Word: sumptuous
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Daily Life in the Forbidden City by Wan Yi, Wang Shuqing and Lu Yanzhen (Viking; $75). As the Son of Heaven moved through his palaces, the Hall of Luminous Benevolence, the Gate of Divine Prowess, there was everywhere beauty to behold. The Palace Museum in Beijing has assembled a sumptuous record of this quotidian splendor...
...their former selves; the graceful existence they once accommodated, celebrated in novels and films, lives on. Morning strolls across rolling lawns, with tatters of mist clinging to the ancient oaks and hedgerows. Inside, an assembly of witty weekend guests. Tea at 4; whisky and soda at 6. A sumptuous meal, with candlelight glancing off starched white shirtfronts, bare shoulders and glittering jewelry. Port and cigars, conversation and billiards. And then...
...enjoy a seminar in progress. On view in the glassed-in kitchen, a dozen nervous young chefs in tall toques bump into one another as they peel, poach and broil their way through the evening. At times it may seem that the students will never turn out a sumptuous meal, but fine dishes ranging from chilled duck borscht with ginger and melon to apricot mousse arrive on time, borne by hesitant student waiters...
...restrictive. Italy came on with a rush of fresh talent: dazzling designers (like the Missonis), some fine hands (like Gianfranco Ferre) and some naughty boys (like Gianni Versace). But, in Armani, it produced just a | single world beater. Paris, on the other hand, can still offer a wider spectrum: sumptuous Saint Laurent, engaging Lagerfeld, generative Miyake, fast-flash Gaultier, ebullient Patrick Kelly. As ever, it is center stage, the arena on which designers want most to play, especially if they are coming on (like Gigli) or consolidating (like Valentino...
...episodes test the viewer's patience, and there is considerably more wit in the film's sumptuous design than in its dialogue. But anyone with an educated eye and a child's love of hyperbole can take delight in Gilliam's images and incidents. Starlight spangles a lunar beach as the baron's ship drifts ashore for his interview with an Italianate creature (Robin Williams, unbilled and hilarious) who identifies himself as "the King of Everything -- Rei di Tutto. But you may call me Ray." The king's body is detachable from his head, which provokes schizophrenia of celestial proportions...