I don't know about others but I enjoyed the series throughout. To be honest I don't know much about fashion and had never heard of the brand Halston myself. Maybe the show is inaccurate and unauthentic but not once did it make me feel bored. Like most tv series these days lack a good plot and I actually managed to binge watch this the day it came out so it says a lot. I love Ewan and I thought he played the character really well, bringing out the emotions and the comedy bits and never over doing it. There was a lot of business talk but it was handled well without it dragging. The few things I wish they would have done is showed us more about his childhood. The only parts we see seems very flimsy and incomplete. The cast was amazing. Pretty fleshed out charecters
It was really sad to see Halston being stripped off his own name and the ending scene was beautiful. Made me emotional. I think everyone should give this show a chance.
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cafeosh14 May 2021
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mjanssens2624 May 2021The performances, the fashion, the music and visuals are all awesome. The actors are so great in their parts that a lot of the time, you actually believe you're looking at the real Halston and Liza Minnelli. This was an enjoyable drama that takes you through a roller coaster of a ride, much like Mr. Halston's life.
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yusufpiskin15 May 2021Ewan McGregor deserves at least 5 awards for this performance. If this was a movie, it should have received an Oscar. Costumes, song selections, supporting roles, Costumes, colors. This series became one of Netflix's unique works.
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I'll let everyone else give their opinions about the series, my 9 out of 10 stars is for Krysta Rodriguez who plays Liza Minnelli. Just wow! Incredible performance.
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rolandmcomtois15 May 2021Halston offers the audience a sneak peek into the world of Halston. Ewan Mcgregor is exquisite in this role. I forget it was him. He carries the show until the very end.
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GoalDigs16 May 2021I absolutely loved this, finally something great on Netflix. The cast, set production and design was brilliant. I think they knocked that out of the park, also Ewan McGregor was so good at emulating halston, I watched interviews with halston and think he nailed it. (By the way, halston died aged 57 not 52 as a previous reviewer stated). The cast was wonderful and the story fascinating ( I knew of him as I grew up reading fashion magazines in the 80's when I was a wee one and have always loved fashion and the world surrounding it) I was completely immersed in it.
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mgumsley18 May 2021Ewan McGregor has been playing much edgier characters since he moved to America, and Halston is probably his riskiest role to date. Ryan Murphy is usually associated with campy characters, in the case of Halston it was a man who achieved phenomenal success in an already crowded field. I must say McGregor didn't portray him as a particularly sympathetic character, with his perfectionism offset by his sleazy private life and drug taking. One wonders how much of his success came from drug taking, and also contributed to his downfall. I loved the way he devoted so much attention to each of his creations, McGregor really captured this side of his character extremely well. I hadn't really thought of him as an exceptional actor before, now I can see that he is.
I loved the fashions and the beautiful settings; I especially enjoyed the scenes he shared with Krysta Rodriguez as Liza Minnelli, otherwise most of his boyfriends I found insecure and annoying. Perhaps he was a man who inspired insecurities in others; he also seemed insecure himself. His downfall was clearly mapped out, but despite all this, he was a man who made the most of his life, however he chose to live it, and I think here Murphy has created a legend for the future. I would have scored this film a little bit higher if the script had been tighter and there had been less play on Halston's mannerisms. The cigarette smoking was endless, and almost every scene opened with him lighting up. -
mls418214 May 2021The best biography in years. It is all there, the talent, the drive, the arrogance, the insecurity, the glamour and the raunch. There is no boring filler in this miniseries. Ewan is amazing. He doesn't hold back. You won't have a chance to get bored.
For once Ryan Murphy's sleaze comes in handy. Halston was a strange mix of pretense and NASTAY. I love the review from the guy scared off by the corn holing scenes. LOL get over it. They were put in for laughs not for titillation. I'm glad we live in more enlightened times and people realize not all guys act like Halston. At first those scenes depressed me. Now they make me laugh. For those upset by the boofing, well Halston didn't look like he felt a thing so why should you?
It really is a sad story of 1970s excess. Had Halston worked at his relationship with the decent Ed Austin and focused on his work he might have had a happier life. Don't become a person unworthy of love.
I can't wait to see one on Calvin Klein! An even bigger train wreck. At least Halston didn't stretch his face all over the place. -
MadamWarden22 May 2021This is a terrific miniseries showcasing McGregor's immense talents. It inspired me to re-watch Shallow Grave, one of his earliest.
He is so good!!
As for the miniseries, this is a really entertaining expose into the fashion industry in the 70's. Great fun if you can deal with the intense and frequent buggery scenes.
Well done Netflix! -
ht198014 May 2021I hadn't actually heard of Halston before watching this, but it had me gripped from beginning to end. Excellent script, performances and pacing. Highly emotional and deeply engaging. I haven't been impressed with Ryan Murphy's other Netflix shows but this is brilliant. There's a part near the end where Cocteau Twins "Pearly Dewdrops Drop" comes on that had me in tears. One of the best shows of 2021. Highly recommended.
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TheFearmakers17 May 2021The story of Halson going from rags to riches to rags doesn't follow the usual Goodfellas or Boogie Nights (influenced by Goodfellas) with a light-show of pop culture and music but takes its time and is pretty fair entertainment, getting the viewer into the plight of a designer who kept needing to grow.
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Bold and beautiful, Halston leads viewers on an adventure through the world of fashion by taking the scenic route; showing it to us from the point of view of one of the most acclaimed designers.
Halston starts a bit rocky, however, it progressively improves throughout the episodes. We watch Roy Halston, a fashion designer in New York City, hit massive highs and massive lows. Through and through, you can feel the tension and the emotion radiating from the screen. It's perfect for what it was trying to achieve.
9/10. Definitely rewatching when I have the chance. -
halomaniac8814 May 2021Blue jeans? White t shirt? A line skirt? American fashion is more defined by decades than anything else. The popular styles of the 30s and 40s are vastly different from the 60s. Now Halston was the designer that defined the 70s. If you are not familiar with fashion history you would not know who Halston is. He isnt a household name like Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren which is why I am baffled by Netflix's decision to make this.
If are interested in fashion Halston is must see. As a character drama it isnt very strong,it has too many cliched elements. 😒 -
craiglesuk-116 May 2021The problem with Halston is that almost every character is unlikeable - in particular Halston himself. Was he really that nasty and bitter all the time? I guess when someone's life is condensed into 5 hours it's going to focus on all the dramas and fights. But the result here is that you are left feeling that Halston spent his entire adult life miserable and fighting with someone or other. The only time he is portrayed as being remotely happy in the 1st four and a half hours is when he is with Liza. On that note, when a show portrays Liza M as the most sane person in the room you know you're in trouble!
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marydm-4347015 May 2021Nothing harder to pull off on the screen than a biopic. Everyone involved, from scripting to directing is pulled in all sorts of directions between trying to be authentic to the life of the individual concerned and achieving sufficient dramatic and narrative momentum. A few flaws here don't diminish the overall viewing satisfaction. The sex and drug stuff is given a tad too much screen time perhaps, after a couple of scenes we get it, we get it. No need to labour the point. Some of the secondary characters lack screen presence (Hugo, Elsa) but it probably doesn't matter so much because McGregor is just so nuanced and natural and layered and conflicted and convincing that watching him makes everyone else pale in comparison. Joe and Liza are also beautifully done. But McGregor is just so brilliant and sustains the characterisation so powerfully throughout the entire series that in the end it doesn't matter that we're watching a biopic, the character acquires a life of his own on the screen. He totally dominates in the best possible way.
It's rare to want to watch a biopic again, but this one I'd happily watch over and over just to enjoy McGregor's acting masterclass. Brilliant stuff. Well done Netflix. -
mxivvvvix16 May 2021The low reviews clearly know nothing about the designer Halston and can't appreciate this beautiful & heartbreaking look into his life. This was an amazing series that stayed true to the life of Halston and the era during which he flourished. The costume design, set design and music was all on point. 10 stars. If you are interested in vintage fashion, fashion history or art, then this is for you.
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I found the mini-series very entertaining and a great glimpse into Halston's life and work.
All the actors did a fantastic job, Ewan McGregor and Krysta Rodriguez completely stole the show, I absolutely loved it. -
anne-ecobichon18 May 2021Great acting but so cold and superficial as it is only a long string of anecdotes and some facts but no soul.
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These are two of my favorite actors--McGregor and Pullman. What fascinated me about their performances here is the range of emotion that both evoked within me. I rooted for Halston's success; then despised his lack of moral fiber; then adored his love for the important persons in his life in the end. With Pullman's businessman character, I loved his wooing of Halston to be his creative client; then detested his sell-out for personal gain. My favorite actors made me laugh and cry as I sat transfixed for all 5 episodes in rapid succession. That is my definition of a 10-star film. The other actors were excellent--bravo and brava. I will watch all episodes again and again.
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zivsoondie18 May 2021I mean, the drugs and the lifestyle, wow, really is appalling after a while!
But this is a good series, though it could be cut somewhat shorter in the 4.-5. Episode. But I thought maybe its just painful to see everything completely unravel.
Halston is definitely an anti hero, but mostly I did root for him anyways, and I simply love Ewan McGregor and I think he was perfectly cast.
The whole show is very well made, it's beautiful and the cast is great, the music is on point.
The scenes with the parfume maker are just lovely.
Well worth a watch! -
nathanabetz14 May 2021We've all seen this before. It's a biopic about an artist who puts everything on the line for an initial success, becomes bored/stagnate, develops a drug problem, and then rediscovers their vision. It's such an incredibly tired plot line.
Pacing is usually a problem for biopics that try to span years in such little screen time, and that's definitely a problem here. They breeze through relationships so fast that it would've been better to ignore them altogether. Characters come and go.
The acting is fine, the story is cookie cutter, and the pacing sucks. It's not bad and not good. Watch it if you've already seen the good stuff; otherwise, skip it. -
I'll keep it short and simple. It's a fun little escape for 5 or so hours into the world of Halston and all his little friends from the 60s and onward. It's a treat!
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stanlytheone16 May 2021Halston is a fascinating series, which is well written and engaging. The acting is also on point with Ewan McGregor, who portrays the man very well. My only regret with this series and unfortuantely also with a lot of series and movies, is why producers, or directors, always find it necessary to add sex scenes to the series. They add nothing plot wise, probably are not enjoyed by the actors and make it rather awkward when watching it with family, or friends... Game of thrones is for example another one of those great series, which i feel is ruined by adding unnecessary sex scenes...
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smithnumber15 May 2021If you've ever seen any doco on Halston you'll know what an interesting and ultimately tragic story his life was. What should have been a striking and visually exciting series is like flicking through a magazine - lots of nice images but ultimately unengaging at the time and forgettable when the flicking is through.
Although he's getting praise for his work in this, I think Ewan McGregor is the biggest problem with the cast. Does he do a good job? Yes, of course he does but he is just too old. At 50 years of age (Halston died at 52) Ewan looks far too mature to play someone on the way up and looking to find his place in the world as only a young person can. He looks like a contemporary of the matrons he's dressing rather than a young designer worthy of their infatuation. It could've been a great breakout role for a young actor.
Also disappointing is that his family don't get much coverage at all, considering that they looked after him when he began to become seriously ill and he was by all accounts quite close to them. Can't anyone in Hollywood productions come from a happy, caring family anymore?
Overall, it's nice to watch from a stylistic point of view, but watch the doco Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston if you want to see the real Halston and his creations in all their original glory.