The Film
Sabrina is played by the timeless beauty Audrey Hepburn with an amazing supporting cast that includes Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. The film tells the tale of a young Sabrina Fairchild who is hopelessly attracted to Holden’s character, David Larrabee. David is a rich banker, whose brother, Linus, is played by Humphrey Bogart. The two may be brothers, but their styles are quite different: David is the typical playboy, who works enough to get the job done but prefers spending his time with women, while Linus tends to his work above all else.
At the outset of the film, Sabrina, the daughter of the brothers’ chauffeur, is being sent away to Paris to attend culinary school. She isn’t particular excited about the trip as her heart is set on David. When she comes back, Sabrina has matured and has become more beautiful than before. She captures the eyes and hearts of the Larrabee brothers who take great measures to win her hand. It’s a very charming and timeless film that melds comedy and romance better than most movies could ever hope to achieve.
Centennial Collection DVD Release
The Centennial Collection DVD release is the most complete DVD release of the film to date. There was a stand alone release in 2001 and a box set release just last year, but this release stands apart from those in terms of packaging and extras. This release comes packaged in a smooth black and gold removable cover. Inside there is a two disc keep case that contains the gold and white printed discs. There is also a nice full color booklet that matches the black and gold design of the case. This booklet includes a few stills from the film as well as text that acts as a brief documentary of sorts about Sabrina and Paramount. Disc one holds the one hundred and twelve minute film, in black and white and in full screen. The second disc contains extra features, including:
-Audrey Hepburn – Fashion Icon – Just over seventeen minutes, this feature includes recent interviews with various fashion designers talking about how much of a fashion icon Hepburn was for her time. There are plenty of scenes and stills of her from her career to help get the point across.
-Sabrina’s World – Clocking just over eleven minutes, this modern feature talks about some of the locales and history of areas seen in the movie.
-Supporting Sabrina – This sixteen and a half minute feature goes over seven of the supporting cast from Sabrina. It’s a documentary piece that looks at the careers of the lesser known supporting cast, including John Williams who played Sabrina’s father.
-William Holden: The Paramount Years – A half hour documentary on a classic Hollywood actor with interviews from actors and actresses reminiscing about Holden’s acting greatness. Several scenes and stills from Holden’s work are shown as well.
-Audrey Hepburn: In Her Own Words – At just under twelve minutes, this feature doesn’t actually have Hepburn speaking much at all. A narrator guides this mini-documentary which is a basic ‘making of’ feature.
-Behind the Gates: Camera – At five minutes, this short feature is about various cameras used at Paramount over the years. Interviews from current Paramount staff and stills and scenes from films in Paramount’s past are show.
-Paramount in the ’50s – At just under ten minutes, this is another feature that isn’t so much about Sabrina as it is about Paramount
-Galleries– Includes dozens of still pictures from the movie, production, and the premiere.
All told, you get about an hour and a half of extras here, not including the dozens of still images from the galleries.
Closing Thoughts
To some, Paramount re-releasing this classic for a second or third time (depending on how you’re counting), could be seen as a shameless double dip. However, it’s been nearly seven years since the original Sabrina DVD release, and there’s no doubt that this Centennial Collection edition is more complete and robust than it was. This release is also reasonably priced online. Bottomline, if you’re looking for a timeless classic, you can’t go wrong with Sabrina.