蒂凡尼的早餐

Notes on 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' by Truman Capote Hollywood's Golden Age
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 romantic comedy film starring starring Audrey Hepburn (1929-93) and George Peppard (1928-94). It is based on a short story by Truman Capote (1924-84) with the same name. It is a classic example of a film from Hollywood's 'Golden Age', which dates from the beginning of non-silent films
('talkies') in the late 1920s, up until the mid-1960s. This era was characterised by constant economic growth in the US film industry, film studios acquiring ownership of chains of cinemas and making huge profits. The studios during this period permanently employed thousands of people as actors, writers, directors, musicians, dancers, set-builders, animal trainers, stunt men and technicians. The best films from this era often involved well schooled actors, lavish spending on wardrobe, and furniture, sophisticated story lines and characterisation, and musical scores that enjoyed commercial success independent of the film they were written for. The era came to an end with the increasing popularity of television and declining attendances at cinemas, which produced an economic crisis in the US film industry during the 1960s.
Today, films from this era are widely respected and much-loved in British and American society. People still appreciate the high quality of the film making. As the term 'Golden Age' implies, many film critics regard Hollywood productions from this era as superior to those produced by Hollywood today. Common criticism of Hollywood's recent output includes: weak acting; excessive use of special effects; relentless changing of camera angles; unrealistic and unimaginative lighting; glamorisation of violence; story lines and characterisation orientated towards children and teenagers rather than adults; the aggressive promotion of materialistic, capitalist values. Critics adopting this view tend to prefer 'independent' films (i.e. those not connected to Hollywood studios) and films made outside the USA which are viewed as more stylish and as dealing with more mature, diverse and realistic subject matters. The Book versus the Film
The screenplay of the film was written by George Axelrod (1922-2003) and he made several notable changes to Capote's short story.
In the 1961 film, the two main characters are Holly Golightly and Paul Varjack, who live in neighbouring flats in New York. It is set in the late 1950s. H olly is a
19-year old who accepts money from a variety of rich men, including the head of a drugs syndicate, Sally Tomato, whom she visits in prison. It is implied that she has sex with the men in return for this money, though in the case of Tomato, she is carrying messages to another member of the syndicate outside prison. Holly is charming, extroverted, eccentric and witty and owing to her male friends' generosity, quite rich. However, her childhood was incredibly harsh. She grew up in rural Texas during a time of horrific agricultural depression, leaving alcoholic parents and eventually being adopted, along with her brother, Fred, by Doc Golightly, a veterinary (animal doctor) and farmer, who caught them robbing his farm. Doc later 'marries' Holly when she is thirteen, after his first wife dies. Holly later claims the marriage
was illegal and refuses to return to Texas when Doc comes to New York to find her. Holly's states that her main aim in life is to marry a rich man.
Paul Varjack is a published author, who accepts large amount money from an older, married woman, presumably in return for sex. He is a 'gigolo', or male mistress. However, when he starts to get paid for his writing, he breaks off his relationship with Emily Eustance Failenson (known to all as '2 E') and begins to earn his own living. At this point he starts to fall in love with Holly. Holly plans to marry a rich Brazillian politician (Jose Luis Villalonga) but just before her departure for Brazil, she is arrested for her involvement in the drugs cartel. Her various male friends desert her, with the exception of Paul, and she appears to reciprocate his love. She tries to leave for Brazil and to abandon her pet cat it the street, but Paul convinces her not to do this. Holly is not charged with any crime, providing she agrees to testify against Sally Tomato in court.
In the book, the narrator is like Paul Varjack, but he is given no name. There is no reference to '2 E' and he is not a kept man. He is however a writer. He does not fall in love with Holly, who is presented as a much coarser character than in the film. She swears, expresses racist views, and is disloyal to her female friends, such as Mag Wildwood, fighting with her over men. She is more obsessed with money, she crudely manipulates and hurts men, and she criticises the narrator more directly for not writing commercially successful work. The cat is ugly and sinister, with only one eye. Despite being abandoned by Jose, Holly flees to Brazil to avoid the police, and the narrator never sees her again. Generally speaking, she is not a sympathetic character.
Most of story is set in the 1940s and Fred (Holly's brother) is killed in the Second World War. However, the story opens in the mid-50s when Mr Yunioshi , who has been travelling in Africa, discovers a woodcarving that looks just like Holly and sends a photograph of it to Joe Bell, the owner of the narrator's favourite bar. This event causes the narrator to recall his time with Holly ten years earlier.
The reasons for the changes are connected to the fact that Capote, the author of the book, was gay. The narrator in the story, according to many, is also gay and therefore cannot fall in love with Holly. The original story involves some rather acidic commentary of the lifestyle of Holly Golightly, but despite her wayward lifestyle, she is not called to account for her crimes and immorality. This contradicted various articles the 'Hollywood Production Code' in operation from 1930-68, a voluntary agreement among film producers, which limited the amount of nudity, sexual activity, swearing, violence and so forth in films. Among its many provisions, it was stated that crime and immorality must always be presented as damaging rather than profitable and criminals must either die or get caught. Holly's escape violated this provision. Additionally, homosexual acts were a crime in all US states until 1962, and in 14 states until 2003, so this subject could not easily be dealt with in films.
Whilst an argument could be made that Capote's work was subject to censorship and distortion by Paramount, the film's producer, the film in the changed from proved to be far more successful than the book, which many regard as mediocre. The success of the film has much to do with the performances of Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, as well as the 'Golden Age' production values in general. However, the
story's appeal was massively broadened when it was converted into a heterosexual romantic comedy ('rom com') and by turning Holly into more of a 'lady' than she is in the book. As a result Holly Golightly became an international style icon.
One issue with Axelrod's re-writing of the story is the question of how realistic it is. Taken at face value it can be viewed as a quite inspiring story in which two people who exchange sex for money manage to break from this lifestyle, falling in love with each other and joining respectable society. In the film, Paul seems to feel the humiliation of his position, and the fact that he is in this situation could be explained by the difficulties connected to starting a career in writing. In this sense he can be understood as a victim of circumstances just like Holly, who inspires him to be a better, more adult man, one who helps and takes care of a younger woman rather than allowing himself to be taken care of by a substitute mother. According to this interpretation, Paul is only a gigolo owing to his extreme determination to succeed as a writer, but this interpretation, though attractive, is problematic. In the film Paul is often portrayed as lazy and unproductive.
Some would criticise the film for sentimentalising prostitution and related activities, hiding the degree of mutual exploitation, and the coarseness of the people involved. This is particularly the case with Axelrod's treatment of Holly, whose
'unladylike' features do not appear in the film.
The Title of the Book
Tiffany & Co is a multinational jewellery company founded in 1837 with its headquarters in New York. It does not sell breakfasts or food of any type. Holly likes the store because it makes her feel safe and secure and enables her to forget her troubles. She is shown eating breakfast in the street whilst window-shopping at Tiffany's in the opening title sequence of the film, presumably after a long night on the town.
Capote used to tell a story in which an unsophisticated person from the provinces came to New York and, not knowing any better, suggested eating breakfast at Tiffany's, not realising it was a jewellery store. The title of the story may therefore refer to Holly's rural origins, and her fundamental ignorance of high society and good manners, an aspect of her personality which is far more evident in the book than in the film. However, the reasoning behind the title is far from clear, and there may even have been a sponsorship agreement between the store and the author.。