Simone Signoret: The Soul of French Cinema

Simone Signoret (1921–1985) was one of the most revered and intellectually formidable actresses in the history of world cinema. Unlike many of her contemporaries who prioritized Hollywood glamour, she was celebrated for her earthy realism, profound emotional depth, and refusal to hide the natural aging process.

Signoret became the first French person to win an Academy Award for her heart-wrenching performance in the 1959 British film Room at the Top. Throughout her career, she portrayed complex, resilient women, often burdened by life’s hardships but possessing an unbreakable dignity.

Beyond her artistic achievements, Signoret was a prominent social activist and intellectual, forming one half of France’s most famous power couple with her husband, Yves Montand. With her smoky voice and penetrating gaze, she remains an enduring icon of “la maturité,” proving that a woman’s true beauty lies in her experiences, her intelligence, and her unwavering authenticity.

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Emerson Fittipaldi Posing With $1 Million Cash Prize After Winning Indy 500 in 1989

Emerson Fittipaldi rewrote history at the 1989 Indianapolis 500, becoming the first driver to earn over one million dollars in prize money – $1,001,604 to be exact. Instead of a simple announcement or a check, the organizers piled stacks of US bills directly onto his Marlboro-liveried Penske PC-18 car to visually represent the unprecedented sum. This marketing move highlighted the growing prestige and financial rewards of the race.

The win itself was dramatic. Fittipaldi, a two-time Formula One champion, was battling with Al Unser Jr. for the lead in the final laps. On lap 199, the two drivers made wheel contact while navigating slower traffic, causing Unser Jr. to spin out and crash into the wall. Fittipaldi completed the final lap under caution to secure his first Indy 500 victory.

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30 Rare and Beautiful Outdoor Portraits From the Victorian Era

In the mid-to-late 19th century, Victorian outdoor portraits emerged as a popular alternative to the stiff, controlled environment of the photography studio. While indoor sessions relied on heavy velvet curtains and painted backdrops, shooting outdoors allowed for a more “naturalistic” aesthetic, integrating the era’s romantic obsession with gardens, woodlands, and grand estates.

However, these portraits were far from casual; due to the long exposure times required by early photographic plates, subjects still had to remain perfectly still for several seconds, often leaning against trees or stone benches for support. These images frequently featured families in their “Sunday best,” posed amidst lush foliage or architectural ruins to signify status and a connection to the pastoral ideal.

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Fabulous Photos of a Young Faye Dunaway Taken by Jerry Schatzberg

In 1956, Jerry Schatzberg opened his own studio as an independent photographer. By 1958, he was hired to shoot for leading fashion magazines including Vogue, Esquire, Life, Glamour, or McCall’s. His photographic style is somewhat similar to that of Andre Kertesz or Henri Cartier-Bresson in its quest to capture the natural – an approach wholly unprecedented at the time, disregarding the strict codes of fashion photography aesthetics.

For ten years, Schatzberg is a highly sought-after photographer and forms friendships with famous models. One such model is Anne St. Marie, who was experiencing a painful depression, rejected in favor of younger girls, though she herself is barely 30. Jerry Schatzberg decided to tell this touching story. In 1969, he chose actress Faye Dunaway, then 29 years old, with a career in full-swing, to portray the fallen model. The result will be the critically acclaimed Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970), whose reissue at the 2011 Lumière festival was a revelation.

However, Schatzberg had been photographing Dunaway since 1967, when he captured her against a stark black background in a mythical photo-shoot. Many years later, one of the images of the series would be chosen for the official 2011 Cannes Film Festival poster. Dunaway and Schatzberg’s close connection would continue, giving rise to many other shots, always based on mutual trust, an element apparent in all of Schatzberg’s photos.

Celebrities and lesser known subjects would let their anxiety fall by the wayside in front of his lens and allow their emotions to shine through. The photographs of Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Catherine Deneuve, Roman Polanski, Charlotte Rampling, and Faye Dunaway, along with many others, express these moments of truth, captured by Jerry Schatzberg.

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Brunei in the Mid-1960s: A Sultanate on the Cusp of Modernity

The mid-1960s represented a pivotal “golden age” for Brunei, as the nation began to navigate the complex path toward full sovereignty and modern development.

Under the reign of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III, often hailed as the “Architect of Modern Brunei,” the landscape of the capital, Brunei Town (now Bandar Seri Begawan), underwent a dramatic transformation. This era was characterized by a massive influx of oil wealth, which was strategically channeled into grand national projects, most notably the stunning Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, which dominated the skyline with its golden dome.

While the traditional lifestyle of the Kampong Ayer (Water Village) remained the heart of the community, new schools, hospitals, and infrastructure began to sprout, signaling a shift toward a modern welfare state. These vintage photos, provided by David Pirmann, offer a fascinating look at Brunei in 1965.

Brunei street scene, 1965

Brunei street scene, 1965

Brunei street scene, 1965

Brunei area rice storage, 1965

Brunei area village, 1965

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Candid Photographs of Diana Rigg and Anthony Hopkins Hanging Out in London in September 1972

In 1972, acting legends Diana Rigg and Anthony Hopkins famously starred together in a major stage production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the National Theatre (specifically at the Old Vic in London). Hopkins played the title character, Macbeth, and Rigg played the formidable Lady Macbeth. The production was directed by Michael Blakemore. The play officially opened in November 1972 and ran until June 1973.

On September 19, 1972, the pair were captured in a series of now-famous candid photographs by Ron Burton. One notable image shows them walking hand-in-hand down Aquinas Street near Waterloo.

At the time, Rigg was already a household name due to her role as Emma Peel in The Avengers. Hopkins was an emerging talent, just beginning to establish the intense stage presence that would later define his film career. The two also appeared together in a television adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Little Eyolf, which aired on the BBC’s Play of the Month in 1982, though they were both active at the National Theatre during the 1972 season.

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Technician Floating Up and Down to Inspect Echo II, a NASA Satellite, 1963

A technician conducting a manual inspection of the Echo II communications satellite during a test inflation in 1963. The massive, highly reflective Mylar balloon, which served as a passive communications relay by reflecting radio signals back to Earth, was inflated inside a hangar at Lakehurst, New Jersey. To check for leaks and flaws across the surface of the gigantic, 135-foot-diameter sphere, the technician used a small personal balloon tethered to the ground to float up and down alongside it. This unusual and striking method of inspection resulted in the dramatic photo you see.

The Echo satellite program was NASA’s groundbreaking experiment that pioneered the use of space for communications by using large, passive reflective balloons.

The Echo satellites were essentially enormous, aluminized Mylar balloons that did not carry electronic instruments for receiving or retransmitting signals. Instead, ground stations on Earth beamed microwave signals at the satellite, which simply bounced the signals off its highly reflective surface to other ground stations across long distances.

The primary goal was to test the feasibility of satellite communications and other new space technologies. Experiments conducted during the program helped measure atmospheric drag, evaluate temperature control in orbit, and test satellite tracking methods.

Echo 1, launched on August 12, 1960, was 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter. It successfully relayed the first transcontinental voice circuit, including a prerecorded message from President Dwight Eisenhower. It remained in orbit for nearly eight years, visible to the naked eye as a fast-moving “star.”

Echo 2, launched in 1964, was larger at 135 feet (41 meters) in diameter and had a more rigid design to maintain its shape better in orbit. It was used for scientific investigations and famously for the first space-based collaboration between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, reflecting a signal from England to Russia.

Although eventually superseded by more advanced active repeater satellites (which amplify signals), the Echo program provided the technological foundation for modern satellite communications. The distinctive horn antenna at Bell Labs used for the project later played a pivotal role in the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, a key piece of evidence for the Big Bang theory.