Fifty years later, Breakfast at Tiffany's needs yet more dirt removed

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is not a good movie. 

Let me revise that.

It’s not a good movie as it is sold.  And no one wants to sell it differently.

See, everyone working on this project is emotionally numb; it’s like they’ve just mentally made a few clips on the negative, but no one will make them physically.

Deadbolt has a great article on how they’ve restored the movie for its fiftieth anniversary Blu-ray edition.  They explain how they redid the titles and how there was a good deal of duplicates, which definitely means they clipped (maybe a copy of) the original negative. 

What I find really gross, in both the academic and colloquial sense of the word, is that no one has even suggested that they go back to that negative and make a few clips, re-engineer the soundtrack, and remove Mickey Rooney’s disgusting performance as Mr. Yunioshi, a character who really adds nothing to the movie.

I understand that there are people who think this is sacrificing the integrity of the movie.  I’ve talked to people about this issue, and they’ve responded along the lines of “it’s important to keep this as it’s a cultural artifact, no matter how racist or wrong.”  I don’t believe them.  Rooney’s performance is distracting, outdated, and, as I’ve mentioned before, irrelevant.  It makes the beginning of this movie difficult to watch because of the constant panning between Audrey Hepburn and Rooney.  Better yet, if they chose to cut Rooney and leave Hepburn, it wouldn’t be that bad of a one-sided dialogue (at least not in the beginning):

Weirdly, trailor photos that don't have copyrights are public domain
, unlike photos from the movie.  Also, French
Wikipedia has better movie pictures than the English Wik.

 HOLLY: Darling, I am sorry, but I lost my key. 

 HOLLY: I lose them all.

 HOLLY: I won’t do it again.

I cut a few lines for sensible one-sidedness, but I think it could work.  I even think they could hire an actor to stand at the top of stairs, dust off their film and cut that in.  Maybe even a real Japanese guy!

Of course, there will always be purists.  This movie is practically a study in modern racism (the idea that racism doesn’t really exist), and I think the original version could be watched, very carefully, in academic settings.  I’m not suggesting we stop selling the original unedited film, but I do think it deserves at least some kind of prelude, if just a pamphlet or an insert into the DVD (Blu-ray) case.  If it were up to me, this big-deal reissue should include two versions of the film: one full, original 1961 version, fully as 1961-style screwed up as I believe it was, and another version sans Yunioshi, a la Star Wars: The Phantom Edit.  

I don't want to say people haven't tried to skirt the issue; they've explained reminders, made a little documentary sort of thing about the issue, played Toy Story 3 instead.  It just seems to me this is an awful problem with a simple solution that we should take steps to make happen.

I like Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I do.  I like the way it is revealed, and the lighting is divine, proving that Planer was a fab choice.  I just can’t justify Mickey Rooney’s character.  Blake Edwards, the director, Richard Shepard, the producer, and Rooney have all issued statements that they wished they had never done it.  I’m not sure they realize that they can; all they have to do is cut the film and, maybe, hire another guy to stand in for Rooney’s part (and his voiceover).  Deadbolt has said they can preserve 1960’s color, and I bet they could create it with a little work.

I want this edit and will personally endorse a petition to get Paramount to release such a version of the film.  I know it’s not a family film, but there’s a big difference between “not a family film” and “a morally wrong, editable problem.” I want it and will personally endorse a petition to get Paramount to release such a version of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  It’s such a lovely movie…I think it deserves a slight update to keep this classic classic for another fifty years.

Post-Script: The Blu-Ray now includes a short film about how the filmmakers now know that Yunioshi was morally wrong.  Still, I wish they'd just edit him out, a suggestion I have yet to see elsewhere on the internet.