More than half a century has passed since the premiere of the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Reviews of the film, which became a hit in the sixties, and today admired. What made this painting a classic? Actor play? Directing? Or maybe an unusual plot? Summarized reviews of the 1961 Tiffany Breakfast movie are featured in this article. It also tells about the literary source and the actors who embodied the heroes of Truman Capote on the screen.
The book "Breakfast at Tiffany's": reviews
Truman Capote is an American writer whose works are recognized as classics. More than twenty books by this author were filmed. The most famous Capote novel is "Breakfast at Tiffany's." There are many reviews of modern readers about this work, although it was published for the first time in 1958. Perhaps, if not for such a successful adaptation, Capote's book would not have received such wide popularity.
What is Tiffany's Breakfast about? Reviews about the book and the film are mostly positive. Negatives are extremely rare, and in them, as a rule, an unsightly female image is criticized. The image of Holly Golightly, which was played unsurpassed by Audrey Hepburn.
In Capote's book, the narration is from the first person. The protagonist recalls the events of the past years. He once lived in the same house with an eccentric young lady.
Holly was eighteen years old. The only thing she dreamed about was to marry a millionaire. We will not retell the contents of the work, because the plot of the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is set out below. The opinion of readers is often found that the film is better than the literary source.
However, it is worth saying that the picture, which will be discussed later, is not a film adaptation, but rather a film shot based on the work of Truman Capote. There is no romantic component in the novel. The author talks about his acquaintance, but, apart from friendship, he and Holly are not connected by anything, which cannot be said about the heroes of the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The reviews of critics and ordinary viewers are mostly positive. However, reviews usually do not talk about the plot, but about a brilliant acting.
In reviews of the book "Breakfast at Tiffany's", readers often recommend watching the movie Black Edwards, which was released in 1961. This is the rare case when a film is better than a literary work.
In reviews of the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's", viewers sometimes criticize the main character. But no doubt, the frivolous Holly is better than the restrained aristocrat Audrey Hepburn, no one would play. This actress managed to make a fashion icon out of an ordinary and unattractive female image. However, among the authors of reviews of the book "Breakfast at Tiffany's" there are those who consider the film worse than the literary source.
Holly Golightly
The main character is one of the girls who are talked about "without a king in her head." Nevertheless, in 1961, the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" gathered positive reviews precisely because of this film image.
The fact that Holly is a frivolous person, the viewer understands when viewing the first frames. From night walks, she returns early in the morning and awakens her neighbor without a twinge of conscience. He is angry. And according to some remarks, it becomes clear that Holly is losing her keys with enviable regularity. “Make yourself a key,” an angry neighbor shouts. “What's the point? I'll lose it again,” Holly replies and smiles seductively.
By the way, the role of a neighbor was played by an actor whose name is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. But first things first.
In the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Audrey Hepburn managed to create a rather complex character on the screen. On the one hand, Holly is a windy damsel who cannot think of anything else as money. She constantly says stupid things. She is frivolous and quick-tempered. On the other hand, she is a lonely, unhappy girl, and behind the guise of a professional kept woman she hides a vulnerable nature.
There are few happy moments in the biography of the heroine of the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Her parents died when she was very young. Holly and his older brother were brought up by strangers who abused orphans. When the children grew up a bit, they fled from their adoptive parents. Somehow they ended up in the house of a farmer, a good elderly widower. Holly married him when she was fourteen years old.
The husband treated her well. But when her brother, and his name was Fred, went into the army, she fled to New York.
In the metropolis, she began a new life. Here she met with wealthy men who gave her $ 50 "to the ladies' room."
Reviews for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany 1961 would be much less if not for Holly's pet. The girl started a cat, but considered giving him a name unnecessary. This nameless character is present in the final scene, which makes her unusually touching.
Paul Warzhak
In the house where Holly lives, a young writer settles in. Paul meets the girl on the first day. They quickly become friends. True, Holly calls the writer not Paul, but Fred, in honor of her beloved brother. Thus, she distinguishes him from the crowd of men who surround her.
The protagonist of the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in 1961 - Alphonse. He is fully supported by a wealthy lady. First of all, it brings him closer to Holly. It is worth saying that the hero of the book "Breakfast at Tiffany's" does not have a wealthy lover. Scriptwriters significantly changed the plot and added new characters. But in the film, as in the book, Paul Varzhak is a writer.
He once wrote the novel Nine Lives. This work was published, but after Paul, inspiration did not attend. His typewriter doesn't even have a tape. This notice Holly. Once she gives him a tape, and with her light hand Paul writes a story that is immediately published.
About Truman Capote's book "Breakfast at Tiffany's" reviews are negative. Some readers find this work immoral. The main character is a girl who is constantly looking for wealthy sponsors. And even Paul Varzhak, a man not stupid, thinking, falls under the influence of her charms. In the film, the hero is also shown as Alphonse.
Plot
In Capote's book, Breakfast at Tiffany's, the reviews of which are presented above, a girl is shown not only greedy, but also stupid. She visits a crime boss in prison, for which she receives a hundred dollars a week from his lawyer. He pronounces encoded messages, which she must remember and pass on to his accomplices. Holly doesn't even think about what dangerous game she got into.
The only place Holly feels happy is at the Tiffany jewelry store. She comes here almost every morning. Not because she loves jewelry so much, but because, as she says, calmness and greatness reign here.
A few days after meeting Holly, Paul gets to her party. A lot of people gather in the girl’s apartment, and most of them she does not know. Guests drink, have fun. In this bustle, Verzhak meets an agent from Hollywood.
This man calls Holly the "great pretender." He met her when she first arrived from Texas. According to his memoirs, she already had a sense of style, extraordinary sophistication. However, the terrible Texas dialect spoiled it.
The Hollywood agent taught her the correct English speech - he dreamed of making an actress out of her. But when he managed to get a role for her, she suddenly left for New York. This story characterizes the main character well. Holly does not know what she wants, she is afraid of everything permanent and serious.
All attempts to successfully marry fail. She meets a wealthy politician from Brazil. He begins to visit the public library, where he reads books about South America. And this happens after a short romance with Paul, which Holly persistently calls Fred. The girl very often talks about her brother.
One day her husband suddenly appears. From him, the main character learns that in fact his cute neighbor is called Lula May. Holly calls her husband Doc (he is a veterinarian by profession) and treats him with fondness. However, he refuses to return home. Before leaving, he reminds her of Fred. If Holly does not return, he will not let her brother into his house, and he will have nowhere to live. Holly decides to find the money at all costs. Then he and Fred will be able to live together in New York or any other big city.
However, Holly soon receives a telegram: her brother died. It becomes a hard blow for her. However, she does not refuse her plans. She is still preparing for marriage and departure for Brazil.
Weekly visits to the prison do nothing good. Holly is arrested on suspicion of complicity. She helps one of her benefactors - makes a deposit for her.
Paul comes to her prison. He wants to take her to a hotel where she could hide from journalists. But Holly does not want to go to the hotel. She is still going to Brazil. She does not change her plans even after she finds out that the groom from Brazil refused her. He does not need a bride with a dubious reputation.
Holly doesn't want to live in New York anymore. She is going to fly to Rio de Janeiro and start again with a white sheet. They ride in a taxi, on the road Holly throws the cat in the trash. Here Paul is trying to explain to her: "You won’t run away from yourself." He gets out of the taxi and sets off in search of the nameless cat. Holly suddenly understands everything and goes after him. A cat they find in a dustbin. In the finale, the girl is in the arms of Paul. This is the plot of the 1961 Tiffany Breakfast movie.
Cast
The main role in the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Audrey Hepburn got, one might say, by chance. Initially, Holly was supposed to play Merlin Monroe. Moreover, Truman Capote himself insisted on this candidacy. It is believed that Marilyn Monroe in this role would have looked more organic. But without Audrey Hepburn, the picture would not have become a classic.
The main male role was played by George Peppard. Mr. Yunioshi, a neighbor forced to open the door of the eccentric Holly in the mornings, was played by Mickey Rooney. It was he who became the champion in the duration of his acting career, for which he was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
Until 1932, Mickey Rooney managed to play in several dozen low-budget comedies. Fame brought him a role in the film adaptation of Shakespeare's work "A Midsummer Night's Dream." In his youth, this actor developed the character of a resourceful, lively teenager. The peak of his fame came in the pre-war years. The role of the Japanese in the romantic comedy "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - became the most significant for Rooney in the sixties.
Patricia Neal played a wealthy lady, the lover of Paul Warzhak. Alan Reed is a crime boss Holly met in prison on Thursdays. The film also played Buddy Ebsen, Martin Bolsan, Stanley Adams, John McGyver, Jose Louis de Villalonga.
The crappiest cat in the world
It is worth saying a few words about another actor who played in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Namely about Orange. That was the name of the red cat, who played the role of an anonymous pet in the legendary film. Orange was the only cat to receive the Patsy Prize, the Oscar-winning analogue for animals. He received this award twice, the second time for his role in the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
In 1951, Paramount announced the search for a cat "with a vile character and a scar on its face." Two years earlier, Orange, hungry, battered, and torn, appeared in the garden of a Los Angeles resident. The woman justifiably suggested that her pet would be suitable for the role of a "vile cat", because he had a scar. And I was not mistaken. Orange approved for the role in the movie Rubarb.
After the release of this film, the rights to the cat were bought by the trainer Frank Inn. By the way, even during the filming of the film "Rubarb" Orange showed his character not from the best side. He scratched himself, biting, growling and rushing at people, for which the producer of the picture called him "the crappiest cat in the world."
After the release of the film Rubarb, Orange became very much in demand. In total, he starred in 500 films and commercials. But he, like almost any artist, had, of course, understudies. So, in the filming of the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's", in addition to Orange, five red cats took part. However, in episodes where Holly's pet is shown close-up, there is the star of Rubarba.
The film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" owes its popularity, of course, first of all to the leading woman. In 1961, Hepburn was a world famous actress. However, it was the image created for the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" that became her calling card.
Audrey Hepburn
This actress has become an icon of style. The peak of her career fell on the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Audrey Hepburn came from an aristocratic family. She was born in 1929 in one of the communes of the Brussels-capital region. Childhood and youth passed in the Netherlands Arnhem, which was occupied during the Second World War. From childhood, she studied ballet. The career of a dancer did not work out due to too high growth - 170 cm.
During the years of occupation, the future actress, like other residents of Artem, went hungry. Probably, it was during this period that the diseases that Audrey Hepburn suffered until the end of her life began to develop.
In 1948, she left for London. After one of the teachers advised to leave the ballet, she decided to devote herself to dramatic art. Audrey Hepburn performed her debut role in 1951.
The world famous actress brought a role in the film "Roman Vacations." In 1954, Hepburn was awarded the Academy Award. The role in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" turned her into a cult image of American cinema of the 20th century.
She herself admitted more than once that Holly Golightly was her most successful movie. At the same time, the role was given to her very difficult. The fact is that Audrey Hepburn was a pronounced introvert. On the set of the painting "Breakfast at Tiffany's" she had to go into the image of an eccentric, unpredictable and emotional person.
The little black dress, coined by Coco Chanel in 1926, became fashionable again in the early sixties. After Audrey Hepburn appeared on the screen, dressed in an outfit from Givenchy. The friendship with the great fashion designer, the actress carried through her whole life, becoming his regular client.
The heroine of Capote's book is 18 years old. Audrey Hepburn in 1961 turned 32 years old. Filming began three months after the actress gave birth to her first child.
Audrey Hepburn’s fee was 750 thousand dollars. The role in the film based on the book by Truman Capote made her the highest paid actress in Hollywood.
George Peppard
Before the release of the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's", the name of this actor was not known to many. Previously, George Peppard played in low-budget films. Audrey Hepburn often attributed novels with her partners. But this can not be said about the performer of the main male role in the film adaptation of the novel by Truman Capote.
The role of Paul Varzhak remained the most successful in Peppard's creative career. After he starred often, but for the audience he remained a romantic, in love with the selfish and unabashed Holly Golightly.
Producer
The peak of creative activity of Edwards Blake came in the sixties. First, the comedy Operation Petticoat was released. Then the premiere of the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" took place, which, according to many critics, is considered the best work of Edwards Blake. Although he gained fame primarily through the Golden Panther cycle.
Music
For the song for Breakfast at Tiffany's, Henry Mancini and John Mercer were awarded the Oscars. Moon river, which is translated into Russian as "Moon River", was written in 1961 specifically for Audrey Hepburn.
The composition, which everyone knows today, sounds in many scenes of the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's." But the words written by John Mercer - only once. In the episode where the heroine Audrey Hepburn appears on the fire escape with a guitar in her hands.
They wanted to cut the stage with the performance of the song. The actress, learning about this, as her colleagues later claimed, made a scandal to the producer. The episode with the performance of "Moon River" was left, and it became a hit. Later, the song was performed at various times by famous artists, including Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra.
Awards
For the best soundtrack, Henry Mancini received two awards - Oscar and Grammy. Audrey Hepburn was honored with the David di Donatello Award. "Oscar" for the role of Holly in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" she did not receive. However, she was nominated for the highest film award, as well as for the Golden Globe Award.
The illusion of the legendary American film is found in many modern films. In honor of this picture, many institutions are named all over the world, including in Russia. For example, the cafe "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in Pushkino is popular.
Reviews
Opinions about the picture are mostly positive. Among the numerous reviews of the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" there are very few negative ones. Few people are indifferent to the game of the unrivaled Audrey Hepburn. Her heroine has become one of the symbols of Hollywood. For over half a century, this film has been loved by viewers around the world and thanks to music. The tune of Henry Mancini gives the film a special charm.
The drawbacks of the picture, according to the audience, are a rustic plot, a demonstration of the immoral lifestyle of Americans in the early sixties and a poorly written love line.