Savoring 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'
By Brian Offenther |
June 25, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THEY are in form always the same: the slender, lithe Audrey Hepburn in the little black cocktail dress with long black gloves, the superficially elegant and absurdly long cigarette holder, and the face seemingly made up entirely of two doe-like eyes.
In essence, they radiate cool sophistication.
When the movie keeps to the focus of what it's advertised as, it's everything you can ask for.
Hepburn, as we've seen, embodies the role.
She is aided in no small part by Truman Capote (adapted by George Axelrod), who wrote the book the film is based on.
Capote puts Hepburn in the world the real-life Capote thrived in and perhaps on, with charming parties framed by witty gabbing and surrounded by the rich, powerful, alluring, or at least, weird.
Hepburn's dialogue all falls to the beat of the score of Henry Mancini, who provides the breezy rhythms and melodies that would provide a soundtrack for a million bachelor/bachelorette pads.
Mancini is perhaps best known for writing "The Pink Panther Theme" three years later, but it's for "Breakfast at Tiffany's" that he won Oscars, winning for Best Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture and co-winning with Johnny Mercer for the song "Moon River" in the Best Original Song category.
Also perhaps best known for working on the Pink Panther film series is director Blake Edwards, whose lightness of touch helps give "Breakfast at Tiffany's" a buoyant feel throughout most of the film.
So what's the problem here? There's a lot of problem here.
In a twist that undercuts the cold-blooded storyteller Capote, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is one of Hollywood's most egregious examples of tacking on an artificial and schmaltzy ending to a story that doesn't want or need it. "The Great Gatsby" doesn't live happily ever after, and nor should he.
Equally as infuriating is Mickey Rooney as Mr Yunioshi.
Rooney's career in acting began in 1927 and he was most recently seen last year ("The Muppets"), so I can't confirm from experience that this is the absolute low point of his 10-decade career, but I certainly hope it is.
Not only is it horribly racist, with Rooney playing a ruthless stereotype of a Japanese man, it's also painfully unfunny.
The physical comedy falls flat (pun somewhat intentional), killing the mood of the movie intermittently.
Viewers will want to scream to cut out Rooney. For what? For the iconic Hepburn, who carries the movie on her shoulders just fine, thank you very much.
Movie: "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)
Where to see it: Adam's (448 Xinhua Rd, near Dingxi Rd)
When to see it: June 28, 8pm
Price: Free
What to see: Film legend Audrey Hepburn in one of cinema's most iconic roles.
Why see it: As a work of art, the posters and movie stills used to promote "Breakfast at Tiffany's" far surpass the movie itself.
Brian's Rating: 7/10 stars
In essence, they radiate cool sophistication.
When the movie keeps to the focus of what it's advertised as, it's everything you can ask for.
Hepburn, as we've seen, embodies the role.
She is aided in no small part by Truman Capote (adapted by George Axelrod), who wrote the book the film is based on.
Capote puts Hepburn in the world the real-life Capote thrived in and perhaps on, with charming parties framed by witty gabbing and surrounded by the rich, powerful, alluring, or at least, weird.
Hepburn's dialogue all falls to the beat of the score of Henry Mancini, who provides the breezy rhythms and melodies that would provide a soundtrack for a million bachelor/bachelorette pads.
Mancini is perhaps best known for writing "The Pink Panther Theme" three years later, but it's for "Breakfast at Tiffany's" that he won Oscars, winning for Best Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture and co-winning with Johnny Mercer for the song "Moon River" in the Best Original Song category.
Also perhaps best known for working on the Pink Panther film series is director Blake Edwards, whose lightness of touch helps give "Breakfast at Tiffany's" a buoyant feel throughout most of the film.
So what's the problem here? There's a lot of problem here.
In a twist that undercuts the cold-blooded storyteller Capote, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is one of Hollywood's most egregious examples of tacking on an artificial and schmaltzy ending to a story that doesn't want or need it. "The Great Gatsby" doesn't live happily ever after, and nor should he.
Equally as infuriating is Mickey Rooney as Mr Yunioshi.
Rooney's career in acting began in 1927 and he was most recently seen last year ("The Muppets"), so I can't confirm from experience that this is the absolute low point of his 10-decade career, but I certainly hope it is.
Not only is it horribly racist, with Rooney playing a ruthless stereotype of a Japanese man, it's also painfully unfunny.
The physical comedy falls flat (pun somewhat intentional), killing the mood of the movie intermittently.
Viewers will want to scream to cut out Rooney. For what? For the iconic Hepburn, who carries the movie on her shoulders just fine, thank you very much.
Movie: "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)
Where to see it: Adam's (448 Xinhua Rd, near Dingxi Rd)
When to see it: June 28, 8pm
Price: Free
What to see: Film legend Audrey Hepburn in one of cinema's most iconic roles.
Why see it: As a work of art, the posters and movie stills used to promote "Breakfast at Tiffany's" far surpass the movie itself.
Brian's Rating: 7/10 stars
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