Nov 03, 2008 the ending and the ballroom scene are from the 1938 film pygmalion rather than shaws original stage play. My fair lady and other pygmalion adaptations new york. Snobbish phonetics professor henry higgins agrees to a wager that he can make flower girl eliza doolittle presentable in high society. Audrey hepburn couldnt sing and couldnt act, says emma.
Compare the play pygmalion by george bernard shaw with. The casting for this movie was much more believable than for my fair lady. My fair lady, the credits always read based on bernard shaws pygmalion, letting the. My fair lady is a 1964 american musical comedydrama film adapted from the 1956 lerner and loewe stage musical based on george bernard shaws 19 stage play, pygmalion. See costume sketches for audrey hepburns classic my fair. I watched this film years ago after purchasing it on dvd and remembered it being more entertaining than i thought it would be, especially the sparring between the audrey hepburns uneducated, impoverished but sassy eliza and rex harrisons educated, welltodo and pompous higgins. Audrey hepburn, fred astaire, kay thompson, michel auclair, robert flemyng. Greek mythology a king of cyprus who carved and then fell in love with a statue of a woman, which aphrodite brought to life as galatea. When the end result produces a very ladylike miss doolittle, the lessons learned become much more far reaching. Audrey hepburn publicity shot for the film two for the road. Her performance served as the definitive film portrayal until audrey hepburn played the role in the highly successful 1964 film musical my fair. With audrey hepburn, rex harrison, stanley holloway, wilfrid hydewhite. Phonetics professor henry higgins tutors the very cockney eliza doolittle, not only in the refinement of speech, but also in the refinement of her manner. There is hardly a dull moment and, more to the point, there are.
Hollywood replaced andrews with audrey hepburn for the wellnighirresistible 1964 film version of my fair lady, which comedically softens shaws ending but nevertheless nearly singlehandedly transcends the materials sexist leaning through the sheer humanism of hepburns deeply felt performance. Audrey hepburn, rex harrison, stanley holloway directed by. The film won eight academy awards, including best picture, best actor, and best director. My fair lady 1964 letterboxd social film discovery. She was the first person to utter the word bloody in a british film when she played eliza doolittle in the 1938 version of pygmalion. Audrey hepburn movies best audrey hepburn films to watch. The part of eliza dolittle is that of someone who starts as a street urchin but becomes a lady. Nov 04, 2010 this public domain classic centers around a conceited language professor who tricks his snobby peers by teaching a girl from the gutter to behave like a ladyand everyone thinks she is a princess. The plot seems ridiculous, but the film is smarter than it first appears to be, a pygmalion story in the form of a parody about the fashion world. A critical and commercial success, it won eight academy awards, including best picture, best actor, and best director.
My fair lady, american musical film 1964 adapted from the. My fair lady might have all the banging tunes and it might have rex harrison, audrey hepburn and stanley holloway, but the film of the play which preceded it has got leslie howard, wendy hiller and wilfred lawson and more importantly gets the story told, and no one should underestimate the value of this element, it gets the job done in near enough half the time. Acting as pygmalion to jos galatea, dick whisks the wideeyed girl off to paris and transforms her into the fashion worlds hottest model. A woman who must steal a statue from a paris museum to help conceal her fathers art forgeries is assisted by a man. Wie audrey hepburn jahre spater verriet, hatten nur im falle ihrer absage. I personally love the movie my fair lady and audrey hepburn in it.
While my fair lady a musical adaptation of pygmalion is considered a classic, and has the kind of costuming you cry over, i could never get behind it. It doesnt take dick long to discover jo audrey hepburn, who does her own singing, an owlish greenwich village bookstore clerk. With a screenplay by alan jay lerner and directed by george cukor, the film depicts a poor cockney flower seller named eliza doolittle who overhears an arrogant phonetics professor, henry higgins, as he casually wagers that he. Audrey hepburn as eliza doolittle on the set of the 1964 movie musical my fair lady. She has more of a takecharge attitude compared to earlier hepburn roles, planning to steal statues. Through the legendary performances of audrey hepburn and rex harrison, the pygmalion is masterfully brought to life through lovable music with important themes and character relationships making. My fair lady, american musical film, released in 1964, that was adapted from the longrunning broadway musical of the same name and proved to be a great popular and critical success. Audrey hepburn with rex harrison left in my fair lady 1964. Ranking audrey hepburns most iconic characters, from. See costume sketches for audrey hepburns classic my fair lady gowns millions of people have watched my fair lady since it first opened in. Transformation is a recurring theme in hepburn films, but here we see it at its most sexist. It seems unfitting that they cast someone brilliant to play him, but despite rex harrisons charming quips and overall charisma, his superficial character doesnt age well in the slightest, and is the rotten core of what shouldve been an incorruptible film. Audrey hepburn in the film of breakfast at tiffanys. Audrey hepburn as eliza doolittle my fair lady gown by cecil beaton remove the giant flower and add a little for a train.
With peter otoole, margot kidder, helen beavis, philip craig. Musicalkomodie nach george bernard shaws buhnenstuck pygmalion. For the 1938 film pygmalion, george bernard shaw personally requested the young english actress wendy hiller play doolittle, a part she had previously played on stage opposite leslie howard as higgins. Audrey hepburn looks like a princess even as a flower girl and dirt on her face. Check out the official my fair lady 1964 trailer starring audrey hepburn. The ending and the ballroom scene are from the 1938 film pygmalion rather than shaws original stage play. Sep 04, 2009 audrey hepburn in the film of breakfast at tiffanys. Audrey hepburn in, my fair lady 1964 audrey hepburn. He knows how to talk, but does he know how to behave towards a lady. Compare the play pygmalion by george bernard shaw with its. Theres no reason for emma thompson to go lightly on audrey.
Why is audrey hepburns acting in my fair lady so bad. His subject turns out to be the lovely eliza doolittle audrey hepburn, who agrees to speech lessons to improve her job prospects. Plot in edwardian london, henry higgins rex harrison, an arrogant. Higgins and eliza clash, then form an unlikely bond, one that is threatened by aristocratic suitor freddy eynsfordhill jeremy brett. The film stars audrey hepburn as eliza doolittle and rex harrison as henry higgins, with stanley holloway, gladys cooper and wilfrid. Oct 21, 2014 audrey hepburn in a scene from the film my fair lady. The 10 best audrey hepburn movies of all time you need to see. The film stars audrey hepburn as eliza doolittle and rex harrison as henry higgins, with stanley holloway, gladys cooper and wilfrid hydewhite in supporting roles. How to steal a million is a great film and audrey sports a brilliant bouffant the entire time. Oct 21, 2015 fiftyone years ago wednesday, audrey hepburn took center stage at the world premiere of my fair lady the story of a snobbish professor and a cockney flower girl. Aug 10, 2010 theres no reason for emma thompson to go lightly on audrey hepburn. The loverly sets from the audrey hepburn movie my fair lady. Audrey hepburn in a scene from the film my fair lady. Audrey hepburn is splendid as always, if one can suspend their disbelief as they watch.
Running some 10 minutes short of three hours my fair lady is a long film but only rheumatics will object to sitting that long. Today, the film my fair lady seems a rather overreverential replica of the. Theres no reason for emma thompson to go lightly on. Thompson is writing the screenplay for a remake of my fair lady, the 1964 film in which hepburn played eliza doolittle. Hollywood replaced andrews with audrey hepburn for the wellnighirresistible 1964 film version of my fair lady, which comedically softens shaws ending but nevertheless nearly singlehandedly transcends the materials sexist leaning through the sheer humanism of hepburn s deeply felt performance. Everett collectionrex features t his month, anna friel is set to star as holly golightly in a west end stage adaptation of the.
But his most regularly performed and enduringly popular play remains pygmalion 1911, largely thanks to the extravagant musical film adaptation it spawned my fair lady, starring audrey hepburn as cockney flower girl eliza doolittle and rex harrison as the eccentric linguist professor henry higgins. One of the best of the many showstoppers from the classic film that won 8 academy awards including best picture of 1964, my fair lady, starring the incomparable audrey hepburn. The film was directed by george cukor and stars audrey hepburn and rex harrison. Eliza doolittle is a fictional character and the protagonist in george bernard shaw s play pygmalion 19 and its 1956 musical adaptation, my fair lady. If you remember, it was mostly through disneys influence thatjulie andrews won an oscar for best actress for mary poppins in 1964. The movie, which starred rex harrison and audrey hepburn, won eight academy.
Rex harrison, audrey hepburn and wilfrid hydewhite in my fair lady. It is 100 years since george bernard shaw premiered pygmalion amidst. Fiftyone years ago wednesday, audrey hepburn took center stage at the world premiere of my fair lady the story of a snobbish professor and a cockney flower girl. Audrey hepburn appears as eliza doolittle in my fair lady. Before she was fodder for instagram quotes, audrey hepburn was an actress with a separate wikipedia page for her work on the screen and stage.
Cecil beaton audrey hepburns rehearsals for my fair lady could last up to 12 hours a day and included vocal coaching, cockney lessons and dance rehearsals. Pygmalion synonyms, pygmalion pronunciation, pygmalion translation, english dictionary definition of pygmalion. The intermission is deleted from amc viewings of the film and severely. The movie, which starred rex harrison and audrey hepburn, won eight academy awards, including that for best picture. He may have impregnated audrey hepburn otoole met the gamine star hepburn shortly before they filmed the romantic comedy how to steal a million in. Leslie howard,wendy hiller criterion collections digital transfer edition 2000 offers a first rate blackandwhite picture that is a pleasure to watch in as large a screen as possible, in the original aspect ratio 1. Ranking audrey hepburns most iconic characters, from eliza. The standard my fair lady 1964 story, with a provocative rendition by peter otoole. When linguistics professor henry higgins boasts that he can pass off cockney flower girl eliza doolittle as a princess with only six months training, colonel george pickering takes him up on the bet. Oct 15, 2015 see costume sketches for audrey hepburns classic my fair lady gowns millions of people have watched my fair lady since it first opened in 1964, but now fans have an opportunity to see it as. I watched this film years ago after purchasing it on dvd and remembered it being more entertaining than i thought it would be, especially the sparring between the audrey hepburn s uneducated, impoverished but sassy eliza and rex harrisons educated, welltodo and pompous higgins.
This public domain classic centers around a conceited language professor who tricks his snobby peers by teaching a girl from the gutter to behave like a ladyand everyone thinks she is a princess. Jul 05, 2015 he may have impregnated audrey hepburn otoole met the gamine star hepburn shortly before they filmed the romantic comedy how to steal a million in 1965. May 04, 2015 how to steal a million is a great film and audrey sports a brilliant bouffant the entire time. The only thing my fair lady has on this movie is the ascot scene. Hepburn is the dull bookseller whos transformed into a model by fashion photographer astaire. Pygmalion definition of pygmalion by the free dictionary. Design is to the fore in donens visually brilliant musical fairytale that follows a vaguely pygmalion structure. The ideal actress would therefore be someone who could play both the street. Vorlage dieser geschichte diente george bernard shaws buch pygmalion. Based on george bernard shaws play pygmalion, my fair lady stars rex. Audrey hepburn into streeturchinturnedproperlady eliza doolittle in this film. With audrey hepburn, peter otoole, eli wallach, hugh griffith.
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