Breakfast at Tiffany's
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Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella by Truman Capote, published in 1958. The story documents the life of a young woman, Holly Golightly, who is trying to find her place in the world when she meets "Fred" (who is without a name in the book, but christened "Paul Varjak" in the film). In 1961, Breakfast at Tiffany's was adapted as a film that follows some aspects of Capote's original story quite closely.
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Adaptations
The film
A number of changes had to be made (to the author’s great displeasure) to make the storyline acceptable to a film audience and fans of Audrey Hepburn. For example, in the novella, Holly is more explicitly described as being a prostitute, something only hinted at in the film. Capote's novel also included language that was toned down as well as a more complex ending which became a conventional romantic happy ending for the film. There are also many homosexual undertones in the book as well, which would have clearly been quite unacceptable to most viewers at the time.
Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly and may have written the original story with her in mind, but producers selected Hepburn instead.
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 film. Although it was simple in concept, crowd control, Hepburn's dislike for pastries (something she was required to eat for the scene), 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.
Audrey Hepburn introduced the film's signature song, "Moon River", by Henry Mancini, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Sung by Hepburn herself, it was written to her singing range as she was not an experienced singer (although she had performed vocal solos in 1957's Funny Face). However, her definitive version of the song was not released on an album until after her death. Instead, "Moon River" became a major hit for Andy Williams, who made it his theme song. 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 with "over my dead body". Image:Breakfast at Tiffany's.jpg
Wisp-thin Audrey Hepburn as Holly, carrying a cigarette holder almost as long as she is tall, is considered one of the iconic images of 20th century American cinema, and the film marked a major comeback for the actress after several years of unsuccessful films. The film also 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 him being cast in his best-known role as Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies.
Some critics consider the film's sole blunder to be Mickey Rooney's racially stereotyped performance as Holly's Japanese landlord. In the 45th anniversary edition DVD release, producer Richard Shepherd repeatedly apologizes for this; Edwards does not. Edwards does, however, indicate that he might not have cast George Peppard in the lead male role of the film if he were to do it over again.
Academy Awards
Award wins
- Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album or Recording or Score – (John Addison)
- WGA for Best Written American Drama – (George Axelrod)
Award nominations
Primary cast
- Audrey Hepburn : Holly Golightly
- George Peppard : Paul 'Fred' Varjak
- Patricia Neal : Tooley
- Buddy Ebsen : Doc Golightly
- Martin Balsam : O. J. Berman
- José Luis de Villalonga : José da Silva Pereira
- John McGiver : Tiffany's salesman
- Alan Reed : Sally Tomato
- Dorothy Whitney : Mag Wildwood
- Mickey Rooney : Mr. Yunioshi
- Stanley Adams : Rusty Trawler
- Claude Stroud : Sid Arbuck
- Orangy : Cat
DVD availability
Breakfast at Tiffany's was one of the first Audrey Hepburn films to the 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. These include a restored print of the film, commentary track by producer Richard Shepherd, a tribute to Audrey Hepburn, a brief history of Tiffany & Co., and an accounting of Audrey Hepburn's letter to Tiffany & Co. on the occasion of the company's 150th anniversary in 1987. A featurette on the making of the film is also included, featuring interviews with Blake Edwards, Patricia Neal, the "laughing/crying" woman from the party scene, and Sean Ferrer (Hepburn's son).
Stage play
In 1966 David Merrick produced a Broadway musical based upon Breakfast at Tiffany's with a book originally by Abe Burrows (replaced by Edward Albee) and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The production, which starred Mary Tyler Moore as Holly, along with Richard Chamberlain and Sally Kellerman, was supposed to open at the Majestic Theatre in New York on December 26, 1966, but Merrick closed the show after a few previews, before the official opening. The production ranks with shows like Portofino (1958), Kelly (1965), and Carrie (1988) among the legendary disasters of the Broadway musical theatre, but the other three at least managed an opening (if an ill-advised one).
Tributes
In 1995, the band Deep Blue Something had a hit with a song called "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The song is about a crumbling relationship between two people with nothing in common except that they "both kinda liked" the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Trivia
- Tiffany & Co., the famous New York jewelry store where Holly eats breakfast in the scene under the opening titles, is located at 727 Fifth Avenue at 57th Street in New York City. [1]
- In the original novella, Holly and Mag Wildwood, a model with a stuttering problem enter into a vaguely bisexual relationship. This aspect of the story was dropped for the Hepburn film version. Wildwood still appears briefly in the film, with her stutter intact.
- In a letter to his aunt, Mary Ida Faulk Carter, Truman Capote wrote that Marilyn Monroe would play Holly Golightly in the film version of his tale - a role that producers instead gave to Audrey Hepburn.
- Steve McQueen was offered the role of Paul Varjak but was unable to due to his Wanted: Dead or Alive contract.
- George Peppard was a student of Method acting, a style Hepburn found difficult to work with. Nonetheless, the two actors remained close friends until her death.
External links
- Breakfast at Tiffany's on LitWiki
- {{{2|{{{title|Breakfast at Tiffany's}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
de:Frühstück bei Tiffany es:Breakfast at Tiffany's (película) fr:Diamants sur canapé it:Colazione da Tiffany (film) ja:ティファニーで朝食を fi:Aamiainen Tiffanylla sv:Frukost på Tiffany's