According to davisdvd.com Paramount are releasing an anniversary edition of BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S on February 7th 2006. No details as of yet but it's expected to retail at $19.99.
Good to hear, but I'd much prefer spruced-up editions of Audrey's other Paramount films like Sabrina and Funny Face. Breakfast is good enough, but I much prefer both of these other films, and Funny Face in particular could really use a cleaned-up transfer (not to mention some decent extras).
Mark, what you don't realize that those other Paramount Audrey Hepburn films have extras, but Breakfast doesn't have any in its current release. And that's the reason I have never bought the DVD- I have been hoping for a Special Edition, and at long last my dream has come true!!! I cannot begin to tell you what this film means to me, and let's face it- it is Audrey's signature film. And just in time for the 45th anniversary of the original release, too! Good things do come to those who wait!
Don't get your hopes up too high, Charles. It is Paramount after all, so it's unlikely to be fully loaded - couple of short featurettes and maybe a commentary by Blake Edwards, IF we're lucky. Think what Warner Brothers would do with it !
FUNNY FACE is especially in need of a better DVD. The last one is shamefully bad. The darkroom dance is so dark you can't see what's going on, and if you watch closely there are a couple of strange dissolves that change proportions mid-stream. Please, Paramount, go back to the VistaVision negs and get this one right.
I've not picked up BREAKFAST, and a nice edition would be welcome.
Fair enough. I'm not saying it's impossible - just that I'm more often a bit disappointed by Paramount releases. They certainly don't go all-out like WB. That said, I pulled this listing from a retail site :
Audrey Hepburn is ever-engaging as Truman Capote's vivacious yet vulnerable heroine, Holly Golightly, "a real phony" who's tossed between hobnobbing amongst New York's party set and settling down with her new love, neighbor George Peppard. Co-stars Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam and Mickey Rooney; directed by Blake Edwards. Henry Mancini's score includes the Oscar-winning "Moon River." 114 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English; audio commentary; "making of" documentary; more.
If that's indeed the case, then it's a shame. I like Breakfast well enough, but I really feel that she made much better films - the aforementioned Sabrina and Funny Face, Love in the Afternoon, My Fair Lady and Roman Holiday (already out in a splendid Paramount DVD) among them. Hell, I know Charade is no great shakes, but I still prefer it.
Mark, obviously you are in the minority. After all, Holly Golightly is the role most people remember her for- lots of ladies still copy her look from the film with the "little black dress", and millions have either sung, played, or danced to "Moon River". Does anyone remember lines from Love In The Afternoon, Roman Holiday, or Sabrina as much as people still quote lines from Breakfast At Tiffanys? Don't be a super-rat, just accept the fact that it is her most beloved film and the news of the upcoming SE will draw quite the response by the public, despite your reservations.
To me "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is the quintessential Audrey Hepburn film only for the fact that it encapsulates that early 60s Hepburn Givenchy look which became iconic for her the way Marilyn's dress in "The Seven Year Itch" became iconic for her. But as with Marilyn and "The Seven Year Itch" it's far from being Hepburn's best film.
I'd have to disagree if you're talking about "signature." When most people think of Hepburn the person they think of Breakfast because of the (Givenchy) style of the Golightly character. That said, Roman Holiday is definitely my favorite Hepburn film, despite the fact she is wearing those shabby Edith Head togs.
Sad to think that Patricia Neal is the only actor with a major part in this film that is still alive. The director , Blake Edwards, is still with us. Hopefully he is able and willing to participate on the DVD.
I'm a super-rat just because I believe it's miles from being her best film? Whatever...
Actually, if "most beloved" means best-liked by the largest amount of people, I'd venture that My Fair Lady has it beat by a sizeable margin.
And who's to say I'm in a minority? Sure, everyone remembers how she looked in the film, but does anyone actually remember the performance or film itself? The dreadful overacting of the "George!!!..." (or whatever the brother's name was) scene, the offensive Mickey Rooney Chinese-neighbor characterization or the stiff-as-a-board-as-usual George Peppard? All anyone cares to remember, as near as I can tell, is that it was a movie about a flighty chick who liked parties, jewelry and chic outfits, and that "Moon River," Hannibal from the A-Team and an orange cat all figured in somehow.
Listen, I'm a big Audrey fan, and I find Breakfast to be very watchable, but it ain't great (Blake Edwards did much, much better stuff). If we're talking "signature" in terms of the signature Audrey look, then I'll give it to you. But if "signature" means to you - as it does me - best, then I think this particular film is way down on the chain.
I'm amongst the Breakfast at Tiffany's lovers here I guess. While I really do like Roman Holiday and My Fair Lady, I'm not a really big fan of Love in the Afternoon or Sabrina. Both of the later films suffer greatly (IMO of course) from miscasting. Humphrey Bogart in particular is completely clunky in his Sabrina role and much too old to be a believable love interest for Hepburn. Gary Cooper suffers from the same age problem in Love in the Afternoon.
For me, Hepburn is at her most vulnerable and tragic best in Tiffany's, and George Peppard is just right in his role. Yeah Mickey Rooney's character is a goofy and distasteful distraction, but Hepburn, Peppard, and Patricia Neal more than make up for it. I'd love to see an improved transfer and some great extras on the Anniversary Edition.
If we're talking "best" in terms of performance, I'll throw in "The Nun's Story" as possibly containing Hepburn's best dramatic acting- for romantic comedy, I don't think she really topped her Oscared work in "Holiday." As far as best movie- that's tough. Being sent to a desert island with only one Hepburn film, I'd have a hard time choosing among "Holiday", "Story", or "Charade".
"Tiffany's" was a key film in Hepburn's career, and it's certainly a top romantic comedy of its era, but I agree a lot of the fame surrounding the film has to do with Hepburn's chic, memorable "look" in the film, accompanied by Mancini's beautiful score (I do think Hepburn has her best "star" entrance in a film when, at the beginning of "Tiffany's", she performs the movie title's task while "Moon River" plays on the soundtrack).
It's a tribute to Hepburn's impressive cinematic accomplishments that she really has more than one one "signature" film in her career, depending on what time period you're looking at. I think "Holiday," "Funny Face", "Nun's Story", "Tiffany's", "Charade", and "My Fair Lady" could all be labeled "signature" Hepburn films.