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Ghost Canyon

'Audrey: More Than An Icon' [Blu-ray]
(Audrey Hepburn, Peter Bogdanovich, et al / Blu-ray / NR / 2020 / Bohemia Media)

Overview: Actress, humanitarian and recognized as a film and fashion icon, Audrey Hepburn was undoubtedly one of the greatest legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

This in-depth documentary looks back at the life, loves and career of this enigmatic star.

Blu-ray Verdict: As I'm sure all her fans know by now, Audrey Hepburn won her first Academy Award at the age of 24 and went on to become one of the world's greatest cultural icons: a once-in-a-generation beauty, and legendary star of Hollywood's Golden Age, whose style and pioneering collaboration with Hubert de Givenchy continues to inspire.

But who was the real Audrey Hepburn? Malnourished as a child, abandoned by her father and growing up under Nazi occupation in Holland, Hepburn faced a life-long battle with the traumas of her past, which thwarted her dreams of becoming a ballet dancer, and cast a shadow over her personal life.

Yet she found inner peace using her superstardom for good as a global ambassador for UNICEF and bringing her life full circle; first a victim of war, then a source of relief to millions.

Hepburn was only 63 years old when she died of cancer in 1993, but the European-born Hollywood legend packed more living into her time on earth than most people could do in a century.

It's broadly known that she was the designer Givenchy’s muse, that she retired from acting to do the aforementioned relief work for UNICEF and that women still show up at Tiffany’s with bags of pastries thanks to Hepburn’s iconic performance in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

But while seemingly every moment of her adult life was documented, there’s still a lot that most people don’t know about the glamorous movie star.

Here in 'Audrey: More Than An Icon,' we learn a few more pertinent facts about the lady herself. Such as the British-born actress moved to Holland during the war because her Dutch mother believed they would be safe in a country that had pledged to stay neutral.

The Nazis invaded anyway. Hepburn, like millions of others, nearly starved when the Nazis cut off food supplies. Her envied slender figure was the result of being malnourished during adolescence.

Hepburn had cemented her position as America's Sweetheart by the time she began filming Sabrina. Little did the public know that her relationship with her costar William Holden was anything but innocent. Their strong on-screen chemistry blossomed into an off-screen affair!

Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe's images were diametrically opposed to each other. Monroe was the voluptuous, ditzy sexpot while Hepburn was sophisticated and elegant.

In fact, Truman Capote, who wrote the novel Breakfast at Tiffany's, wanted Monroe to play Holly Golightly in the film because he thought she would be more believable as a call girl.

The character had to be changed significantly to fit Hepburn, though the result was an iconic, influential film.

The term EGOT is used to describe those rare individuals who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. Hepburn is one of the 14 people who have managed this feat.

All of her fans know that she won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for 1953’s Roman Holiday. The next year she was awarded the Tony for Best Actress in a Drama for her performance in Ondine.

Hepburn’s Emmy and Grammy are more surprising. She retired from acting long before it became acceptable for movie stars to take TV roles. She won an Emmy for hosting PBS’s 1993 documentary series Audrey Hepburn’s Gardens of the World, which, as the title implies, featured avid gardener Hepburn visiting some of the world’s most spectacular gardens.

And amongst other things learnt here in this simply fascinating documentary, I think we can all agree that Hepburn would probably have been a great Peter Pan!

Like Mary Martin, who played the role on Broadway, she was a petite woman who could have looked appropriately “boyish” and who certainly could have convincingly portrayed a child’s innocence and enthusiasm. It nearly happened.

In 1964, following the success of My Fair Lady, Hepburn planned to reunite with director George Cukor for a live-action film of the classic musical.

Cukor began negotiating with London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, which inherited the rights to the play from playwright J.M. Barrie.

Unfortunately, the movie was never made because Disney Studios claimed it had exclusive cinematic rights to Peter Pan. Simply put, Audrey Hepburn was one of a kind and this wondrous documentary showcases that in diamonds. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.

'Audrey: More Than An Icon' will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on December 15th, 2020.

Official 'Audrey: More Than An Icon' Trailer

Amazon Purchase Link





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