Breakfast at Tiffany's (film)
| Breakfast at Tiffany's | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by Robert McGinnis |
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| Directed by | Blake Edwards |
| Produced by | Richard Shepherd Martin Jurow |
| Written by | Screenplay: George Axelrod Novella: Truman Capote |
| Starring | Audrey Hepburn George Peppard Patricia Neal Buddy Ebsen |
| Music by | Henry Mancini |
| Cinematography | Franz F. Planer |
| Editing by | Howard Smith |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 5, 1961 |
| Running time | 115 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.5 million |
| Gross revenue | $14 million |
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, and featuring Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam, and Mickey Rooney. The film was directed by Blake Edwards and released by Paramount Pictures. It was loosely based on the novella of the same name by Truman Capote.
Hepburn's portrayal of Holly Golightly as the naïve, eccentric prostitute is generally considered to be the actress's most memorable and identifiable role. She herself regarded it as one of her most challenging roles, since she was an introvert required to play an extrovert.[1] Hepburn's performance of "Moon River" helped composer Henry Mancini and lyricist Johnny Mercer win an Oscar for Best Song.
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Plot
Early on a fall morning, a lone taxicab deposits Holly Golightly at the Tiffany's jewelry store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Holly eats a pastry and drinks coffee while admiring the window displays, then strolls home.
At her brownstone apartment building, Holly successfully fends off her date from the night before who has been waiting in his car all night and is angry she disappeared during their evening together. As is her habit, Holly had accepted $50 from her date to tip the powder room attendant at the club they were attending. However, deciding her date was obnoxious she dumped him, taking the $50. The next morning Holly is awakened by Paul Varjak, a new tenant ringing the door bell. After feeding her nameless pet cat, Holly chats with Paul as she hurriedly dresses for her visit to Sing Sing prison. This is a weekly routine from which she earns $100 for an hour's conversation with Sally Tomato, an incarcerated mob boss. Holly is apparently unaware that she is passing coded messages for Sally's drug ring.
Outside the brownstone, wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson (or "2E"), arrives and is introduced as Paul's "decorator." Holly later drops by Paul's apartment to escape a drunken date and sees 2E leave money and kiss Paul goodbye. Paul explains he is a writer who hasn't been published since 1956. Holly, at the age of 14, ran away from home with her brother Fred, who is now in the army.
Paul attends a wild party at Holly's. He meets José da Silva Pereira, a handsome, rich Brazilian, and Rusty Trawler, a pudgy, rich American. Paul also meets Holly's "agent" O. J. Berman. O.J. tells him about Holly's transformation from a country girl with a thick accent to a classy Manhattan socialite, adding that she is a wild spirit, difficult to pin down. O. J. says he can't tell if she is "a phony."
Holly is accompanied by Paul to visit Sally at Sing Sing. Back home Paul hears Holly singing "Moon River" from her windowsill. 2E rushes into Paul's apartment, worried about a strange man outside.
Paul is trailed by the man when he leaves the apartment. They confront one another in Central Park. The man introduces himself as Doc, claiming to be Holly's husband. He married her—real name Lula Mae Barnes—when she was turning 14 and explains that he has come to take Holly back to Texas, where he feels she rightly belongs. Holly tells Paul the marriage was annulled. Holly tells Doc she won't be returning with him. Doc blackmails her saying if she doesn't return he will no longer support her brother Fred, who will soon be released from the army. Holly still refuses and declares that Fred can come live with her in New York. She and Paul put a dejected Doc on the bus to Texas.
Holly and Paul drown their sorrows at a bar. A tipsy Holly explains her feeling of responsibility for Fred. She decides to marry Rusty Trawler for his money, but then discovers that Rusty has married someone else. Holly and Paul spend a carefree, romantic day together, visiting the library and going to Tiffany's, where they have a cheap ring from a box of Cracker Jack engraved. They share a kiss when they arrive home, and it is implied that they spend the night together.
The next day, Paul informs 2E that he no longer needs her. However a mercenary Holly plans to marry José, which angers Paul. Holly and José return to her apartment one night and find a telegram notifying her of Fred's death. Holly trashes her apartment in grief and her behavior disturbs José.
Months later Paul has moved out of the brownstone. He is invited to dinner by Holly, who is leaving the next morning for Brazil. However they are arrested by police in connection with Sally's drug ring. Holly spends the night in lock-up.
The next morning Paul is waiting with a taxi when Holly is released from jail. He is in possession of both Cat – Holly's cat – and a letter from José, in which the rich Brazilian breaks off the relationship due to her headline-making arrest. An emotional Holly insists she will still go to Brazil anyway. She orders the driver to stop and she throws Cat out into the pouring rain.
Paul tells Holly what he thinks of her behavior and leaves the cab, tossing the ring he engraved for her from Tiffany's into her lap. Holly runs after him and together they find Cat and embrace.
Cast
- Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly
- George Peppard as Paul Varjak
- Patricia Neal as Mrs. Failenson/Emily Eustace (2E)
- Buddy Ebsen as Doc
- Martin Balsam as O.J. Berman
- Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi
- Alan Reed as Sally Tomato
- Orangey as "Cat" (trained by Frank Inn)
Production
Development
The Oscar-nominated screenplay was written by George Axelrod, loosely based on the novella by Truman Capote. A number of changes were made to the storyline to adapt the story to fit the medium of cinema. Capote's novella included language that was toned down for the film.
In the novella, there is no mention of anything romantic going on between Holly Golightly and the character who is named Paul in the film. The character of 2E (Patricia Neal) was invented for the film. Mrs. Failenson is called 2E because her real name is Emily Eustace.
In the novella, Mag Wildwood, a model with a stuttering problem, moves into Holly's apartment after Holly falls out with the novelist upstairs. In the film, Mag is a guest at Holly's party and brings Rusty Trawler with her.
The film also changed the novella's unresolved, open ending to a more conventional "Hollywood" romantic happy ending.
Pre-production
Capote, who sold the film rights of his novella to Paramount Studios, wanted Marilyn Monroe to play the role of Holly Golightly in the film. Barry Paris references a quote by Capote: "Marilyn was always my first choice to play the girl, Holly Golightly." Screenwriter Axelrod was hired to "tailor the screenplay for Monroe." When Lee Strasberg advised Monroe that playing a prostitute would be bad for her image, she turned it down. When Hepburn was cast instead of Monroe, Capote remarked: "Paramount double-crossed me in every way and cast Audrey."[2]
Kim Novak was approached to play the role of Holly Golightly, but she turned it down, for fear of being typecast as a scared sex kitten.
Originally producers Martin Jurow and Richard Shepherd had picked John Frankenheimer as the director, but Hepburn said: "I've never heard of him" and he was replaced on her request.
Filming and music
Most of the exteriors were filmed in New York City, except the fire escape scenes and the alley scene at the end in the rain where Holly puts Cat out of the cab and then Paul and Holly look for Cat. All of the interiors, except for portions of the scene inside Tiffany & Company, were filmed on the Paramount Studios lot in Hollywood.
It has been rumored that the film's on-location opening sequence, in which Holly gazes into a Tiffany's display window, was extremely difficult for director Blake Edwards to shoot. Although it was simple in concept, crowd control, Hepburn's dislike of pastries, and an accident that nearly resulted in the electrocution of a crew member are all said to have made capturing the scene a challenge. However, Edwards, in an interview given for the 45th anniversary DVD, said that the sequence was captured rather quickly due to the good fortune of an unexpected traffic lull despite the location in the heart of Manhattan.
Hepburn introduced the film's signature song, "Moon River" by Henry Mancini, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Sung by Hepburn, it was written to her singing range based on the vocal solos she had performed in 1957's Funny Face.[3] On the DVD of "Breakfast at Tiffany's Anniversary Edition," co-producer Richard Shepherd says in his commentary that after a premiere in San Francisco, Paramount's Head of Production desired to have "Moon River" removed from the film but "Marty [Jurow, co-producer] and I both said 'over our dead bodies.'" However, according to Mancini and Edwards, a studio executive hated the song and demanded it be cut from the film; Hepburn, who was present when this proclamation was made, responded to the suggestion by standing up and saying, "over my dead body."[4]
Reception
Influence
Hepburn as Holly, carrying an oversized cigarette holder, is considered one of the most iconic images of 20th century American cinema.[5]
One of three dresses designed by Givenchy for Hepburn for possible use in the film sold at auction by Christie's[6] on December 5, 2006 for £467,200 (~US$947,000), about seven times the reserve price.[7]
The film rejuvenated the career of 1930s movie song-and-dance man Buddy Ebsen, who had a small but effective role in this film as Doc Golightly, Holly's ex-husband. His success here led directly to his best-known role as Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies.
Criticism
The film has been criticized for its portrayal of the character Mr. Yunioshi, Holly's bucktoothed, stereotyped Japanese neighbor, played by Caucasian Mickey Rooney. Rooney wore Yellowface makeup to change his features to a caricatured approximation of a Japanese person. The issue was raised in the 1993 film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, when Bruce Lee and his girlfriend Linda Emery (portrayed in the film by Jason Scott Lee and Lauren Holly) watch Breakfast at Tiffany's in the theater, but Linda suggests they leave midway through the picture after she notices that Bruce is upset at the stereotypical depiction of an Asian man portrayed by Mickey Rooney.
In the 45th anniversary edition DVD release, producer Richard Shepherd repeatedly apologizes, saying, "If we could just change Mickey Rooney, I'd be thrilled with the movie."[8] Director Blake Edwards stated, "Looking back, I wish I had never done it...and I would give anything to be able to recast it, but it's there, and onward and upward."[8] In a 2008 interview about the film, 87-year-old Rooney said he was heartbroken about the criticism and that he had never received any complaints about his portrayal of the character.[9]
A free outdoor screening in Sacramento, California, scheduled for August 23, 2008, was replaced with the animated film Ratatouille after protests about the character Mr. Yunioshi. The protest was led by Christina Fa of the Asian American Media Watch. In light of the protest, Sacramento vice mayor Steven Cohn stated that "the intent was never to create controversy, to make political statements or to be on the avant garde of the movie world, let alone to offend significant members of our community."[10][11]
Awards and honors
Academy Awards
| Award[12] | Person | |
| Academy Award for Original Music Score | Henry Mancini | |
| Academy Award for Best Song: "Moon River" | Johnny Mercer Henry Mancini |
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| Nominated: | ||
| Academy Award for Best Actress | Audrey Hepburn | |
| Academy Award for Best Art Direction | Hal Pereira Roland Anderson Sam Comer Ray Moyer |
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| Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay | George Axelrod | |
Other awards
- John Addison won the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album or Recording or Score.
- George Axelrod won the Writers Guild of America, East for Best Written American Drama.
- Blake Edwards was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.
- The film was ranked 486th on Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time list for 2008.[13]
American Film Institute recognition
- 2002 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions: #61
- 2004 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs:
- "Moon River": #4
Soundtrack
DVD availability
Breakfast at Tiffany's was one of the first Hepburn films to be released to the home video market in the early 1980s, and is also widely available on DVD. On February 7, 2006, Paramount released a 45th anniversary special edition DVD set in North America with featurettes not included on the prior DVD release:
- Audio Commentary - with producer Richard Shepherd
- Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic - a making-of featurette with interviews by Edwards, Neal, the "laughing/crying" woman from the party, and Sean Ferrer, Hepburn's son.
- It's So Audrey! A Style Icon - a short tribute to Hepburn.
- Brilliance in a Blue Box - a brief history of Tiffany & Co.
- Audrey's Letter to Tiffany - an accounting of Hepburn's letter to Tiffany & Co. on the occasion of the company's 150th anniversary in 1987.
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Photo Gallery
On January 13, 2009, a remastered Centennial Collection version of the film was released. In addition to the special features on the 45th anniversary edition, this version includes:
- A Golightly Gathering - Reuniting some of the past cast members from the party with interviews on their experiences filming that segment.
- Henry Mancini: More Than Music - A featurette about Henry Mancini, "Moon River" and interviews with Mancini's wife and children.
- Mr. Yunioshi: An Asian Perspective - Documentary discussing the reaction and Asian perspective of the character of Mr. Yunioshi, one of the most controversial characters in film.
- Behind the Gates - A tour through Paramount Studios
Stage adaptations
In 1966, David Merrick produced a Broadway musical of the same name starring Mary Tyler Moore as Holly Golightly and Richard Chamberlain as Paul. The troubled production closed after four previews.
In 2004, a new musical adaptation of the film made its world debut at The Muny in St. Louis.[14]
In May 2009, actress Anna Friel confirmed that she will star in a West End adaptation of the film. The show is due to start in September 2009 at the Haymarket Theatre.[15]
Further reading
- Breakfast at Tiffany's, by George Axelrod. Published by Paramount Home Entertainment (UK), 1960. (film script)
- Breakfast at Tiffany's: A Short Novel and Three Stories, by Truman Capote. Published by Random House, 1958.
- Breakfast at Tiffany's: Complete Dialogues
References
- ↑ Spoto, Donald. Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn. New York: Harmony Books, 2006. Page 204. ISBN 0-307-23758-3
- ↑ Barry Paris (1996). Audrey Hepburn. Berkley Books.
- ↑ Spoto, Donald. Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn. New York: Harmony Books, 2006. Page 204 - 205. ISBN 0-307-23758-3
- ↑ Erwin, Ellen and Diamond, Jessica Z. The Audrey Hepburn Treasures. New York: Atria Books, October 2006. Page 107. ISBN 978-0743289863.
- ↑ Spoto, Donald. Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn. New York: Harmony Books, 2006. Page 203. ISBN 0-307-23758-3
- ↑ Audrey Hepburn Breakfast At Tiffany's, 1961
- ↑ "Auction frenzy over Hepburn dress". BBC NEWS. 2006-12-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6209658.stm.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic
- ↑ Calvert, Bruce (September 9, 2008). "Sacramento Bee: Racism in reel life". sacbee.com. http://www.sacbee.com/121/story/1220270.html. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- ↑ "'Breakfast' is Out to Lunch". AsianWeek. 2008-08-27. http://www.asianweek.com/2008/08/27/breakfast-is-out-to-lunch/. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- ↑ Magagnini, Stephen (August 23, 2008). "Sacramento official cancels 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' over anti-Asian scenes". The Sacramento Bee. http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1179360.html. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- ↑ "NY Times: Breakfast at Tiffany's". NY Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/6998/Breakfast-At-Tiffany-s/awards. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
- ↑ "Empire: Features". Empireonline.com. http://www.empireonline.com/500/3.asp. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- ↑ "Show Archives". The Muny. http://www.muny.org/content/view/7/101/#B. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- ↑ "Entertainment | West End Breakfast for Anna Friel". BBC News. 2009-05-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8052020.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
External links
- Breakfast at Tiffany's at the Internet Movie Database
- Breakfast at Tiffany's at Allmovie
- Breakfast at Tiffany's at the TCM Movie Database
- Breakfast at Tiffany's at Rotten Tomatoes
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