Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) has its detractors, and in some ways it is hugely dated. These days, no one would invent a romance for the movie that did not exist in Truman Capote’s source novella, and certainly nobody would dream of casting a white actor in a Japanese part (oh dear, Mickey Rooney).
And yet Blake Edwards’ film exercises an appeal that is truly iconic. It’s Audrey Hepburn in her signature role as the ‘American geisha’ Holly Golightly, who carries on affairs with wealthy men in New York City to pay the bills. Hepburn, looking fabulous in a little black dress and spouting endlessly quotable world-weary dialogue, gives one of the most intriguing and seductive performances ever committed to celluloid. She’s also side-splittingly funny.
The movie is told from the perspective of Paul (George Peppard), a struggling writer who moves into Holly’s building and falls under her spell. George is no angel either: he’s the paid toyboy of an older woman – and he and Holly bond over their shared dreams in a big city.
The movie won two Academy Awards for music: Best Original Score (Henry Mancini) and Best Original Song (‘Moon River’). Now the Sydney Symphony is presenting Breakfast at Tiffany’s in Concert – two screenings of the film with the full score played live by the Sydney Symphony, conducted by Marc Taddei.
So get ready to be transported back to Mad Men-era New York and be swept up in the rueful romance of young people lost in a world where love is for sale and a ring found at the bottom of a Crackerjack box might have more worth than the ones found in expensive jewellery stores. If you're looking for a premium date night, look no further.