Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
Directed by Blake Edwards
Based on a novella by Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a story about Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) and her search for security and love in the upper stratum of New York society.
Throughout the story we find out small clues about Holly’s past. She comes from the backwoods and has been “created” by a Hollywood producer named O.J. Berman (Martin Balsam). He intended to make her a star in the motion picture industry. What he didn’t count on is that Holly is not a tamable animal. She is a wild thing, born to run free. She ran off to New York because she had never been to New York before. As it turns out, the desire for new experience is often what motivates Holly. She is always up for trying new and different things whether it be marriage or walking the streets of New York in the early morning.
Holly has a pet cat (Orangey). She found him in the street and brought him home. The cat’s name is simply “cat” because Holly doesn’t believe she really owns him and therefore has no right to give him a name. The cat is a perfect mirror image of Holly. She too was a no-name slob that was found on the street. She is undeniably curious. She classifies the men she chases after as “rats” and “super-rats”. There is a sort of cat-motif throughout the movie. Paul Varjak (George Peppard), the man who loves Holly, is a writer. The book he has published is called Nine Lives. When he and Holly steal Halloween masks from a five and dime, Paul chooses a cat mask.
One thing I noticed this time watching the movie were some subtle references to Marilyn Monroe. Apparently she was originally supposed to play the role of Holly Golightly. An interesting thing about that is that Holly and Marilyn have many similarities. Though Truman Capote insists that the character is based on Carol Grace who had been a friend of his when he lived in New York, there is enough in the film version to suggest that Holly is also based on Marilyn. The most subtle is when Paul is reading a letter from José da Silva Pereira (José Luis de Villalonga) to Holly. He refers to her as “a beautiful child” in the letter. Truman Capote once wrote a short story about an afternoon he spent with Marilyn Monroe. It is titled “A Beautiful Child”. When Marilyn asks Truman what he would say if someone asked him to describe the real her, he replies, “I’d say you are a beautiful child”. The more obvious connections are that Marilyn was pulled from humble beginnings, had her name changed and was turned into a star and an icon.
Edith Head (who is best remembered for her work with Alfred Hitchcock) was the costume supervisor for this film. We see Holly’s clothes change drastically over the course of the film but the one thing that remains constant is that they reflect her current mood or circumstance. When she is the glamorous and glitzy starlet she is dressed in elaborate hats, dresses and jewelry. But when she is at her most morose after being cast aside by José she is wearing a simple, bland sweater. Just before she accepts that she is in love with Paul, she changes back into a beautiful black dress. It’s as if the choice of clothing is trying to convey that Holly is back on her feet and ready to take on the world again.
Holly’s world is one of extravagance and luxury. But by the end of the film she is casting all of that aside to be with Paul. She gives up all of it for love. That is one of the things that makes this one of the more beautiful love stories in cinema history. But it is also a coming of age story as we see Holly growing up and realizing what is really important in life is not the $50 you get from some gentleman who desires you for your appearance, but the love you get from the man who desires you for who you are.
Directed by Blake Edwards
Based on a novella by Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a story about Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) and her search for security and love in the upper stratum of New York society.
Throughout the story we find out small clues about Holly’s past. She comes from the backwoods and has been “created” by a Hollywood producer named O.J. Berman (Martin Balsam). He intended to make her a star in the motion picture industry. What he didn’t count on is that Holly is not a tamable animal. She is a wild thing, born to run free. She ran off to New York because she had never been to New York before. As it turns out, the desire for new experience is often what motivates Holly. She is always up for trying new and different things whether it be marriage or walking the streets of New York in the early morning.
Holly has a pet cat (Orangey). She found him in the street and brought him home. The cat’s name is simply “cat” because Holly doesn’t believe she really owns him and therefore has no right to give him a name. The cat is a perfect mirror image of Holly. She too was a no-name slob that was found on the street. She is undeniably curious. She classifies the men she chases after as “rats” and “super-rats”. There is a sort of cat-motif throughout the movie. Paul Varjak (George Peppard), the man who loves Holly, is a writer. The book he has published is called Nine Lives. When he and Holly steal Halloween masks from a five and dime, Paul chooses a cat mask.
One thing I noticed this time watching the movie were some subtle references to Marilyn Monroe. Apparently she was originally supposed to play the role of Holly Golightly. An interesting thing about that is that Holly and Marilyn have many similarities. Though Truman Capote insists that the character is based on Carol Grace who had been a friend of his when he lived in New York, there is enough in the film version to suggest that Holly is also based on Marilyn. The most subtle is when Paul is reading a letter from José da Silva Pereira (José Luis de Villalonga) to Holly. He refers to her as “a beautiful child” in the letter. Truman Capote once wrote a short story about an afternoon he spent with Marilyn Monroe. It is titled “A Beautiful Child”. When Marilyn asks Truman what he would say if someone asked him to describe the real her, he replies, “I’d say you are a beautiful child”. The more obvious connections are that Marilyn was pulled from humble beginnings, had her name changed and was turned into a star and an icon.
Edith Head (who is best remembered for her work with Alfred Hitchcock) was the costume supervisor for this film. We see Holly’s clothes change drastically over the course of the film but the one thing that remains constant is that they reflect her current mood or circumstance. When she is the glamorous and glitzy starlet she is dressed in elaborate hats, dresses and jewelry. But when she is at her most morose after being cast aside by José she is wearing a simple, bland sweater. Just before she accepts that she is in love with Paul, she changes back into a beautiful black dress. It’s as if the choice of clothing is trying to convey that Holly is back on her feet and ready to take on the world again.
Holly’s world is one of extravagance and luxury. But by the end of the film she is casting all of that aside to be with Paul. She gives up all of it for love. That is one of the things that makes this one of the more beautiful love stories in cinema history. But it is also a coming of age story as we see Holly growing up and realizing what is really important in life is not the $50 you get from some gentleman who desires you for your appearance, but the love you get from the man who desires you for who you are.
# posted by NoPantsDave @ 10/20/2004 02:00:00 PM 
