Roman Holiday

“For the first time ever on Blu-ray, remastered from a 4k film transfer, Roman Holiday features a legendary, Oscar-winning performance from Audrey Hepburn (in her first starring role). Nominated for a total of 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, it’s the story of a modern-day princess who, rebelling against the royal obligations, explores Rome on her own. She soon meets an American newspaperman (Gregory Peck) who pretends ignorance of her true identity, in the hopes of obtaining an exclusive story. Naturally, his plan falters as they inevitably fall in love. Featuring Eddie Albert as a carefree cameraman pal, a classic Dalton Trumbo screenplay, expert direction from William Wyler, and featuring Edith Head’s Oscar-winning costumes, it’s a timeless romantic comedy considered to be one of the greatest films from the Golden Age of Hollywood.”

The film opens with Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) taking a tour of Europe to meet and greet various political heads, with the strain of the ever building schedule and non-stop procedures of duty taking a visible toll on her as she breaks down crying before bed as she listens to what is in store for her the next day. When her caretakers insist on injecting her with drugs to calm her down, she leaves the walled gates of her sanctuary in order to find respite from her life of duty and emotional isolation. In her drug-induced stupor, she meets Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), a down-on-his-luck American reporter more interested in getting a good story to make it back to New York than anything else. Not recognizing the Princess that evening, he reluctantly takes her in and gives her a place to stay. The next morning, Bradley discovers her identity when he goes into the office and sees a picture of her in the paper. Promising an exclusive story to his editor in exchange for enough money to make it back to New York, he devises a plan to capture her rebellious adventure and write an article about it.

There aren’t many actors out there that can claim an Academy Award for their first starring role, but if anyone could do it, it was Audrey Hepburn. Roman Holiday was a perfect introduction for her, demonstrating her range for comedy, drama, and overall charm as she lights up the screen with her lovely performance as Princess Ann. With ten additional nominations for the film, William Wyler’s masterful comedy still manages to delight and entertain, almost seventy years after its initial release.

Although I’ve been a fan of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday was one that I never got around to seeing before now. What struck me most about it was just how light-hearted and charming the film was, while providing a love-story that absolutely captures you every step of the way. A large part of that is due to Audrey Hepburn, which always seems to make me think I’m falling in love with her just as the main character does throughout the course of the film. To capture the audience attention and make them so invested in the story they feel part of it is a rather large feat in itself, but that’s the beauty of Roman Holiday: it whisks you away on an adventure just as it does for the main characters.

Gregory Peck, known mostly for his more dramatic roles, is delightful in one of his few comedic performances. Partnered with Eddie Albert, who I totally didn’t recognize at first, their hijinks throughout the film are great and they have a nice chemistry between them. Comedy comes quite naturally to Audrey Hepburn, whose fish-out-of-water story and naivety produce some very funny sequences, especially the dance sequence at the end of their day.

The Golden Age of Hollywood has produced some timeless films, and if Roman Holiday were made today, I guarantee it wouldn’t have the same emotional connection that I and all who have been enthralled by the story form, let alone one of the most real endings I’ve seen. This is the power films of this era have, and continuing to celebrate them with new releases and better treatments are important now more than ever, and Paramount has done a great service in releasing Roman Holiday on Blu-ray for the first time.

Video

Roman Holiday is presented in 1080p High Definition 1.37:1 featuring a brand new transfer remastered from a 4k scan. The film has been cleaned up very nicely, clear and detailed, with grain kept at a consistent level. The lights and darks look great in black and white, hard to believe this film is pushing seventy years old. The amount of detail that you see is astonishing, stray hairs off the actor’s head clearly visible, details you’ve probably never seen before. This alone is worth the price to own.

Audio

The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD Mono. This track sounds good, with no issues noted. Despite it being a mono track, the score sounds particularly lovely, balancing well with the story.

Special Features

A great set of extras here, well worth checking out. These include:

• NEW Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on Roman Holiday
• Behind the Gates: Costumes
• Rome with a Princess
• Audrey Hepburn: The Paramount Years
• Dalton Trumbo: From A-List to Blacklist
• Paramount in the ‘50s
• Remembering Audrey
• Theatrical Trailers
• Galleries

The film also comes in a slipcase that opens to reveal the poster from the film, with #9 on the spine, indicating the ninth release in the Paramount Presents series.

The Paramount Presents line has chosen the perfect film for the newest inclusion in their lineup. Roman Holiday encapsulates everything good about cinema, and their treatment of the film clearly shows their dedication to keeping the memory of that Golden Age alive. Probably my favorite of the Paramount Presents series thus far, Roman Holiday is well worth checking out.