designed clothes for both Katherine Hepburn and Grace Kelly, Coco returned to her beloved Paris and moved into a magnificent apartment located at her headquarters at 31, rue Cambon, while taking a suite at the fabulously elegant Ritz Hotel where she stayed until her death at 87 years old. But before her death, Coco would find herself arrested as a Nazi collaborator, declared on of the richest women in the world, and on top of the fashion world once more during the post-war fashion revival. Sophisticated, determined, brilliant, and as her name suggests, a bit naughty, Coco Chanel’s radiant influence is everywhere, living on in every woman’s spray of perfume, dress suit and little black dress.– Nicole Ellul
Chanel Boutique & Apartment
31 Rue Cambon
75001 Paris, France
+33 1 44 50 66 00
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The Ritz Hotel
15 Place Vendôme, 75001
Paris, France
+33 1 43 16 30 30
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See the Sets with On Location Tours
January 17th, 2012
If you’re anything like us, you get a thrill from seeing familiar places on the big and small screens. Then imagine the rush that comes with seeing dozens of your favorite places from film and television all in one action-packed tour! Since 1999, On Location Tours has offered guided sight-seeing bus and walking tours of famous film and television locations — everything from the Ghostbusters firehouse to the famous sandwich shop where Harry wooed Sally, even specialized tours dedicated to all things Sex and the City, Gossip Girl and Sopranos. For a complete list of tour offerings visit www.screentours.com.
Want to see it for yourself? For a chance to win two ticked to the tour of your choice just Tweet your favorite film/TV location to @museyon. We’ll select a winner at random this Friday, Jan. 20. Good luck!
Spotlight On: The Galeries Lafayette
January 13th, 2012
From Marie Antoinette’s powdered wig to Coco Chanel’s little black dress, Paris has always been the hub of fashion. The Parisian fashion world—the pinnacle for fashion designers, models and anyone interested in what colors are a must-have for fall—has dominated in all things couture. So, in 1893 when a pair of entrepreneurs decided to open up a fashion store at the heart of the fashion industry, the outcome would be one of the world’s premier department stores with the same mythical wonderment and glamorous awe to rival London’s iconic Harrods and New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue.
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Hemingway’s Paris
January 11th, 2012In the years before WWII, Paris was the most exciting place on the planet, drawing some of culture’s most creative minds. In the latest video from Museyon, discover the places where Ernest Hemingway lived, loved and found inspiration in Paris, France. See the places he and other members of the Lost Generation (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein) hung out, then visit those places today.
Spotlight On: The Moulin Rouge
January 6th, 2012
The Moulin Rouge, or Red Windmill, is as famous as its counterparts the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum. Made immortal through literature, cinema, and of course, song, this popular cabaret opened for business in 1889 and forever revolutionized the meaning of the word “soiree.”
Better known by it French name, the Moulin Rouge–or “ The First Palace of Women” as its owners Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller often referred to it–was a club exclusively for men, with its voluptuous courtesans delivering suggestive song and dance numbers, including the wonderfully raunchy can-can. With a large windmill adorning the top and a plaster elephant holding a number of private rooms at the rear of the building, the grand cabaret was a sight to behold, tempting men to peek inside and become enamored with the grand flamboyancy of beautiful women dressed in stunning costumes swaying seductively to the musing radiating within its walls. Yet many of these curious men found the sensual spectacle of the Moulin Rouge addictive, such as the famous painter, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who had a permanent seat reserved at the cabaret. Eventually, the notorious vulgarity of the happenings inside the Moulin Rouge sparked a public outcry that led to the cabaret’s transition from little more than a brothel to an exclusive performing hall for the upper class (who had deep and generous pockets).
Today, the Moulin Rouge is an expensive restaurant/cabaret and its red windmill still stands strong among the neighboring Parisian buildings, drawing both male and female tourists eager to catch remnants of the cabaret’s infamous aura. Although much has changed from 1889 to now, the Moulin Rouge has ensured one constant to be ever present: the can-can. –Nicole Ellul
Moulin Rouge
82, boulevard de Clichy
75018 Paris, France
+ 33 01 53 09 82 82
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