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Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breakfast at Tiffany's

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Writer Gets... More Than Just the Girl
Review: "Audrey Hepburn."
I'm supposed to have more than a one word review here. Amazon's rules. Two words will do just fine. "Audrey Hepburn." There was that other guy, whatshisname, the one about as nameless in my memory as Cat.
Sleek and sophisticated, clever and innocent, beguiling yet without guile: Hepburn demonstrates her natural ability to dance without moving and love without ever having met the audience. She was of an era and grace when fantasies mattered.
And best of all, the writers gets the girl. The good guy finishes first.
Swoon with me, and watch this perfect movie once again. Buy it, own it, never let it go. It is all we've got, really, of Holly Golightly, of the Audrey Hepburn we love.
I fully recommend this movie, and obsessively so.
Did you see "Sabrina" yet? Get that one too.
Anthony Trendl

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Writer Gets... More Than Just the Girl
Review: "Audrey Hepburn."

I'm supposed to have more than a one word review here. Amazon's rules. Two words will do just fine. "Audrey Hepburn." There was that other guy, whatshisname, the one about as nameless in my memory as Cat, but the guy we men all want to be.

Sleek and sophisticated, clever and innocent, beguiling yet without guile: Hepburn demonstrates her natural ability to dance without moving and love without ever having met the audience. She was of an era and grace when poise mattered.

And best of all, the writer gets the girl. The good guy finishes first.

Swoon with me, and watch this perfect movie once again. Buy it, own it, never let it go. It is all we've got, really, of Holly Golightly, of the Audrey Hepburn we love.

I'm disappointed the have nothing particularly special on the DVD, or a boxed set. A complete boxed set is the way to go, including all her her pre-"Roman Holiday" stuff.

I fully recommend this movie, and obsessively so.

Did you see "Sabrina" yet? Get that one too.

Anthony Trendl

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ¿Breakfast¿ Is More Like Dessert
Review: "Breakfast At Tiffany's" is and always will be one of the crowning achievements in cinema for the 1960s. Though Truman Capote desperately wanted Marilyn Monroe for the part of Holly Golightly, it went to Audrey Hepburn, who defines perfection. Ms. Hepburn brought such class and sophistication to the part, but was still able to convey the second layer of insecurity. Early on in production, she was afraid she couldn't do it, but no one will ever say she failed with this film. The supporting cast is tragically out-shined, as they are all exceptional in their roles, but it's hard to live up to Audrey's accidental wonder. The film takes many liberties from the novella, including a different ending - which changes the meaning of the story completely - but the film doesn't suffer. Holly, in the book, is caught forever in the dance she does, going around looking to belong but never finding her rainbow's end. In the film, she finally completes her cycle when she realizes that she belongs with Paul, her huckleberry friend. This film is a tragedy, a romance, a comedy, and just about every other genre melted together, forging a film that is heart-breakingly real.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "I'm just CRAZY about Tiffany's!"
Review: "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is flawless blend of a crowd-pleasing star-vehicle for the effortlessly charming Audrey Hepburn and a bittersweet, painfully beautiful look at love, life, and happiness. Director Blake Edwards, the man behind "The Pink Panther" series, "The Party", "Operation Petticoat", "Victor/Victoria", etc., has crafted a truly timeless film based on the novella by Truman Capote. Though numerous elements of Capote's story were altered, the film still has a strong core and message that urges audiences to examine their own lives, loves, and happiness.

Everything about this film is classic. You have the timeless Hepburn and her defining performance as Holly Golightly, a sophisticated, sassy call-girl with a secret past who is ultimately one of the most vulnerable characters Hepburn ever played. Then there's George Peppard, a vastly under-appreciated actor who manages to hold his own next to Hepburn while playing a struggling writer living off an older married woman. Peppard's boyish good looks and surprising depth make him the ideal match for Hepburn's Golightly.

Then of course there's Henry Mancini's wistfully romantic score and the tremendously popular theme-song, "Moon River", a true gem of a song that capture's the film's essence perfectly. In addition, you have Hepburn's fabulous, style-setting wardrobe courtesy of her lifelong friend Hubert de Givenchy. In this one film alone, Hepburn and Givenchy practically invented the "little black dress", popularized ballet flats, and introduced capris as a stylish alternative to regular pants.

My favorite quote:

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul Varjak: Sure.
Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Cold Transfer not a welcomed edition to my Breakfast Tray!
Review: "Breakfast At Tiffanys" is the vintage romance classic based on the novel by Truman Capote that pits the elegant Audrey Hepburn (Holly Golightly) against stoic George Peppard (Paul Varjack). He's a would be writer, being kept by a rich, married lady. She's the lost soul runaway who's abandoned her husband and family after her beloved brother dies while serving his country in the military. This is vintage Capote. Even with the glaring omissions to the text and Mickey Rooney's garish, over-the-top performance as a Japanese landlord, this is still one of the all time great date flicks.
Unfortunately, Paramount Home Video hasn't done a very vintage job on this DVD. They've presented the film in its original VistaVision widescreen process (anamorphically enhanced) and remixed the sound to 5.1. That's a start. But the visual characteristic of the transfer on this DVD is digitally harsh, suffering from edge enhancement, aliasing, shimmering fine details, pixelization and digital grain.
Colors are generally well balanced but there are several instances where flesh tones appear a little bit on the yellowish side. Contrast levels are weak with black levels usually registering a dark gray instead of black. There's an excessive amount of chips and scratches in the opening title sequence as well as some general color fading associated with film stock of this period. As for the 5.1 surround, it's strident and not very natural. Dialogue is forward sounding. The Henry Mancini score is nicely presented, particularly Moon River, but over all this is a mono soundtrack with very few scenes that engage any of your other speakers.
NO EXTRAS! What a shame!
BOTTOM LINE: This is vintage Hollywood presented at bargain basement quality. Decide for yourself. I'd wait in the hopes of a complete digital restoration.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Fashionable Fairytale
Review: "Seinfield" has ruined me. So many little things pop up in life that remind me of certain episodes and this movie is one of them. Goofball George joins a book club to read Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's which is a slim volume easily read within a snap, but George, naturally, must cheat and watch the video instead. The movie is quite different from the book, as George discovers to his dismay. I adore both but as entities separate from one another.

The movie is a frothy little concoction of romance, kooky characters, and a sparkly clean New York City. A veil of misty eyed yearning and gentle sweetness belie the sordid underbelly of prostitution, organized crime, and other illegal activities but the movie does not dig that deep. It is a fashionable fairytale, after all, and to enjoy the film that is the best way to approach it.

Miss Holly Golightly is a charming flit-about who accepts $50 from her gentlemen "friends" for the powder room then ditches them. Her new neighbor, whom she calls Fred because he reminds her of her beloved brother, is a jaded dried-up writer kept by an older wealthy woman. Holly also earns money by delivering "weather reports" for a jailed mobster. She is amazingly oblivious to what is really going on but she looks so marvelously fab in sleek black dresses and UFO sized hats that one simply cannot hold it against her.

A tender poignancy is what saves this movie. I reached for the tissues over the character's frustrations and desperate longings to escape from lives in which they felt trapped. I also found the confusion of Holly's sweet and simple old hubby tapping on my little ole' heart when he shows up in New York to take his young bride back home where he feels she belongs.

I enjoy this movie for what it is and not what it could've been. Still, I gladly could do without the Mickey Rooney character - a slimy and oh so unfunny fake-Japanese photographer - but he is a minor character (why did they bother with him at all?) and thankfully is not seen much.

See the movie, read the book, but don't become flabbergasted like George Constanza to discover that one is a moon river serenade while the other is a smoky torch song.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Cold Transfer not a welcomed edition to my Breakfast Tray!
Review: "Breakfast At Tiffanys" is the vintage romance classic based on the novel by Truman Capote that pits the elegant Audrey Hepburn (Holly Golightly) against stoic George Peppard (Paul Varjack). He's a would be writer, being kept by a rich, married lady. She's the lost soul runaway who's abandoned her husband and family after her beloved brother dies while serving his country in the military. This is vintage Capote. Even with the glaring omissions to the text and Mickey Rooney's garish, over-the-top performance as a Japanese landlord, this is still one of the all time great date flicks.
Unfortunately, Paramount Home Video hasn't done a very vintage job on this DVD. They've presented the film in its original VistaVision widescreen process (anamorphically enhanced) and remixed the sound to 5.1. That's a start. But the visual characteristic of the transfer on this DVD is digitally harsh, suffering from edge enhancement, aliasing, shimmering fine details, pixelization and digital grain.
Colors are generally well balanced but there are several instances where flesh tones appear a little bit on the yellowish side. Contrast levels are weak with black levels usually registering a dark gray instead of black. There's an excessive amount of chips and scratches in the opening title sequence as well as some general color fading associated with film stock of this period. As for the 5.1 surround, it's strident and not very natural. Dialogue is forward sounding. The Henry Mancini score is nicely presented, particularly Moon River, but over all this is a mono soundtrack with very few scenes that engage any of your other speakers.
NO EXTRAS! What a shame!
BOTTOM LINE: This is vintage Hollywood presented at bargain basement quality. Decide for yourself. I'd wait in the hopes of a complete digital restoration.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Are you "Cat?"
Review: "There once was a very lovely, very frightened girl who lived alone, except for a nameless cat."

For the many of us who fear marriage (i.e. commitment), this is the most INCREDIBLY romantic movie ever made. Unlike the faux "romantic" movies of our time that somehow require explicit sex scenes and the "R" ratings that ensue to "earn" the label of "romantic," this movie defines the TRUE meaning of the word.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" will strike an especially serious chord with those of us who have wondered, in our cynicism, if those who SAY they love us, in fact, DO love us for who we ARE rather than for whatever material wealth we may possess.

In short, those who can witness, without tears, the final moments of this brilliant film deserve our pitty. Those who cannot deserve our commitment.

P.S. I am not "Rat" or "Super Rat" or even "Scared Little Mouse." I am "Cat." Are you?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a classical example of yesterday's and today's love story
Review: 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' is a story i will never forget. Not because i liked the book, but because of the reality of a woman's dream. i want to thank whoever wrote this book, and opened my eyes to a world of love, fate, and wistful thinking. END

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A wonderful movie!
Review: 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' is a wonderful movie. The first time I saw it I loved it all! Audrey Hepburn looks so young and adorable in this. But then she looks beautiful in all of her movies. This is my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie!

I'm not a big fan of Audrey, but I loved this movie! Delightful!


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