Charles E. Knode (1942 – 16 February 2023) was an Oscar nominated and an Emmy and BAFTA award-winning British costume designer. He studied at Wimbledon School of Art. [1]
Charles Knode designed costumes for stage, screen, television and videos. He worked in close collaboration for many years with Sir Ridley Scott.
In 1972 whilst working for the BBC; he designed the costumes for their epic drama of Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" which starred amongst others, Anthony Hopkins as Pierre Bezukhov. Among his first jobs on leaving the BBC was on Monty Python's Life of Brian . He has appeared as an extra in many of the Monty Python films. He has won 2 BAFTA Awards. The first for the Ridley Scott film "Blade Runner" and the second for "Braveheart". His designs have also appeared in a number of music videos starring Kate Bush . In 1996, In addition to winning the BAFTA award he was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the acclaimed Mel Gibson epic Braveheart . He won an Emmy Award for Alice in Wonderland in 1999. He has designed many costumes for the Hallmark Channel, Including "Snow White" starring Sigourney Weaver and "Dinotopia".
Sharon Krossa notes that Braveheart contains numerous historical errors, beginning with the wearing of belted plaid by Wallace and his men. In that period "no Scots ... wore belted plaids (let alone kilts of any kind)." [2] Moreover, when Highlanders finally did begin wearing the belted plaid, it was not "in the rather bizarre style depicted in the film." [2] She compares the inaccuracy to "a film about Colonial America showing the colonial men wearing 20th century business suits, but with the jackets worn back-to-front instead of the right way around." [2] "The events aren't accurate, the dates aren't accurate, the characters aren't accurate, the names aren't accurate, the clothes aren't accurate—in short, just about nothing is accurate." [3] The belted plaid (feileadh mór léine) was not introduced until the 16th century. [4] Peter Traquair has referred to Wallace's "farcical representation as a wild and hairy highlander painted with woad (1,000 years too late) running amok in a tartan kilt (500 years too early)." [5]
Charles Knode died in West Sussex after a period of ill health on 16 February 2023, at the age of 80. [6]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | Monty Python and the Holy Grail | Camp Guard / Robin's Minstrel | Uncredited |
1979 | Monty Python's Life of Brian | Passer-by | Uncredited, (final film role) |
Braveheart is a 1995 American epic historical drama film directed by, produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England. The film also stars Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan and Catherine McCormack. The story is inspired by Blind Harry's 15th century epic poem The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace and was adapted for the screen by Randall Wallace.
A kilt is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first recorded in the 16th century as the great kilt, a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak. The small kilt or modern kilt emerged in the 18th century, and is essentially the bottom half of the great kilt. Since the 19th century, it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland, and more broadly with Gaelic or Celtic heritage.
Monty Python were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, which aired on the BBC from 1969 to 1974. Their work then developed into a larger collection that included live shows, films, albums, books, and musicals; their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Their sketch show has been called "an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".
Sir Michael Edward Palin is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019.
Terence Graham Parry Jones was a Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe.
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson was an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2005, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Tartan is a patterned cloth with crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming simple or complex rectangular patterns. Tartans originated in woven wool, but are now made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland, and Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns. The earliest surviving samples of tartan-style cloth are around 3,000 years old and were discovered in Xinjiang, China.
"Operation Kilt" is an episode in the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Saturday 1 March 1969.
Trews are men's clothing for the legs and lower abdomen, a traditional form of tartan trousers from Scottish Highland dress. Trews could be trimmed with leather, usually buckskin, especially on the inner leg to prevent wear from riding on a horse.
Edward Ian MacNaughton was a Scottish actor, television producer and director, best known for his work with the Monty Python team.
The history of the modern kilt stretches back to at least the end of the 16th century. The kilt first appeared as the belted plaid or great kilt, a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak draped over the shoulder, or brought up over the head as a hood. The small kilt or walking kilt did not develop until the late 17th or early 18th century, and is essentially the bottom half of the great kilt.
Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) is a comedic oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian. It was written by former Monty Python cast member Eric Idle and collaborator John Du Prez, and commissioned by the Luminato festival.
John Altman is an English film composer, music arranger, orchestrator and conductor.
Terry Hughes is a British film and television director and producer.
"True Scotsman" is a humorous term used in Scotland for a man wearing a kilt without undergarments. Though the tradition originated in the military, it has entered Scottish lore as a rite, an expression of light-hearted curiosity about the custom, and even as a subversive gesture.
James Acheson is a British costume designer. He was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School and studied at Wimbledon School of Art. He has designed costumes and sets for television, theatre, opera, ballet and film, working in more than 14 different countries.
Scotland has produced many films, directors and actors.
Tony Roche is an English television, radio and film comedy writer and producer, best known as a writer of the HBO comedy Veep, the BBC Television series The Thick of It and its film spin-off In the Loop.