Audrey Hepburn 5-Pack (Funny Face - SCE, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, Sabrina - 1954, Paris When it Sizzles)
Starring: Audrey HepburnStudio: Paramount Home Video
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Running Time: 558 minutes
DVD Release: October 2nd 2007
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User Reviews
Your sunny, funny face - Rating: 5/5
Audrey Hepburn was -- and remains -- the perfect illustration of elegance and sophistication in Hollywood. A lot of actresses have tried to imitate her look, but they couldn't manage the same grace and skill, both onscreen and off.
And the "Audrey Hepburn Five Pac" brings together five of the films that helped shape that image, including her three top starmaking roles. Okay, they're not her most impressive. But even when they're uneven ("Paris When It Sizzles"), her movies are charming, sweet and just a little bit quirky.
Bored young Princess Ann (Hepburn) goes on a "Roman Holiday," when she has a bad reaction to a sedative. She wanders straight into struggling American journalist Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck). When he realizes she's the missing princess, he takes her on a fun vacation in Rome, with his pal taking photos for a hit article. Yet he's also falling in love with Ann... and she's torn between love and duty.
"Sabrina" (Hepburn) is the daughter of the chauffeur at the palatial Larabee estate, and is in love with the ne'er-do-well second son, David (William Holden). After a stint at a cooking school, where she gains sophistication and confidence, she returns to enthrall David. But since his brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart) has arranged a business marriage for David, Linus starts to woo Sabrina instead... and falls for her as well.
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" is a daily ritual for Holly Golightly, a social butterfly. When kept man Paul Varjak (George Peppard) moves into a nearby apartment, he is instantly enchanted by the ditzy, sweet-natured Holly. But for all Holly's fun, Paul starts to realize that all is not well with her. As Holly's life starts to deteriorate, Paul sets out to show her what her life will be like without real love.
"Funny Face" becomes a concern for a fashion photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) who is assisting a fashion queen with the new "pink" look and the intellectual model look. After a disastrous shoot at a boho bookstore, Avery is struck by the owner Jo's (Hepburn) look, and convinces her to become their newest model -- and she only agrees to get to Paris so she can meet her favorite philosopher. But she's also falling in love with Dick and her modelling career.
"Paris When It Sizzles" features Richard Benson (William Holden), a laconic playboy screenwriter, who procrastinated on his forthcoming script until just a few days before the deadline. So he hurriedly hires a secretary, Gabrielle (Hepburn) to help him come up with an idea and write it -- except that all they can come up with, as they fall in love, are all sorts of completely bizarre scenarios.
Yes, they are all romantic comedies, completely unrelated except that all of them have Audrey Hepburn. But all three are fun, well-written ("You can't live here! I live here!" "Hi, neighbor!"), and taking place in chic apartments, palatial mansions, Parisian runways, and the streets of Rome. And each has a theme: love that doesn't come easy, whether the problem is one of the people involved, parents or just different personalities.
There's also slapstick comedy (David injuring his butt on champagne glasses), and more sophisticated comedy (like when Anna and Joe pretend that they were speeding on their way to get married). And Hepburn provides plenty of it, such as her crazy club dance or her encounter with a vampire.
Unlike many actresses, Hepburn's best-known roles were NOT all alike, nor were they all carbon copies of her -- we have wistful bohemians, party girls, timid teens, and chained-back princesses. Even when we shouldn't really like the characters, she gave them warmth, sensitivity and likability that can't be faked. And she could be very funny too -- it's hard not to laugh when Holly yells "Timber!", as a drunken guest keels over.
The Audrey Hepburn Five Pack clusters five of Hepburn's most chic, charming movies, for those are just falling in love, or who appreciate a good romantic comedy. Charming, cute and sweet.
