A Treat when Pantyhose show up unexpectedly

Robin Maryland, president, ActSensuous

Frequent readers of this blog know that I  think pantyhose should be worn for the right reasons, during the right occasions and at the right places.  OK, so pretty much, always.  

Obviously, I want pantyhose at the office, the courthouse, the wedding, the funeral, the party, the stage, the TV studio, the movie set ….. you get the idea.  When this happens, I am so proud and very happy.

Today, it’s hard enough to see pantyhose worn in movies where the occasion and venues would seem to warrant it.   I like it a lot when it does happen.  So imagine the thrill I get when pantyhose show up on an actress in a role and a venue where one not only wouldn’t expect them, but in which one would actually forgive the character/actress for not wearing them.

This weekend, I watched one such movie, “Blood: The Last Vampire.”  

Beauty and the beasts

Now, I like a good vampire-killer movie, but throw in a Japanese setting, karate fights and samurai swords, and I’m all in, baby! 

So, I was excited to watch “Blood: The Last Vampire,” but I certainly didn’t expect to see the young heroine, Saya, wearing a traditional Japanese schoolgirl uniform, complete with pantyhose so sheer, even I didn’t realize she was wearing until almost halfway through the film. 

One-girl wrecking crew

I just wanted to check out the martial arts action sequences more closely, and when I put the DVR in slow motion to enjoy Saya’s beautiful spinning wheel kicks, I realized she was wearing pantyhose.  Wow! 

I was digging the movie anyway, but the fact that the actress, or the costume designer, chose to put the actress in pantyhose, even for the samurai sword and karate fight sequences, well, you had me at Japanese vampire.  

Dishing out demon destruction

Like the “Resident Evil” movies being based on a video game, “Blood: The Last Vampire” movie is based on the wildly popular and multiple award-winning Japanese anime cult classic series.  

I’ve read different accounts of the timeframe in which the live action movie version takes place, but most say it’s around 1966, during a period when the U.S.military is preparing to enter the Vietnam War.  The setting is an American Air Force base in Tokyo.  But while the base is on edge about the war, there’s already an unseen battle going on; a 400 years long fight waged by vampires and their monstrous bat-like creatures who feed on human blood.  

Soaring into action

Enter Saya, the lone execution arm of a covert government agency that has been hunting  demons for centuries.  She is installed as a would-be student at a military school on the base to discover which of her classmates are demons in disguise, and to force a confrontation against the most powerful demon of them all, Onigen, who murdered Saya’s father when she was a young girl.  

Sad soul

While Saya has the appearance of a 17-year-old student, she really is a 400-year-old samurai of extraordinary ability.  Saya is a half-human, half-vampire, who preys on the demons who feast on human blood.  

Joining forces with a secret government agency known as the Council, Saya is tormented at being a half-breed creature with the soul of her human father and the powers (and need of blood to survive) of her vampire mother.  

She is obsessed about finally facing the most powerful of demons – the one that killed her father – and, en route to the confrontation she seeks with Onigen, Saya wages a one-girl series of battles in which she dispatches with her samurai sword hundreds of lower level demons. 

Not so dark

Saya is played by beautiful Korean model/actress Jeon Ji-hyeon. (Remember, traditionally, Asian people say and write their family names first, and their given names second.  Because she’s young, I am going to call her by her first name here.)   By the way, don’t be confused: For an English audience, Ji-hyeon changed her named to Gianna Jun, and the film credits list her as only Gianna.   To complicate things further, some Internet sources list her name as Jeon Ji Hyun and Jun Ji-hyun.  I thought Jun Ji-hyun was accurate, but a  Korean movie data base site that I trust has her name listed exclusively as Jeon Ji-hyeon.  My feelings about these things is that one should always believe the way the country of origin spells and pronounces a name.   You’d have to think the Koreans know how one of their own spells and says her name. 

Whoever cast her in “Blood: The Last Vampire” is brilliant.  Ji-hyeon is one of Korea’s most popular young actresses, beloved for her starring roles in romantic comedies.  Who could have imagined she could pull off such an impressive performance in an action thriller, relying on martial arts fight sequences throughout?  In an interview, Ji-hyeon said she never imagined she’d play a part in an action movie, but that she had a lot of fun doing it and is hooked. 

While I haven’t seen any of Ji-hyeon other movies, I am extremely impressed at the transformation she makes of herself from a romantic comedy legend to a role in which her very dark character doesn’t smile once throughout the movie.

Always lovely

I am so glad I saw ‘Blood: The Last Vampire” because I am now a Jeon Ji-hyeon fan. 

I am so extremely impressed with her.   For a 27-year-old, she is very professional and classy, almost always wearing dresses, high heels and pantyhose during public appearances and in fashion photo shoots. 

It is so heartwarming to see a young professional displaying good taste and showing such grace and elegance in her young career.  I am looking forward to seeing more of  her. 

“Blood: The Last Vampire” is done by one of the producers of “Hero” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”   An extremely good story with wonderful acting and martial arts fights, “Hero” stars Jet Li, Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi.  It is one of my favorite martial arts movies because the story is so beautifully told (and I love Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi).  And, of course, you know all about “Crouching Tiger …”    

While “Blood: The Last Vampire” might not win any prestigious film awards, it is definitely worth checking out.  It often runs on the Encore channels.   

Pantyhose in other Action Settings

In some of my earlier blog posts, I’ve gloated over how often pantyhose are  worn by some of the female contestants and most of the female audience members at the site of the hit Japanese game show, “Ninja Warrior,” known as “the world’s toughest obstacle course.”    

Talk about pantyhose in unexpected places!    I so love the Japanese.   How many female athletes competing in a brutal obstacle course would be wearing pantyhose in Western countries?  And how many spectators sitting on bleachers at such a venue would be dressed in skirts, high heels and pantyhose anywhere except in Japan or other Asian countries? 

Resident goddess

Back to pantyhose showing up in movies in which you wouldn’t expect them,  I’ve often praised Milla Jovovich (and/or the costume designer) of the “Resident Evil” movies for dressing Milla’s character, Alice, in pantyhose for many of the scenes in which  she’s shooting and kicking the crud out of zombies. 

These rare cases are so impressive to me.   While today, so many movies that are set in business or formal scenes feature lead characters who dress up, except for the awful bare legs look, it’s so rewarding to see that some actresses (and/or costume designers) have so much class that they dress their star characters in pantyhose.   They truly get what so many others don’t – legs look so much better in pantyhose.

Delicate beauty, but ...

A couple of my other favorite action movies are “Beyond Hypothermia,” about a beautiful Chinese professional hit woman, who dispatches countless dudes, while dressed in lovely outfits, including high heels and pantyhose.  There’s just something about a delicately beautiful and petite woman (Wu Chen-Lien at right) dressed all femininely, while toting a high-power rifle that’s bigger than she is, and wielding assorted semi-automatic handguns.  Maybe it’s the juxtapositioning of the whole thing – pretty but deadly women, kicking butt, while wearing the most feminine thing in the world – pantyhose.  

And, you’ve read before how much I love “Princess Aurora.”  Don’t let the title fool you.  This is a Korean movie, starring the immensely popular Korean singer/actress Uhm Jung-hwa, who plays a heartbroken mother out to avenge the kidnap/murder of her young daughter (who loved the character, Princess Aurora.)  

Taking a stand

Despite the fact that this movie is pretty violent, it is a heart-wrenching, beautiful story, incredibly well-written and superbly acted.   I love Uhm Jung-hwa and will buy anything I can find that she’s done. 

Unfortunately, “Princess Aurora” is not available on DVD, but it is shown on IFC (Independent Film Channel) from time to time. 

Besides that I love this actress and this movie, one of the reasons I am recommending you see this is because Jung-hwa wears stunningly beautiful outfits, complete with high heels and pantyhose throughout the movie.  

While not quite as powerful or well done, another two movies I like are “Black Angel” and “Black Angel 2,” about a young Japanese woman who, years after witnessing the murder of her yakuza boss father, becomes an accomplished hit woman, who eventually extracts great vengeance on the new yakuza clan. 

Real-life angel?

The beautiful star who plays Black Angel is Riona Hizuki, who wears all black (naturally) dresses and pantyhose throughout the entire movie.

Seeing a trend with me here?  I guess I like movies in which women assassins extol the virtues of dressing femininely while blowing (mostly men) away.   Hey, I’m sure men would rather be done-in by a beautiful babe in pantyhose, than killed a little bit each day by women who go bare-legged.   Guys, am I right here?

Recently, I watched the movie “Salt,” starring Angelina Jolie as a CIA spy (or Soviet Union double-agent?).  In the beginning of the movie, her character wears a skirt suit with high heels, but sadly, no pantyhose.  Too bad.  I thought it would have been very attractive and sexy if she had been wearing pantyhose when she kicked off her heels to fight and flee once her cover was compromised.  

How about you?   Do you love it when you see pantyhose in unexpected places?   What’s your favorite action (or otherwise) movie, in which the lead actress wears pantyhose throughout?   Or, do you have a favorite pantyhose scene during a movie?   Please share so that we all can enjoy!