Funny Face | |
---|---|
Directed by | Stanley Donen |
Produced by | Roger Edens |
Written by | Leonard Gershe |
Starring | |
Music by |
|
Cinematography | Ray June |
Edited by | Frank Bracht |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| |
103 minutes[2] | |
Country | United States |
Languages |
|
Budget | $3 million |
Box office | $2.5 million[3] |
Funny Face is a 1957 American musicalromantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical Funny Face by the Gershwin brothers, and featuring the same male star (Fred Astaire), the plot is totally different and only four of the songs from the stage musical are included. Alongside Astaire, the film stars Audrey Hepburn and Kay Thompson.
Plot[edit]
GLAM UP YOUR SPACE with this Haus and Hues Audrey Hepburn print. Inspired by the iconic Hepburn, this vogue wall art shows how the actress can pull off a chic flirty look yet still transform it into a classic style by wearing her signature sunglasses and lovely shade of lip tint. Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and was inducted into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. GLAM UP YOUR SPACE with this Haus and and Hues Audrey Hepburn print. Inspired by the iconic Hepburn, this vogue wall art shows how the actress can pull off a chic flirty look yet still transform it into a classic style by wearing her signature sunglasses and lovely shade of lip tint. Set against a pale pastel pink, this Audrey Hepburn print infuses freshness and creates a comforting atmosphere.
Maggie Prescott, a fashion magazine publisher and editor for Quality magazine, is looking for the next big fashion trend. She wants a new look which is to be both 'beautiful' and 'intellectual'. She and top fashion photographer Dick Avery want models who can 'think as well as they look.' The two brainstorm and come up with the idea to use a book store in Greenwich Village as backdrop.
They find what they want in 'Embryo Concepts', which is being run by the shy shop assistant and amateur philosopher, Jo Stockton. Jo thinks the fashion and modelling industry is nonsense, calling it 'chichi, and an unrealistic approach to self-impressions as well as economics'. Maggie decides to use Jo but after the first shot Jo is locked outside to keep her from interrupting Maggie’s take-over of the shop. The crew leaves the store in a shambles; Dick stays behind to help clean up and apologizes to Jo, then kisses her impulsively. Jo dismisses him, but her song 'How Long Has This Been Going On?' shows that she feels the stirrings of romance.
What Jo wants above all is to go to Paris and attend the famous professor Emile Flostre's philosophy lectures about empathicalism. When Dick gets back to the darkroom, he sees something in Jo's face which is new and fresh and would be perfect for the campaign, giving it 'character', 'spirit', and 'intelligence'. They send for Jo, pretending they want to order some books from her shop. Once she arrives, they try to make her over and attempt to cut her hair. She is outraged and runs away, only to hide in the darkroom where Dick is working. When Dick mentions Paris, Jo becomes interested in the chance to see Professor Flostre and is finally persuaded to model for the magazine.
Soon, Maggie, Dick, and Jo are off to Paris to prepare for a major fashion event, shooting photos at famous landmarks from the area. During the various shoots, Jo and Dick fall in love. One night, when Jo is getting ready for a gala, she learns that Flostre is giving a lecture at a cafe nearby, which she attends. Eventually, Dick brings her back and they get into an argument at the gala's opening, which results in Jo being publicly embarrassed and Maggie outraged.
Jo goes to talk to Flostre at his home. Through some scheming, Maggie and Dick gain entrance to the soirée there. After performing an impromptu song and dance for Flostre's disciples, they confront Jo and Flostre. This leads to Dick causing Flostre to fall and knock himself out. Jo urges them to leave but when Flostre comes round, he tries to seduce her. Shocked at the behavior of her 'idol', she smashes a vase over his head and runs out, returning just in time to take part in the final fashion show. During this, Maggie tries to get in touch with Dick, who has made plans to leave Paris. Before her wedding gown finale, Jo looks out the window and sees the plane Dick was supposed to be on flying over the city. Believing that he has refused to return to her, she runs off the runway in tears at the conclusion of the show.
Meanwhile, Dick is still at the airport. He runs into Flostre and learns how Jo had attacked him. Realizing how much Jo cares, Dick returns to the fashion show, but Jo is nowhere to be found. Finally, after applying the insights of empathicalism at Maggie's behest, Dick guesses that Jo would return to the church where he had photographed her in a wedding dress and they shared their first romantic moment. On his arrival there himself, he finds Jo (in the wedding gown) by a little brook. They join in the duet 'S Wonderful' and embrace.
Cast[edit]
Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, the lead stars of the film.
- Audrey Hepburn as Jo Stockton
- Fred Astaire as Dick Avery
- Kay Thompson as Maggie Prescott
- Michel Auclair as Professor Emile Flostre
- Robert Flemyng as Paul Duval
- Dovima as Marion
- Jean Del Val as Hairdresser
- Virginia Gibson as Babs
- Sue England as Laura
- Ruta Lee as Lettie
- Alex Gerry as Dovitch
- Suzy Parker as Specialty Dancer (Pink Number)
- Sunny Harnett as Specialty Dancer (Pink Number)
Musical numbers[edit]
- 'Think Pink!'
- 'How Long Has This Been Going On?' - originally composed for the musical Funny Face, but not used
- 'How Long Has This Been Going On? (Reprise)'
- 'Funny Face' - from Funny Face
- 'Bonjour, Paris!'
- 'Basal Metabolism'
- 'Let's Kiss and Make Up' - from Funny Face
- 'He Loves and She Loves' - from Funny Face
- 'Bonjour, Paris! (Reprise)'
- 'On How to Be Lovely'
- 'Clap Yo' Hands' - from Oh, Kay!
- 'S Wonderful' - from Funny Face (1927 musical)
Production[edit]
The plot of the film version is drastically different from that of the Broadway musical, and only four of the songs remain. Astaire also starred in the stage version alongside his sister, Adele Astaire. The film plot is actually adapted from another Broadway musical, Wedding Bells, by Leonard Gershe. The original title for the film was Wedding Day.
Php and. Unlike her later film My Fair Lady, Hepburn sings the songs herself in this, her first musical. She performs one solo, 'How Long Has This Been Going On?'; a duet with Astaire, 'S Wonderful'; a duet with Kay Thompson called 'On How to Be Lovely'; and takes part in an ensemble performance of 'Bonjour, Paris!'. Her previous dance training is also called into play, not only in the two dance numbers she performs with Astaire but also for a Bohemian-style solo dance in a nightclub, which has since often been replayed in retrospectives of her career.
As was the case with many of her leading men, Astaire was much older than Hepburn. At 58, three decades Hepburn's senior, he was approaching the end of his musical film career, in this, the second in a consecutive series of three French-themed musicals he made in the 1950s. He performs a song and dance solo with umbrella and cape to Gershwin's 'Let's Kiss and Make Up'. According to Hepburn, she insisted on Astaire as a precondition for her participation. Thompson, who usually worked behind the scenes as a musical director for films, makes a rare appearance on camera as Maggie Prescott, a fashion magazine editor loosely based on Diana Vreeland. Besides her duet with Hepburn, she performs the solo number 'Think Pink!' in the presence of a dance chorus, and Thompson and Astaire perform a comic dance duet to 'Clap Yo' Hands'. (While at Vogue, Vreeland once sent a memo to staff urging them to 'Today let's think pig white! Wouldn't it be wonderful to have stockings that were pig white! The color of baby pigs, not quite white and not quite pink!'[4])
Astaire's character was loosely based on the career of Richard Avedon,[5][6][7][8] who provided a number of the photographs seen in the film, including the stills for the opening credits, which were also used in the halls of Quality magazine. Probably the most famous single image from the film is the intentionally overexposed close-up of Hepburn's face in which only her facial features—her eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth—are visible. This image is seen briefly in black-and-white at the very beginning of the opening title sequence, which was designed by Avedon, during the 'Funny Face' musical number which takes place in a darkroom, and when Dick (Astaire) presents it to Maggie (Thompson).
For location shooting in Paris, Paramount shipped its own camera equipment to France. The studio then sent the same cameras and accessories to Madrid for use on Spanish Affair (1957).[9]
Release[edit]
Box office[edit]
On initial release, Funny Face was a box office disappointment and failed to break even. However, in 1964, when My Fair Lady (also starring Hepburn) was released to excellent reviews and huge box office grosses, Paramount theatrically reissued Funny Face. As a result, the film drew substantial crowds and finally turned a profit.[citation needed]
Critical reception[edit]
Although generally well received in the United States, the reviewer for The Times was not impressed when the film opened at the Odeon in London on April 25, 1957: '..a displeasing piece of work, pseudo-sophisticated, expensive and brash in approach, vulgar in taste and insensitive in outlook. This, in fact, is the American 'musical' at its worst; not even the presence of Mr Fred Astaire, who was in the original stage production, can save the day. It may seem extravagant to discuss a 'musical' in terms proper to a serious creative work, yet there is that in the film's attitude towards the 'intellectual', whether in Greenwich Village or Paris, which offends. It is not amiable parody and it is not telling satire; it has its roots in the ill-based instinct to jeer, and its jeers are offensive.'[1]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 87% rating, based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10.[10]
Accolades[edit]
The National Board of Review gave the film Special Citation award for the photographic innovations. Leonard Gershe was nominated for 'Best Written American Musical' by the Writers Guild of America. Stanley Donen was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for 'Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures' and for a 'Golden Palm' at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival.[11] Fred Astaire received a Golden Laurel nomination for 'Top Male Musical Performance'. The film received four Academy Award 'Oscar' nominations: Leonard Gershe for 'Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen'; Edith Head and Hubert de Givenchy (Hepburn's costume designer) for 'Best Costume Design'; Ray June for 'Best Cinematography'; and Hal Pereira, George W. Davis, Sam Comer, and Ray Moyer for 'Best Art Direction-Set Decoration'.[12]
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2002: AFI's 100 Years..100 Passions – Nominated[13]
- 2004: AFI's 100 Years..100 Songs:
- 'S Wonderful' – Nominated[14]
- 2006: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated[15]
Home media[edit]
To date, Funny Face has been released to DVD in Region 1 (North America) in three editions from Paramount Home Entertainment: in 2001 as part of the 'Audrey Hepburn Widescreen Collection' series, in 2007 in a 50th Anniversary edition, and in 2009 as part of Paramount's Centennial Collection. The 2007 version has additional featurettes as well as improved picture and sound quality from the 2001 edition.[16] The 2009 release is spread over two discs and includes a few additional featurettes not included in the 2007 edition such as Kay Thompson's 'Think Pink', 'This is VistaVision' and 'Fashion Photographers Exposed'.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abThe Times review 25 April 1957: Odeon Cinema: 'Funny Face' with Fred Astaire
- ^'FUNNY FACE (U)'. British Board of Film Classification. February 1, 1957. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
- ^'Top Grosses of 1957', Variety, 8 January 1958: 30.
- ^Mahon, Gigi (September 10, 1989). 'S.I. Newhouse and Conde Nast; Taking Off The White Gloves'.
- ^Landazuri, Margarita. 'Spotlight: Funny Face ' - Turner Classic Movies
- ^Puente, Maria. 'Avedon pushed photography to the edge' - USA Today - October 1, 2004
- ^Grundberg, Andy. 'Richard Avedon, the Eye of Fashion, Dies at 81' - New York Times - October 1, 2004
- ^Feeney, Mark. 'Photographer Richard Avedon dies' - Boston Globe - October 2, 2004
- ^Steinhart, Daniel. (2019). Runaway Hollywood: Internationalizing Postwar Production and Location Shooting. University of California Press. p. 92. ISBN978-0-52-029864-4.
- ^'Funny Face (1957)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
- ^'Festival de Cannes: Funny Face'. festival-cannes.com. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
- ^Funny Face awards - at IMDb
- ^'AFI's 100 Years..100 Passions Nominees'(PDF). Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ^'AFI's 100 Years..100 Songs Nominees'(PDF). Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ^'AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees'(PDF). Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ^Keizer, Mark. 'Funny Face - 50th Anniversary Edition'Archived October 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine - DVDFile - October 1, 2007
External links[edit]
- Funny Face at IMDb
- Funny Face at the TCM Movie Database
- Funny Face at Rotten Tomatoes
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Funny_Face&oldid=1008193253'
Designer | Givenchy |
---|---|
Year | 1961 |
Type | Sheath little black dress |
Material | Italian satin |
A dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy and worn by Audrey Hepburn in the opening of the 1961 romantic comedy film Breakfast at Tiffany's. The dress is cited as one of the most iconic items of clothing in the history of the twentieth century, and perhaps the most famous 'little black dress' of all time.[1][2][3][4]
History[edit]
Audrey Hepburn was a close friend of French designer Givenchy, referring to the designer as her 'best friend' while he considered her his 'sister'.[5][6]
Still from the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Hepburn wears the dress complemented by a Roger Scemama necklace
In 1961, Givenchy designed a little black dress for the opening scene of Blake Edwards' romantic comedy, Breakfast at Tiffany's, in which Hepburn starred alongside actor George Peppard. Her necklace was made by Roger Scemama, a French parurier who designed jewelry for Givenchy.[7] Audrey took two copies of the dress back to Paramount, but the dresses, which revealed a considerable amount of Audrey's leg, were not suitable for the movie, and the lower half of the dress was redesigned by Edith Head. The original hand-stitched dress is currently in Givenchy's private archive, whilst one copy Audrey took back to Paramount is on display at the Museo del Traje in Madrid and another was auctioned at Christie's in December 2006.[citation needed] None of the actual dresses created by Givenchy were used in either the movie or the promotional photography.[citation needed] The movie poster was designed by artist Robert McGinnis, and in Sam Wasson's book, Fifth Avenue, 5am, he explains that the photos on which he based the poster did not show any leg and that he had added the leg to make the poster more appealing. The actual dresses used in the movie, created by Edith Head, were probably destroyed by Head and Hepburn at Western Costume in California after shooting.[citation needed]
In November 2006, Natalie Portman appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, wearing one of the original Givenchy dresses created for Breakfast at Tiffany's.[8] On 5 December 2006, this dress was auctioned at Christie's in London and purchased by an anonymous buyer by telephone. The sale price was estimated by the auction house to have ended somewhere between £50,000 and £70,000, but the final price was £467,200 ($923,187).[2][8] The money raised in the auction of the black dress went toward helping build a school for the poor people of Calcutta. It so happened that Givenchy, the designer of the dress, had donated the dress to Dominique Lapierre, the author of the book City of Joy, and his wife to help raise funds for the charity. When they witnessed such a frenzied auction, the amount that was raised so astonished Lapierre that he observed, 'I'm absolutely dumbfounded to believe that a piece of cloth which belonged to such a magical actress will now enable me to buy bricks and cement to put the most destitute children in the world into schools.'[2]Sarah Hodgson, a film specialist at Christie's said, 'This is one of the most famous black dresses in the world—an iconic piece of cinematic history—and we are glad it fetched a historic price.'[2]
Design[edit]
The model is a Givenchy black Italian satin sheath evening gown. Christie's describes it as 'a sleeveless, floor-length gown with fitted bodice embellished at the back with distinctive cut-out décolleté, the skirt slightly gathered at the waist and slit to the thigh on one side, labelled inside on the waistband Givenchy; accompanied by a pair of black elbow-length gloves'.[8] The bodice is slightly open at the back with a neckline that leaves uncovered shoulders. In the film, Audrey Hepburn wears a matching pair of elbow-length gloves the same colour and strings of pearls. The look has been described as 'ultra-feminine' and 'Parisian'.[9]
The little black dress attained such iconic fame and status that it became an integral part of a woman's wardrobe. Givenchy not only chose the dress for the character in the film, but also added the right accessories to match the long gown in the form of a pearl choker of many strands, a foot long cigarette holder, a large black hat and opera gloves which not only 'visually defined the character but indelibly linked Audrey with her'.[10]
Given her physical assets, she, along with her designer friend Givenchy, created a dress to fit her role in the film of a waif. A well chosen black silk dress with appropriate accessories hit the bull's eye to bring her effervescent personality to the fore; the dark oversized sunglasses completed the ensemble of the little black dress (LBD) which was called 'the definitive LBD'. The dress, which outlined her lean shoulder blades, thus became the Hepburn style.[11]
Reception[edit]
The dress is cited as one of the most iconic of the 20th century and film history.[2] It has been described as 'perhaps the most famous little black dress of all time' and exerting a major influence on fashion itself by directly making it popular.[4][12]
In a survey conducted in 2010 by LOVEFiLM, Hepburn's little black dress was chosen as the best dress ever worn by a woman in a film.[3] In this respect, Helen Cowley, publisher of LOVEFiLM, declared: 'Audrey Hepburn has truly made that little black dress a fashion staple which has stood the test of time despite competition from some of the most stylish females around.'[3] Hepburn's white dress and hat worn in My Fair Lady was voted sixth.
Hepburn's little black dress (LBD) has been copied and parodies numerous times in other works worldwide, such as Natalie Portman in a 2006 Harper’s Bazaar cover shoot and Lee Ji-eun in Hotel del Luna.[13][14]
See also[edit]
- Film portal
- United States portal
- 1960s portal
- Fashion portal
References[edit]
- ^'The Most Famous Dresses Ever'. Glamour.com. April 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ abcde'Audrey Hepburn dress'. Hello Magazine. 6 December 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ abc'Audrey Hepburn's little black dress tops fashion list'. The Independent. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ abSteele, Valerie (9 November 2010). The Berg Companion to Fashion. Berg Publishers. p. 483. ISBN978-1-84788-592-0. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
..perhaps the most famous of all little black dresses was Audrey Hepburn's Givenchy in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
- ^'The Muse and the Master'. Time. 17 April 1995. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^[1]
- ^'Roger Scemama for Hubert de Givenchy'. Vogue. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^ abc'Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961'. Christie's. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^Moseley, Rachel (2002). Growing up with Audrey Hepburn: text, audience, resonance. Manchester University Press. p. 119. ISBN978-0-7190-6311-4. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^Ellen Erwin; Sean Hepburn Ferrer; Jessica Z. Diamond (3 October 2006). The Audrey Hepburn Treasures. Simon and Schuster. pp. 307–. ISBN978-0-7432-8986-3. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^'Cinemode: Breakfast at Tiffany's: The LBD that Dethroned Edith Head'. On this day in fashion.com. 5 October 2010. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^Sherrow, Victoria (2006). Encyclopedia of hair: a cultural history. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 208. ISBN978-0-313-33145-9. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^[2]
- ^[3]
Audrey Hepburn Vogue Poster 2020
Further reading[edit]
Audrey Hepburn Vogue Poster Images
- Tony Nourmand and Audrey Hepburn, The Paramount Years London, Westbourne Press Ltd, 2006, pp. 94–127.
- Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit – A Son Remembers, Sidgwick and Jackson, 2003, pp. 155–160.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Givenchy_dress_of_Audrey_Hepburn&oldid=1012583808'