Sabrina is the enchanting story of young innocent Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn), daughter of the Larrabee family chauffeur, Thomas Fairchild (English-born John Williams, Dial M for Murder), who falls madly in love with Larrabee prodigal son and playboy David (William Holden, Sunset Boulevard). Her young and pure heart longingly yearns for his love from a tree branch which gives view to the Larrabee's extravagant galas paraded through the pavilions, gardens and patio of their posh Glen Cove estate.
Bewildered by his daughter's romantic obsession, over-protective Father Fairchild makes the decision to send Sabrina to a prestigious cooking school in Paris to change the direction of her thoughts and life from the Larrabee influence. As a Parisian, Sabrina not only gains the art of cooking, but infuses her quiet personality with astonishing dashes of refinement, elocution, charm and grace. Sabrina returns to Glen Cove as quite a surprising model of couture and sophistication... and unexpectedly meets David at the train station where he is instantly mesmerized by her beauty and sophistication.
The attention provoked by Sabrina overturns the Larrabee's plans of creating a marriage-merger with David and plastics princess Elizabeth Tyson (Martha Hyer, Houseboat). Frolic and fun ensue as the older and sober brother, Linus (Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca) tries to divert Sabrina's infatuation from David to himself as he secretly plans to ship Sabrina off to Paris on an ocean liner to untangle the knot her bewildering return has caused.
Billy Wilder co-wrote and directed this charming Cinderella story which was embraced by critics and moviegoers alike as it was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Actress (Hepburn), Best Directing (Wilder), and Best Costume Design -- the latter of which was the only Oscar taken home for the film by Edith Head.
Sabrina: Centennial Collection is packaged with two discs: Disc 1 as the featured film, and Disc 2 containing the following Special Features: "Audrey Hepburn: Fashion Icon" shows the prominence Hepburn played in the fashion world as her design sense was imitated worldwide. Fashion historians and designers discuss the fashion icon's style and ability to be a fashion role model to millions. Edith Head wanted Valenciaga to fashion Hepburn's wardrobe for her return from Paris collection, and protege-designer Hubert de Givenchy was introduced to her for the movie. This life-long friendship would influence her unique style for the rest of her life.
"Sabrina's World" gives a picture of the opulent and luxurious lifestyle of rich and famous family names such as Vanderbilt, Chrysler, Woolworth and Tiffany, who lavishly tucked themselves into mansions on Long Island's Gold Coast. One of these communities was Glen Cove where the Fairchilds lived above the garage on the Larrabee estate.
"Supporting Sabrina" will present tidbits of the secret ingredient to the film -- the supporting cast of character actors you might recognize but not remember their names, including Larrabee servants Nancy Kulp, bank secretary in Beverly Hillbillies, and Ellen Corbin, famous for being the grandmother of the Walton's. You'll see American stage and film star Walter Hampden, famous for his stage portrayal of Cyrano de Bergerac... and also bearing a striking resemblance to Esquire Magazine's signature icon. Silent and sound film legend, Francis X. Bushman, plays Tyson plastics tycoon, while his jilted daughter played by Martha Hyer starred alongside legendary Cary Grant in Houseboat.
"William Holden: The Paramount Years" clips movies he did under contract to the studio and gives history of his "paramounting" film career. "Sabrina Documentary: In Her Own Words" brings together exciting moments featuring film clips, interviews, and film and actor memorabilia. "Behind the Gates: Camera" gives you a studio preview of their camera department taking you on an evolutionary tour of movie film cameras spotlighting the incredible creation of Vista Vision. "Paramount in the '50s - Retrospective Featurette" will walk you down memory lane as it documents some of its most memorable films: Sunset Boulevard, The Greatest Show on Earth, Ten Commandments, Houseboat, The Country Girl, and more. "Galleries" will give you exciting clips of both Paramount movies and actors.
Sabrina: Centennial Collection is well worth adding to your collection whether you're a Hepburn fan or not. The movie is family entertainment and the featurettes give insight to the actors' history and lives. The one objection I have is that legendary actor Humphrey Bogart (Linus Larrabee) was not showcased (I would guess probably because he was not primarily under contract to Paramount). Independent of this, however, the featurettes seem enormously unbalanced without the shine of Bogie's presence and character.
