The film endures as a style classic

Other titles to be re-released in the same way include Some Like it Hot, Alfie and Don't Look Now.

"Film deteriorates naturally over time, especially if heavily used," explained a BFI spokesman.

"There are no usable copies of any of these films in our collections so we cannot offer them to cinema-goers anywhere."

Despite the need to refresh the physical state of Breakfast at Tiffany's, the film's content is considered to be timeless in its appeal to audiences.

Gloss

Its two strongest characteristics are the wit of its script and its glamour - personified by screen idol Audrey Hepburn.

Hepburn plays Holly Golightly, New York's ultimate glamorous party girl and free spirit.

Beneath the gloss, however, Holly lives in a bare apartment, surviving on "tips" from men she meets on the social scene.

Peppard's character (R) disruputs Holly's plans to marry a rich man

She is of course determined to marry a millionaire - at any cost.

But that plan begins to lose shape when struggling writer Paul Varjak, played by George Peppard, moves into her block.

The film is based on the 1958 novella by Truman Capote.

At the time, it was not considered by critics to be one of his best works, which included Other Voices and Other Rooms.

Yet Breakfast at Tiffany's remains the most famous and influential book Capote wrote.

Capote later in life said Holly Golightly was his favourite character.

In an early draught of the book he gave her the name Connie Gustafon, but later changed it to the more symbolic Holly Golightly.

Bittersweet

Capote had originally chosen Marilyn Monroe for the part, but instead Monroe chose to do The Misfits.

Hepburn plays Moon River

It was lucky for Hepburn because, despite a strong performance from Peppard, Breakfast at Tiffany's is undeniably Hepburn's film.

In addition, Holly Golightly is perhaps Hepburn's most endearing and enduring "waif" characterisation.

For all its charm Breakfast at Tiffany's has a bittersweet aftertaste.

It deals ultimately with characters who exploit others but damage themselves in the process.

The melancholy of the film is captured in the evocative score from Henry Mancini, of which the most famous song remains Moon River.