Audrey Hepburn Collection (Breakfast at Tiffany's / Roman Holiday / Sabrina)
by Billy Wilder, Blake Edwards, William Wyler
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Actor: Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, George Peppard, Gregory Peck, Humphrey BogartDirector: Billy Wilder, Blake Edwards, William Wyler
Brand: Paramount
Writer: Billy Wilder
Writer: Dalton Trumbo
Writer: Ernest Lehman
Writer: George Axelrod
Writer: Ian McLellan Hunter
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Italian (Original Language)
Format: Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 344 minutes
Published: 2006
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-07
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Audrey Hepburn Collection (Breakfast at Tiffany's / Roman Holiday / Sabrina)
DVD Review: Three Classics...One Audrey Hepburn...Mix Well
Summary: 5 Stars
What could be more pleasurable than watching screen legend Audrey Hepburn in her most career-defining roles? This is a great three-movie set at a great price, as all three are deserved romantic comedy classics directed by masters - William Wyler, Billy Wilder and Blake Edwards. Her natural charm and grace are pervasive throughout and further proof that she was among the most consistently affecting of actresses. In my humble opinion, there will be no one like her again.
In a beautifully restored print, 1953's "Roman Holiday" provides a most enchanting introduction to the then-24 year old actress thanks mainly to director William Wyler's expert direction and Dalton Trumbo's sweetly observant script. In hindsight, it is a modest performance compared to Hepburn's later work, but Wyler knew enough to let her natural breeding serve its purpose in conveying the carriage of a princess. It works wonderfully, as she is perfectly believable as a royal who experiences her first glimpse into the world outside her hermetically sealed world. The revelation here is really Gregory Peck, handsome and stalwart as always but in this movie quite relaxed with a surprising light comedy touch. It is actually his Joe Bradley that goes through the dramatic character arc that makes the ending so bittersweet. Even though this film is hardly mentioned in the same breath as his other classics like "The Best Years of Our Lives", Wyler's humanistic touch is everywhere - from the comic haircutting scene with the smitten barber to the famous Mouth of Truth scene where Peck pretends to lose his hand to the concluding press conference, which turns into a dance of acting nuance and unspoken feelings. This DVD has the most extras, including an excellent documentary on the production itself (watch for Hepburn's first Hollywood screen test) and other short films on the film's restoration process and Edith Head's contribution to Hollywood costuming.
With its cynical humor and the European-based sensibilities around different classes, 1954's "Sabrina" is most definitely a Billy Wilder picture. The film is not quite in the same league of other Wilder classics like "Sunset Boulevard", "Some Like It Hot" or "The Apartment", but on its own, it's an airy souffle of a comedy served on a perfectly lovely warming dish. What I like most about this movie is that Wilder keeps the fairy tale trappings of the story grounded in mordant wit and shrewd observations about business mergers, bribery and class snobbery. This is what keeps this movie surprisingly fresh. Torn between the characters played by her leading men, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden, Hepburn as a chauffeur's daughter is charming. This was her first introduction to Givenchy fashion onscreen, and the difference in her appearance between "Roman Holiday" and "Sabrina" is actually more startling than the one in the movie itself. It is no wonder she became such a style icon from that point forward. While Bogart is too dour in his role of older brother Linus (a role pegged for Cary Grant who canceled at the last minute, damn the luck), Holden is hilarious as shallow, ne'er-do-well younger brother David. The ending is inevitable, but leave it to Wilder to mix sweet and sour better than a Cantonese restaurant. There is a brief making-of documentary on this DVD.
1961's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" has the most contemporary and provocative story of the three, yet it seems the most dated perhaps because director Blake Edwards tries awfully hard to capture the upscale bohemian atmosphere of early sixties New York. In a role that author Truman Capote wanted to cast Marilyn Monroe, Hepburn is delightful as the aptly named Holly Golightly and somehow dances around the fact that her character is a high-priced call girl through her sense of style, fun and vulnerability. Holly's fear of commitment is the crux of this story, even though she is hopelessly drawn to a failed writer played by George Peppard, who is kept in fine style by a wealthy matron played with conniving sophistication by Patricia Neal. I still think Peppard is the weak link here as he doesn't have the light touch required to keep up with Holly's shenanigans. The rest of the cast can be best described as eccentric, in particular, Buddy Ebsen (pre-Jed Clampett) as Holly's backwoods first husband and Mickey Rooney as the Japanese neighbor upstairs. As a Japanese-American myself, I have to admit I find Rooney's Japanese make-up a bit much, but his accent is spot-on and his casting consistent with the loopiness of this film. Henry Mancini's romantic music provides the perfect accompaniment, and Hepburn's plaintive, ukelele-strummed version of "Moon River" is still the most definitive. Of the three films, this one has the most romantic ending, and the rain-soaked kiss in the alley is just about as lovely a scene as you are likely to see in movies. Sadly there are no extras on this DVD other than the trailer.
This set is highly recommended obviously for fans of Hepburn but also for those who can appreciate Hollywood classics in the romantic comedy genre.
Description of Audrey Hepburn Collection (Breakfast at Tiffany's / Roman Holiday / Sabrina)
Breakfast at Tiffany'sWinner of two Oscars, the romantic comedy that sparkles like diamonds! From the opening strains of Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer's haunting, Oscar-winning song "Moon River," you'll once again be under the alluring spell of that madcap, carefree New York playgirl known as Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) in this 24-carat romantic comedy based of Truman Capote's best-selling novella. George Peppard is the struggling and "sponsored" young writer who finds himself swept into Holly's dizzying, delightfully unstructured lifestyle as she determinedly scours Manhattan for a suitable millionaire to marry. The sparkling special features on this Anniversary Edition DVD only add to the luster of director Blake Edwards' timeless film classic. Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam and Mickey Rooney co-star; Mancini won an additional Academy AwardŽ for his enthralling musical score.
Roman Holiday
Sabrina
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