Movie Masks Set the Good, the Bad and the Ugly Examples for Covid Coverups

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Face masks have become part of our daily lives. Some folks still balk, but most people are resigned to them — and many are getting creative, adding style to function. As always, Hollywood history provides numerous examples of masks to emulate, or to avoid.

  • The Good: Ironman (2008)

    Director, Jon Favreau; writers, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, based on Marvel characters; stars Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow

    Fans have an ongoing battle over who offers the best superheroes: D.C. or Marvel. Both have strong points, but in terms of virus-fighting masks, Marvel is the undisputed leader. “Iron Man,” “Black Panther,” “Spider-Man” and “Deadpool,” to name a few, are crime-fighters AND virus-fighters. However, these masks are not great for anyone wearing glasses.

  • The Good: Mad Max Fury Road (2015)

    Director, George Miller; writers, Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris; stars Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Tom Hardy

    For decades, George Miller has known things that we’re only now discovering. Miller, one of the alltime great filmmakers (and one of the few with a medical degree!) has set his four “Mad Max” movies in the near-future, and the films feature multiple characters wearing face masks, such as the Humongous in “Mad Max 2: Road Warrior,” Blaster in “Beyond Thunderdome” and Immortan Joe in “Fury Road” (Hugh Keays-Byrne, above).

  • The Good: The Mandalorian (2019)

    Directors, multiple; writers, multiple including Jon Favreau, George Lucas; stars Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Rio Hackford

    The Disney Plus series has been an instant success and actor Pedro Pascal recently raised an interesting issue: If an actor wears a mask, is this an awards-eligible performance, or is it disqualified because it’s considered voiceover work? The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. decided in favor of the former, which was a smart move. The lesson for all of us: Sometimes, your mask CAN be your face.

  • The Good: MASH (1970)

    Director, Robert Altman; writer, Ring Lardner Jr., based on the novel by Richard Hooker; stars Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt

    The film has been lauded over the years, and the 1972-83 series even more so. In the operating room, the MASH doctors functioned well while wearing masks, a positive example for all of us — and a good reminder to keep saluting the healthcare and front-line workers in 2020.

  • The Good: Ned Kelly (2003)

    Director, Gregor Jordan; writer, John Michael McDonagh, based on book by Robert Drewe; stars Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush

    Australian robber-folk hero Ned Kelly was an innovator. Knowing that the cops were after him, he devised bullet-proof armor (or armour) for himself and his gang in 1879. It’s showcased nicely in the 2003 film with Heath Ledger, and shown briefly in the new (and worthwhile) “True Story of the Kelly Gang.”

  • The Good: The Orphanage (2007)

    Director, J.A. Bayona; writer, Sergio G. Sanchez; stars Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep

    This is one of the great supernatural-horror films of the 21st century. A woman returns to the orphanage where she grew up, and her son has visions of a friend who wears a sack mask. If you want to ensure social distancing, wear a mask like this. People are bound to back away.

  • The Good: Scream (1996)

    Director, Wes Craven; writer, Kevin Williamson; stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette

    It’s the face that launched a thousand Halloween masks. The “Scream” face was inspired by Edvard Munch’s 1893 painting. The piece of art is more than 100 years old, but sums up 2020 better than anything since then.

  • The Good: Star Wars (1977)

    Written, directed by George Lucas; stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher

    OK, it’s hard to find any redeeming qualities about Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers, but they DO wear masks that are more pandemic-fighting than many other movie/TV villains. So they get a few points for being considerate, but highest praise goes to Ralph McQuarrie’s concept designs and the costumes by John Mollo.

  • The Good: V for Vendetta (2005)

    Director, James McTeigue; written by Lana, Lilly Wachowski, based on the graphic novels by Alan Moore and David Lloyd; stars Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea

    Every year, Brits wear Guy Fawkes masks on Nov. 5, to celebrate his 1605 plot to blow up Parliament. Though Fawkes was once considered a traitor, he’s now seen as a revolutionary hero, thanks partly to the use of these masks in “V for Vendetta”: These wearers are radical, but health-conscious.

  • The Good: Western Movies (1903-2020)

    Cowboys have been part of movies since the 1903 “Great Train Robbery.” Audiences generally associate Western neck kerchiefs with bank robbers, but most cowboys wear them to protect noses/mouths from dust. While some 2020 people want to prove their machismo by refusing a cover-up, those COVIDiots don’t realize that real heroes wear face masks.

  • The Bad: Eyes Without a Face (1960)

    Director, Georges Franju; writers, Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Jean Redon, Claude Sautet, Pierre Gascar, from novel by Redon; stars Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Edith Scob

    In this French thriller, a doctor causes a car accident that badly scars his daughter’s face, so he does a lot of macabre things to create skin grafts. The daughter exclaims, “My face frightens me. My mask frightens me even more.” The only aspect of the film that seems dated is this negativity toward masks.

  • The Bad: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

    Director, Tobe Hooper; writers, Kim Henkel, Hooper; stars Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen

    The film’s intro says the events are true. They’re not, but Tobe Hooper said his deception was a response to “being lied to by the government.” Sound familiar? It’s a film for 2020! The Golden Age of slasher films also featured Michael Myers (“Halloween,” 1978) and Jason Voorhees (“Friday the 13th,” 1980) who followed the example of Leatherface: lethal motives, evil actions — and a wanton disregard for spreading germs.

  • The Bad: The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

    Writer-director Randall Wallace, based on novels by Alexandre Dumas; stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, Gerard Depardieu

    The Leonardo DiCaprio starrer is the umpteenth version of Dumas’ tale of a man held captive in secrecy because he is the twin of King Louis XIV of France. His nose and mouth are exposed; even in 1662, members of the 1% felt rules don’t apply to them.

  • The Bad: Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018)

    Director-writer, Christopher McQuarrie, from characters created by Bruce Geller; stars Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames

    For sheer artistry, these masks take the top prize. It’s become a running gag in the “M:I” movies: A character learns top-secret information from an informant, only to rip off his mask and reveal that he’s not the character he seemed, but an enemy in a perfect face mask. It gets ya every time. But look out if that spy sneezes while wearing the mask.

  • The Bad: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

    Director, Jonathan Demme; writer Ted Tally, from novel by Thomas Harris; stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins

    Anthony Hopkins is so charming as Hannibal Lecter that you can forgive the mind games, forgive the sarcasm, even forgive the cannibalism. But his mask covers all the wrong parts — inexcusable.

  • The Ugly: Batman (1989)

    Director, Tim Burton; writers, Sam Hamm, Warren Skaaren, based on characters created by Bob Kane; stars Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson

    He’s one of the most popular superheroes in the history of pop culture, but as a disguise, his cowl is not really too effective. And in terms of COVID considerations for Gotham City, it’s even worse.

  • The Ugly: Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

    Director, Stanley Kubrick; writers, Kubrick, Frederic Raphael, based on novel by Arthur Schnitzler; stars Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman

    The combo of Venice carnival mask and hooded cloak is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser if you’re going to a costume party or, even better, to a secret orgy at some mansion. However, for shopping at Trader Joe’s, the outfit just won’t cut it.

  • The Ugly: The Mask (1994)

    Director, Charles Russell; writers, Mike Werb (screenplay), Michael Fallon, Mark Verheiden (story); stars Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz

    With that title, it should be the ultimate face covering. But it’s basically the wearer’s face, transformed after wearing a Loki mask. He’s fun, but all you need is one big cough and it could be curtains.

  • The Ugly: The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

    Director, Joel Schumacher; writers, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Schumacher, based on the stage musical and book by Gaston Leroux; stars Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson

    The story has been wildly popular since Gaston Leroux’s work was first published in 1909. The downsides: too much of the face is exposed and it perpetuates the myth that most people cover their faces to conceal something; “Phantom” gives masks a bad name.

  • The Ugly: The Mask of Zorro (1998)

    Director, Martin Campbell; writers, multiple, based on character created by Johnston McCulley; stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones

    The mask makes Zorro look dashing and handsome. But then, he’s played by Antonio Banderas, who always looks dashing and handsome. Alternately, see “Lone Ranger,” played by Armie Hammer, who’s also dashing and handsome. But you gotta admit, it’s not a great pandemic mask — and not a great disguise.

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