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1961 Poster Analysis: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Updated: Oct 30, 2019


06 October 1961

This poster contains vibrant colours which was relatively new for the time as movies only started being filmed in colour in 1939 and so movie posters were using more and more colour to entice audiences and make them stand out like with this poster where the main character is surrounded by a border of different colours; this is juxtaposed by her being dressed in a black outfit and containing little colour.


The main character is clear on the poster by taking up an entire half, she is portrayed as quite sexualized and independent by her body language as she is emphasizing her hour glass figure with her hands and her dress is revealing, also by wearing heels she emphasizes the line of her leg which suggests an attempt by the character to lure in the male population. The colour black also has connotations of sexual lust and dominance; she is the one in control making them come to her. Her eyes are looking in a direction to suggest her trying to persuade the audience against her guilt of trying to attract male attention and to suggest her inner desires and playfulness.


What is unusual for the time of this poster is that instead of Audrey Hepburn's name being at the start of the billing block it is in a large portion of the poster and is almost the same size copy as the title of the movie which suggests the size of her importance to her role in the film. This section also contains a description of Audrey Hepburn`s characters performance; it is unusual that this takes up more space on the poster than the title as well as it reinforcing the significance of her role.


The `Breakfast at Tiffany`s' title is close to the bottom corner but also takes up a large portion of the poster, it is in bright vibrant colours compared to the rest of the copy on the poster as well as matching the red on the border. It also contains black and white detailing on the letters B and T to match the actresses glam appearance as well as making it stand out as the title.


The smaller image to the side of the poster shows a scene from the movie as well as highlighting the key theme and genre it portrays; as romance. The colours are more neutral and every day than the rest of the poster and it also contains a city landscape to show the audience the setting. This builds anticipation for the movie and fulfils the audiences need for affiliation suggested by McClelland's theory of audiences needs.


Audrey Hepburn was a sought after actress of the time and so they made her name larger to draw people in and Mickey Rooney was also a big star who has significance because he had a role in the 1939 `Wizard of Oz' movie which started off films being filmed in colour.


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