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Friday, August 8, 2008
Audrey Hepburn weekend
If you’re looking for a movie review, I wrote about Pineapple Express on Wednesday, when it opened. It’s a terrific stoner comedy from the Judd Apatow crew - and it’s cinematic to boot.
No, today, I’m here to talk about more genteel matters - like Audrey Hepburn weekend at the Victoria Theatre in Dayton. Instead of playing the same film all three days,Victoria plays a different movie each day.
Tonight, it’s Billy Wilder’s Sabrina. Many love the film, although Wilder and Humphrey Bogart did not, as the two of them didn’t get along. But even if Wilder and Bogie weren’t firing on all thrusters, Audrey certainly was. Even an image as simple as Audrey spinning and spinning in a chair remains indelible the way she does it. Referring to Hepburn’s entrance in the film, Cameron Crowe wrote “Today, when many a newly arriving ingenue is heralded as ‘the new Audrey Hepburn,’ it is this moment the Hollywood yearns to recapture … and never quite can.”
On Saturday, the film is Charade. Many people talk about how Hitchcockian it is, but honestly, I couldn’t see Audrey in a real Hitchcock movie. She had a different air than the Hitchcock blondes. She wasn’t the “snow-covered volcano” that the director seemed to favor. However, she did match Cary Grant’s style and grace better than any other female costar of his, which is a large part of why the film works so well.
Sunday’s movie is Roman Holiday. Never mind Breakfast at Tiffany’s and forget the endlessly overrated My Fair Lady. For my money, this is still the quintessential Audrey film. If someone asks me “What made Audrey Hepburn so great?” this is the movie I would show. Is there any other actress who could seem so refined, so elegant, and yet so lovable and adorable at the same time? Simply, put, no.
After reflecting on the comments below, I just HAD to add this scene, which may be my single favorite moment of Audrey’s: Her rendition of “Moon River” in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The scene is direct, heartfelt and deeply charming - because that’s what Audrey still is.
For discussion: Tell me your favorite Hepburn films and what her appeal is to you.
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