Based on Truman Capote's 1958 novella of the same title, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961) is the story of a woman on her own making her way in the big city. As stories go, it is short on plot but rich in characterization which may explain why its protagonist, Holly Golightly, has become Ms. Audrey Hepburn's most memorable screen persona. In the hands of director Blake Edwards, the film neglects much of the book's foreboding edge, but gains an unforgettable comedic touch which actually helps accentuate the darker moments. In addition, Henry Mancini's musical score and Hubert de Givenchy's gowns for Ms. Hepburn successfully uphold Capote's style when the story itself is forced to leave his writing behind. Like the protagonist at its heart, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S is quirky, funny, bewildering, serious, sophisticated and bittersweet -- and as movies go, great entertainment.
Memorable Quotations:
"Poor old cat. Poor slob. Poor slob without a name. The way I look at it, I don't have the right to give him one. We don't belong to each other. We just took up by the river one day." --Holly.
"I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is, but I know what it's like. It's like Tiffany's." --Holly.
"Listen...you know those days when you get the mean reds?" --Holly.
"The mean reds? You mean like the blues?" --Fred (Paul).
"No... the blues are because you're getting fat or because 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?" --Holly.
"Sure." --Fred (Paul).
"When I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump into a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away." --Holly.
"If I could find a real life place to make me feel like Tiffany's, then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name." --Holly.
"Thursday! Oh no, it can't be! It's too gruesome!" --Holly.
"You can always tell what kind of a person a man really thinks you are by the earrings he give you... I must say, the mind reels!" --Holly.
"You don't have to worry. I've taken care of myself for a long time." --Holly.
"I suppose you think I'm very brazen or très fou or something." --Holly.
"I don't think you're any fou-er than anyone else." --Fred (Paul).
"It's useful being top banana in the shock department." --Holly.
"I'm a writer, I guess." --Fred (Paul).
"She's a real phony. You know why? Because she honestly believes all this phony junk that she believes." --O.J. Berman.
"You know what's going to happen to you? I'm going to march you over to the zoo and feed you to the yak... just as soon as I finish this drink." --Mag Wildwood.
"Son, I need a friend." --Doc Golightly.
"It's a mistake you always made, Doc -- trying to love a wild thing... You mustn't give your heart to a wild thing" --Holly.
"Please, Doc. Please understand. I love you, but I'm just not Lulamae any more. I'm not... (Doc leaves.) You know the terrible thing, Fred darling? I am still Lulamae. Fourteen years old, stealing turkey eggs and running through a briar patch. 'Cept now I call it 'having the mean reds.'" --Holly.
"Let me tell you something, Mister. If I had her money, I'd be richer than she is." --Holly.
"As Miss Golightly was saying before she was so rudely interrupted..." --Holly
"It should take you exactly four seconds to cross from here to that door. I'll give you two." --Holly
"I don't think I've ever drunk champagne before breakfast before. With breakfast on several occasions, but never before before." --Fred (Paul)
"I'll tell you one thing, Fred darling. I'd marry you for your money in a minute." --Holly.
"Well, I do believe love has found Andy Hardy." --2-E (Mrs. Failenson).
"Simply do not ask me what this is all about, parce que je ne sais pas, mes chers." --Holly.
"There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion." --Holly.
"I don't want to put you in a cage. I want to love you!" --Fred (Paul).
"I'm not Holly. I'm not Lulamae either. I don't know who I am. I'm like Cat here. We're a couple of no-name slobs. We belong to nobody and nobody belongs to us. We don't even belong to each other." --Holly.
source:reelclassics.com
