Sabrina (1995 film)

Sabrina is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film adapted by Barbara Benedek and David Rayfiel. It is a remake of the 1954 Billy Wilder film Sabrina, which in turn was based upon the 1953 play Sabrina Fair.

Sabrina
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySydney Pollack
Produced bySydney Pollack
Scott Rudin
Ronald L. Schwary
Written byBarbara Benedek
David Rayfiel
Starring
Music byJohn Williams
CinematographyGiuseppe Rotunno
Edited byFredric Steinkamp
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • December 15, 1995 (1995-12-15)
Running time
127 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50-58 million[1][2]
Box office$87.1 million[2]

It was directed by Sydney Pollack, and stars Harrison Ford as Linus Larrabee, Julia Ormond as Sabrina and Greg Kinnear (in his first starring film role) as David Larrabee. It also features Angie Dickinson, Richard Crenna, Nancy Marchand, Lauren Holly, John Wood, Dana Ivey, and French actress Fanny Ardant.

Sabrina was released on December 15, 1995, by Paramount Pictures. The film was a box office disappointment, but earned mostly positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Sabrina Fairchild is the young daughter of the Larrabee family's chauffeur, Thomas, and has been in love with David Larrabee all her life. David is a playboy, constantly falling in love, yet he has never noticed Sabrina, much to her dismay.

Sabrina travels to Paris for a fashion internship at Vogue and returns as an attractive, sophisticated woman. David, after initially not recognizing her, is quickly drawn to her despite being newly engaged to Elizabeth Tyson, a doctor and billionaire.

David's workaholic older brother Linus fears that David's imminent wedding to the very suitable Elizabeth might be endangered. If the wedding were to be canceled, so would a lucrative merger with the bride's family business, Tyson Electronics, run by her father Patrick. This could cost the Larrabee Corporation, run by Linus and his mother Maude, in the neighborhood of a billion dollars.

Linus tries to redirect Sabrina's affections to himself and it works. Sabrina falls in love with him, even though she quotes others as calling Linus "the world's only living heart donor" and someone who "thinks that morals are paintings on walls and scruples are money in Russia."

In the process, Linus also falls in love with her. Unwilling to admit his feelings, Linus confesses his scheme to Sabrina at the last minute and sends her back to Paris. Before she gets on the plane to Paris, her father informs her that over the years of chauffeuring the father of David and Linus, he listened. When Mr. Larrabee sold, he sold and when Mr. Larrabee bought, he bought. Sabrina jokingly says "So you are telling me that you have a million dollars?" Her father says no, he has a little over two million and that her mother would want her to have it.

Meanwhile, Linus realizes his true feelings for Sabrina, and is induced to follow her to Paris by chiding from his mother and an unexpectedly adult and responsible David, who steps into his shoes at the Larrabee Corporation with detailed plans for the merger with Tyson. Linus arrives in Paris and reunites with Sabrina, revealing his love to her and kissing her.

Cast

Production

The music was composed by John Williams and includes a song performed by Sting; both were nominated for Academy Awards.

The location used to portray the Larrabee family's mansion was the 'Salutation' estate, which is located on Long Island in Glen Cove, New York.[3] This home was built around 1929 for Junius Spencer Morgan III, who was a director of the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company.[4] His father was J. P. Morgan, Jr., who was a banker and the son of J. P. Morgan, the renowned financier. The property is no longer owned by the Morgan family, but it is still in private hands and used as a residence.[5] The movie made extensive use of this mansion's interiors during the filming.[3][6]

Reception

Box office

The film was a box office disappointment, with a result of US$53 million domestically, and total of $87 million worldwide.[2]

Critical reception

The film suffered from inevitable comparisons to the original version with its trio of stars, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden.[7] On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 65% based on reviews from 48 critics. The site's critics consensus state: "Sydney Pollack's Sabrina doesn't do anything the original didn't do better, but assured direction and a cast of seasoned stars make this a pleasant enough diversion."[8] On Metacritic the film has a score of 56% based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9] [10][11][12]

Accolades

References
  1. Eller, Claudia (1995-12-22). "Company Town : Forget Studio Excuses for Box-Office Duds-Make Better Movies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  2. "Sabrina (1995) - Financial Information". The Numbers (website).
  3. "Sabrina: Beautiful Glen Cove". 23 April 2013.
  4. Reeves, Tony. "Filming Locations for Sydney Pollack's 1995 remake of Sabrina, in New York, Massachusetts and Paris".
  5. "Three Random Houses".
  6. "IMDb: Most Popular Titles With Location Matching "Salutation House, West Island, Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA"".
  7. Brennan, Judy (1995-12-18). "It's All Fun and Games (and a Tie) at Box Office : Movies: 'Jumanji' and 'Toy Story' each pull in an estimated $11 million in ticket sales. 'Heat' produces some warmth with $8 million. - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  8. "Sabrina (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  9. "Sabrina". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  10. RICHARD SCHICKEL (1995-12-18). "Kissing Cousins". TIME. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  11. Maslin, Janet (1995-12-15). "Movie Review - Sabrina - FILM REVIEW;An Ugly Duckling and Her Men 41 Years Later". New York Times. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  12. McCarthy, Todd (1995-12-10). "Variety Reviews - Sabrina". Variety.com. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
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