Review of Funny Face

Introduction

Part of Paramount’s Audrey Hepburn Collection, Funny Face represents Audrey Hepburn’s one and only collaboration with Fred Astaire. With Hepburn being known as more of an actress and Astaire as a dancer, how well does this pairing work?

Video

On the whole, the picture is very good for the age of the film – sharp, with strong (very strong) colours and accurate fleshtones. There are a few instances of source specks and grain on screen, but nothing beyond what you would expect from a film 45 years old. Strangely, the picture is extremely soft at some points, and I’m not sure if this is because it was filmed deliberately hazy through a lens gauze or suchlike, but these scenes are noticeably different in quality. However, I would assume that this was the filmmakers’ intention, as Paramount rarely drops the ball when it comes to picture remastering.

Audio

The 5.1 remastered soundtrack actually sounds quite nice, which is more of a relief than a bonus, as when remastering old musicals so many things could be botched and ruin the whole film experience. Actually, it sounds more like a surround track, which is by no means bad as I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to producing full blown 5.1 tracks on 50’s musicals. The dialogue is clear, although basically in mono. It’s just a shame the original mono track wasn’t included.

Features

A pretty sparse collection, but not completely bare bones. The obligatory theatrical trailer is included – for anyone who has seen trailers from the 50’s, this is no different and is a typically OTT affair full of praise for the film. The main (and only, really) extra is a 10min documentary about Paramount in the 50’s, following the studio’s main films of each year. Finally, a photo gallery rounds things off.

Conclusion

Funny Face is a hugely enjoyable musical with great performances and chemistry by Hepburn and Astaire – but probably just misses out being a classic of the genre. There are some fantastic set pieces – Astaire’s matador sequence, “Bonjour Paris” and Hepburn’s suprisingly good “Basal Metabolism” dance in the bistro, stand out. Directed by Stanley Dohen of Singin’ in the Rain fame, the singing and dancing find just the right balance of romanticism and panache. The DVD is very good, with good picture and sound, and a small extra also. Highly recommended to any fans of the musical.