Breakfast At Tiffanys: Two- Disc Centennial Collection – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

breakfastattiffanys

Paramount continues their Centennial Collection with number 5: Breakfast At Tiffanys, which is the fourth film in the series to star the much beloved Audrey Hepburn. This might seem like a strange move as Tiffanys received a “Special Anniversary Collectors Edition” early in 2006 and fans might not be ready to double dip quite yet. Sure this ones two discs, but does this new edition offer enough new material to warrant shelling out another twenty-five bucks?

Based on the novel by Truman Capote, Tiffanys is the story of a confused lost young woman trying to find herself and her place in the world. As the film opens struggling writer Paul Varjack (George Peppard) moves into a new apartment building in New York and instantly meets his downstairs neighbor, the seemingly flighty and aloof Holly Golightly (Hepburn). Paul is introduced to her world of cocktail parties and her obsession with the jewelry store, Tiffanys. There is a lot more to Holly than meets the eye and Paul sees this and begins to fall in love with her. However this doesnt work for Holly, as she feels that love is a cage that she doesnt want to get trapped in again. So hesitant is she to lock down anything in her life, she even refuses to name her cat.

Its a wonderful love story with great characters and phenomenal acting. Hepburn is perfect in this role that is completely unlike anything shed done previous. The film is also a perfect time capsule of the early ’60s. Especially in the infamous cocktail party scene, you really feel like youre looking back in time to how things really were then. It makes you want to jump through youre screen and join in on the fun.

As if that wasnt enough, this film also has the memorable score by genius, Henri Mancini, including the classic hit, “Moon River.” Mancini really adds a whole other level to the film with his music.

This true classic only has one glaring black mark against it. That is Mickey Rooneys painfully racist portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi, the Asian landlord. Rooney looks like a bad caricature straight out of an old Bugs Bunny cartoon. With the yellowed skin, bulging fake front teeth and horrible over the top accent you cant help but wince and shake your head.

The most interesting edition to this DVD release is the special feature, “Mr. Yunioshi: An Asian Perspective,” that looks at this role and how Hollywood in general presented Asian characters over the years. This is a fascinating documentary and this alone makes the DVD upgrade worthwhile.

This is a wonderfully off-beat romantic comedy with some truly classic memorable lines and moments in it. Sure it has an obviously dated flaw, but beyond that its near perfect film that will certainly be enjoyed by film lovers for decades to come.

The film is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. French and Spanish Mono sound are also available. This film has been completely remastered and looks and sounds fantastic. Hepburn singing “Moon River” has never sounded this rich and beautiful.

This two-disc set contains all of the special features from the “Special Anniversary Collectors Edition” plus a couple new ones.

Disc 1:

Commentary with Producer Richard Shepherd: This is a pretty decent commentary. Being that Richard Shepherd was actually there you get a lot more intimate and interesting comments than you would were this just another historian commentary that most films this old get. However there quite a bit of downtime that detracts from the over all enjoyment of the commentary

Disc 2:

A Golightly Gathering: (20 min) Many of the extras from the party scene along with a couple film historians and producer Richard Shepherd are reunited to have a cocktail party and talk about their time working on the film. This is a fun little feature. It gives you an interesting insight into the film and Hepburn that you wouldnt get otherwise.

Henry Mancini: More Than Music: (21 min.) This a fantastic and concise little documentary about the life and music of Henry Mancini. It is entertaining and provides all the information youd want without being overly long. Perfect.

Mr. Yunioshi: An Asian Perspective: (17 min.) As stated above, this documentary talks about Mickey Rooney playing an Asian person and the way Asians have been portrayed in Hollywood over the years. This is an excellent feature.

The Making of a Classic: (16 min.) Pretty typical making of featurette, not too bad.

It’s So Audrey: A Style Icon: (8 min.) This one talks about Hepburn’s fashion style and the influence it had on future fashion.

Behind the Gates: The Tour: (4 min.) A quick tour of Paramount studios. This is basically a commercial to get you to go take a real tour of the studio.

Brilliance in a Blue Box: (6 min.) As one might guess, this one talks about Tiffany’s jewelry and what it means to people.

Audrey’s Letter to Tiffany’s: (2 min.) Hepburn wrote a letter for the forward of the Tiffanys 150th anniversary book. Design Director, John Loring, reads the letter.

Original Theatrical Trailer

Galleries

Paramount released yet another classic film in their new Centennial Collection Series. This is definitely a must own for film enthusiasts and if you havent seen the film it is absolute must rent. If youve bought this film before youre going to be annoyed because there is just enough new stuff on this release to make it worth the upgrade. As stated previously, the “Mr. Yuniosh” is particularly interesting and worthy of your time.

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Paramount presents Breakfast At Tiffanys: Two- Disc Centennial Collection. Directed by Blake Edwards. Written by George Axelrod. Starring Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard and Mickey Rooney. Based on the novel by Truman Capote. Running time: 115 minutes. Not Rated. Originally released in 1961. Released on DVD: January 13, 2009. Available At Amazon.com.

Mike Noyes received his Masters Degree in Film from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. A few of his short films can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebnoyes. He recently published his first novel which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-Years-Mike-Noyes-ebook/dp/B07D48NT6B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528774538&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+days+seven+years