听 Blake Edwards' 1961 classic Breakfast At Tiffany's saw Audrey Hepburn in a career-defining role as the "wickedly kooky" call girl Holly Golightly. That image of the gamine actress strewn in pearls with hair piled high on her head still endures as the epitome of chic. Nonetheless Truman Capote (who wrote the novella on which it is based) always preferred Marilyn Monroe for the part...
Preparing Breakfast
It wasn't just Capote who was unconvinced about Hepburn's ability to carry off the role. A 15-minute 鈥楳aking Of' featurette reveals that Paramount execs and Hepburn herself had doubts. Producer Richard Shepherd and director Blake Edwards are on hand to explain that it was Golightly's sweet nature that had to come across on screen more than her sexuality, which is why they brushed these concerns aside. Conversely, Edwards admits that he didn't feel as confident about her co-star George Peppard, stating blankly: "I didn't want him in the film." He and Shepherd also express regret about casting Mickey Rooney as Golightly's loud-mouthed Japanese neighbour. Photos from the set bolster their reminiscences - it's just a shame this featurette doesn't give them more time.
Of course the extras menu wouldn't be complete without a tribute to Audrey Hepburn. The featurette It's So Audrey! celebrates her status as a style icon with former friends, colleagues and fashionistas describing her as everything from "gamine", "boyish" and "feminine". Meanwhile Shepherd points out that "She had the biggest feet of any girl I'd ever seen!" which apparently only enhanced her sex appeal. While Hepburn certainly has left an indelible mark on modern fashion, we can only wonder how she would have felt about being remembered chiefly for the clothes she wore...
A Girl's Best Friend
There's a potted history of Tiffany's world famous New York jewellery store in Brilliance In A Blue Box. Part of the story includes Hepburn wearing the super-precious Canary Diamond (named for its bright yellow hue) to publicise the film. A separate featurette sees Tiffany's Design Director John Loring read out a letter that the actress penned to serve as the preface for a book celebrating the 150th anniversary of the company. He calls her, "The First Lady of Tiffany's".
Richard Shepherd gives a surprisingly detailed feature commentary given that the film was shot almost half a century ago. He talks about changes made to the novella for the big screen version, especially to the character of Holly who was made slightly softer and Varjack (Peppard) who he describes as "more virile" in the screenplay. Very often he refers to the sexual subtext of the story and explains that, "We were warned to be very careful and not do anything that might get the film an R rating." And once again, he apologises for casting Mickey Rooney as a Japanese man, calling the decision "ethnically improper".
Shepherd's contribution to this Anniversary Edition DVD lifts it above the fluff although a more rounded portrait of Hepburn and added insights from Blake Edwards would have been nice. Even so, most women would be glad to receive this little gem on DVD (and it's cheaper than a diamond).
EXTRA FEATURES
