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Rating:  - Great movie, poor commentary.
I give the movie 5 stars,but the sparse and yet overly p.c. commentary by producer Richard Shepherd is lackluster and annoying. Shepherd audibly squirms, moans and tsk-tsks every time someone has a cigarette in their mouth or when Mickey Rooney comes on screen as the Japanese photographer. To the absurd point when after the film comes to its perfect and poignant end Shepherd claims that although it's a good film, it could have been a great film if Rooney hadn't been in it. To Mr. Shepherd and all, I say," God save us from political correctness". Mickey Rooney is miscast, but not because it's politically incorrect, but because his character is too over the top and cartoonish (even for a comedy). But since his character is minor and unimportant to the story he certainly doesn't ruin the movie.
My only other gripe is the fact that both Shepherd -in his commentary- and Blake Edwards -in the featurette "The Making of a Classic"- don't give George Peppard enough -or any- credit for his fine performance. Edwards goes so far as to say that he thought Peppard was miscast (this from the man who cast Mickey Rooney!).
Rating:  - Moon River
We had not planned to watch "Breakfast At Tiffany's" (1961) on our movie night, but when the song "Moon River" started playing, it was hard not to get caught up in the film. The opening scene has got to be one of the most haunting in film history, with Audrey Hepburn strolling down a Manhattan street at five o'clock in the morning, glamorously attired, a paper cup of coffee in hand, nibbling a pastry, while pausing to gaze longingly into the window of Tiffany's jewery store. Never has anyone looked so lost.
Made at the dawn of the sexual revolution, the film captures the angst of modern life, with the all the loneliness, the frantic striving for wealth at any price, seeking in material pleasures a happiness which remains elusive. The "Holly Golightly" character, nimbly portrayed by Miss Hepburn, embodies the lifestyle of so many contemporary young women, sans the Givenchy gowns, in whose lives there have often been many lovers but very little true love. The George Peppard character, "Paul" the writer-gigolo, was shocking at the time the film debuted. He, too, like so many modern people, knows a lot about sex but nothing of love. He longs for love, nevertheless. Paul, like Holly, is trapped in a lifestyle from which there seems to be no escape. Hope is presented in the awakening of love, and the desire for commitment, from which Holly flees like a bird.
The film would be nothing without the Henry Mancini song "Moon River," written for Audrey's limited vocal range. Although the words speak of a youthful desire to see the world, when Audrey sings it, she captures a deeper level of meaning, an intense yearning for home, for a family setting that is no more. It is essentially a mourning of lost innocence. Holly had lost her innocence by age fourteen, when she married a man old enough to be her father; instead of being a much-needed parent, he became a lover, and perhaps that is what set her on the path to promiscuity. Underneath her carefree exterior, she is tormented at the very core of her being, as is demonstrated when she smashes up her apartment upon hearing the that her only brother has died.
When hearing the song "Moon River" as a child, I always thought of the river not far from our house. It was a yellow muddy river due to the cow manure and silt from the fields, but on a summer night, beneath the glimmering of the moon, it became beautifully surreal, connoting the magic and mystery of places far away. How often the youthful longing to see the world is replaced with the nostalgia for home, after the world has been seen and tasted. There is no going back home, only going forward, while creating structures of stability for the new generation. Paul and Holly standing in the rain at the end of "Breakfast at Tiffany's," hugging a soggy cat, while a choir sings "Moon River" in the background, is almost like a gleam of promise. Amid the despair, depravity and chaos of modernity, a man and woman can still find each other, commit to each other, and build a life of meaning for themselves and for others.
Rating: - Compare Breakfast at Tiffany's and Sex and the City
I've always wanted to watch this movie and I am so glad that I watched it finally. Truly it is very classic and very timeless.
I am not going to repeat the story and praise the cast for their brilliant acting since so many of the reviewers here have already done these. But one thing I really find interesting and want to talk about is the similarity and difference between this movie and Sex and the City.
I was a fan of Sex and the City for a long time, ..... until I watched this movie. I have to admit that if I had watched it earlier, I probably would never have spent so much time watching Sex and the City. There are actually many scences in S&C resemble those in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Both story happened in NYC. East Manhattern, whistling for a cab, charming uptown streets and buildings, lonely and smoking girls, wild parties, chasing after rich men, dreaming for a final settlement. I have no doubt that the director or producers of S&C have gotten their inspirations from Breakfast at Tiffany's. And Carol( Sarah Parker) has indubitably tried to imitate the classic and iconic image Holly (Audrey Hepburn)has created. Despite that both heroines's similar life style, Holly is the one that wins my heart and makes everyone to love her, both in the movie and among the audience. Do I like Carol? Not that much. There is somewhere deep in my heart that's been touched by the childish naivty of Holly and her blatant statement of her being the wild thing and the courage with which she faced her bumpy life. Compared to her, Carol looks superficial, not as brave or even as wild, and shows a pseudo-sophistication. Of course, there are other parts of Carol that show her charm. But in my opinion, Carol is not as iconic and as charming as Holly, as the latter truly established her as the brave-dreaming,couragous-acting NYC girl who somewhat still kept her inside purity and childish artlessness. These are all shown without reservation when Holly and Paul stole the animal masks from the store, Holly's love for the cat, and Holly's song playing of the "Moonriver". I guess that's why even in S&C, when Big is leaving Carol, he played the exact same classic song, The Moonriver. But the sadness aroused by this song in S&C is nowhere compared to the delicate and beautiful melancholy created in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Rating: - bREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S
WONDERFUL MOVIE. I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE ESPECIALLY ON A RAINY DAY!!!!
Rating: - Simply Wonderful, Dah-ling!
This movie is a Classic for a reason. So cute, naive and beatiful is Audrey that you feel like you genuinely know her and love her for the spirited soul she is. I am 23 years old and have heard about this movie all my life, yet only recently did I catch most of it on late night TV to which I fell in love with a searched to purchase it. During Christmas I searched many book stores and movie stores to find they were sold out on this DVD, which is no surpise. I recommend this Classic to all who have a spirited heart and an itch for class.
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