Fan Bing-Bing has done a photoshoot for an upcoming issue of "Esquire" magazine and is, in the breathless prose of both CRIEnglish and sina.com, "the second female star to cover the men's magazine following Zhang Ziyi". According to the same sources the spread is paying homage to the look and style of Marilyn Monroe. It provides the official and semi-official PRC news portals a chance to run pictures of a beautiful actress, an opportunity I of which I am also taking advantage with this post.The English rendition is here and the Chinese here
But there might be a more appropriate bombshell Caucasian actress from the late 1950s and early 1960s with whom to compare Fan Bing-Bing in these pictures.
The gray scale images remind me more of Sophia Loren, particularly the last one above. Here is a still from (I am pretty sure) "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" of which the picture seems reminiscent. Both involve women getting dressed and both involve mirrors with mirror images. Whatever effect the photographer was trying to accomplish with this image of Fan Bing-Bing he made at least one viewer think immediately of the gorgeous cinema goddess of mid-century Italy although the Chinese idol is not quite as voluptuous as Loren.
Good call, Ed! I never would have thought of Sophia Loren, but Fan Bingbing does have that same sultry quality.
ReplyDeleteI love the way the shadows of the blinds are used to rhyme with Bingbing's ribbon dress.
I also love the picture of her shaving in the English article!
Your post made her interesting again! I am kind of sick of her but I will tell you that most of my Fan Bing-Bing posts still get a few hits via Google every day for some reason.
ReplyDeletedurian dave--
ReplyDeleteI have had Sophia Loren on the brain since--well I don't know since when but for a long time. One look at the grey scale images and she jumped into my head. The shaving picture is cool--a trope that Esquire has used in the past. You might remember the cover from a number of years ago with Cindy Crawford in a barber chair getting a shave from K.D. Laing.
Glenn, kneixfan--I haven't gotten sick of her yet although I've seen just a few of her movies. I mentioned elsewhere how much I like your blog--just found it the other day--and have added it to my blog roll here.
wow she is strong actress and I like your blogs thank you for your interesting contents!!!!!!!!!!!!
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