Roman Holiday (1953)

Even though I like both Hepburn and Peck I've always kind of resisted seeing this movie for some reason. It was showing at Film Forum here in NYC the other day and I figured it was time that I checked it out. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I think all of the performances are good, not just Hepburn. Peck and Albert were both good and I think the Albert character was funny and provided an essential element to the success of this film. The only part of the film that does not work are the end scenes where the Hepburn character is publicly shared/introduced as a real princess. Royalty was viewed and revered differently when this film was originally released, but today those scenes feel stilted. Otherwise this is a light, carefree, and fun film.

A comment made by Emma Thompson made me want to see "Roman Holiday" again. Miss Thompson said about Audrey Hepburn "she has no bite" Implying that Miss Hepburn wasn't much of an actress. Well, I don't know what she was talking about or perhaps she doesn't either. To see "Roman Holiday" again in 2017 was a moving and wonderful experience. Audrey Hepburn's performance is as fresh and enchanting as I remembered. Perhaps even more. So I arrived to the conclusion that Miss Thompson is talking about a different kind of acting. When a performance travels in time with the same power, decade after decade, for me that's great film acting. In "Roman Holiday" she took me with her and convinced me, heart and mind, that she was that princess and I loved her. William Wyler, the wonderful director, knew what he was doing - he always did. By introducing us to Audrey Hepburn he reinforced and reinvigorated his own prodigious legacy. I love Emma Thompson as an actress but she's totally wrong about Audrey Hepburn.

One of the qualities I most admire in a movie is its ability to positively challenge my expectations, and expectations I had many regarding William Wyler's "Roman Holiday". So, when the curtain was closed, I thought it was a beautiful experience and another viewing elevated it so high above my preconceived notions of romantic comedies that it could be one of the best movies to embrace that genre. Indeed, "Roman Holiday" should be worthy of any movie lover's admiration for its impeccable combination of acting, writing, directing and also costume designing. Seriously, when you have William Wyler, Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Dalton Trumbo and Edith Head… and let's not forget Roma, the millennial city as the backdrop, you can't fail even if you were asked to.But let's give credit to the real, and regal, pillar of the film: Miss Audrey Hepburn. This is the movie that made her an instant star in Hollywood's map, and you can see the novelty in the context of 1953. At a time where Monroe, Kelly or Russell defined beauty canons, came the tall, slender, long-necked and delicate gamin-like Audrey Hepburn. But she was more than a look, she was a smile, an attitude, a voice, a sensitivity, she was so many things wrapped up in one person that there was no doubt, regardless of the film's reception, that she would become a star and win the Oscar. Peck who got the top billing suggested her name to be put above the title, less by altruism than realism. And as the opening credits mention, the film is introducing Audrey Hepburn, and how fitting that the first frames where she graced the silver screen show her smiling and waving at cheerful crowds. It's Princess Ann saluting her European hosts and she does exude this royal composure and classiness, with a little hint of ennui in her eyes, getting more and more perceptible as the fatigue increases. Hepburn keeps on smiling and saluting as if it befitted her glorious entrance in Hollywood by both suggesting her beauty and her vulnerability. Later, the film finds the right balance between drama and comedy, to emphasize the very distance Ann fantasizes about over her royal duties.During the official night, while Ann is saluting all the dignitaries and ambassadors, there's a delicate close-up on her foot she delicately take off the shoe and scratch her ankle with it, then comes the infamous moment where she can't put it back. The symbolism is as strong as the small foot-fetish it induces; it is is a kind of reverse Cinderella-like story about a melancholic princess who wants to have a shot at anonymity. And when she's listening to her chambermaid mechanically reciting the day's schedule, her sudden hysteria startled me, physically. It was impossible not to share her pain, this is not just the Disney princess who wants to discover the world, this is a real existential malaise, she's given sleeping pills but we know this is no remedy.Princess Ann, moved by her remaining forces (and some childishly adventurous spirit), leaves the hotel. She crosses the path of Joe Bradley, a tall and handsome journalist played by Gregory Peck, gentleman enough not to leave the drugged princess lying on Roma's streets. He takes her to his apartment, gives her his pajama and they sleep without anything happening. It's all in the day after when he realizes he's got the Princess in his hands and one hell of a scoop, the opportunity to have an exclusive interview. What theb happens is a staple of romantic comedy: both lie about their identities, and the funny paparazzi sidekick, played by Eddie Albert, follows them during the trip, taking pictures of Ann with a lighter hiding a miniature camera. The premise sounds mean-spirited and we wait for the quarrel over the lies, but "Roman Holiday" doesn't try to be a rip-off of "It Happened One Night", the story finds its own rhythm and pace. Wyler insists in its opening credits that the film was shot in location but that's a useless disclaimer, we can tell this is not some matte paint or Hollywood studio locations, we have the local colors and Roman streets' flavor and Hepburn's reactions are as authentic as the locations. Ann wanders through Roma, cuts her hair, visits the streets with Joe, have some 'gelati' and an unforgettable motorcycle trip. The enthusiasm of Hepburn is always catching and Peck is so genuinely charming that the chemistry is believable, especially when he does the hand prank."Roman Holiday" has pioneered the 'geographical' romance but it's for its conclusion that the film got me. After the climactic kiss, the film takes a turn no one can see coming, it's like something changing in Ann's attitude, for the first time she decides it's time to get back where she belongs, and for the first time, Joe lets her go. When she comes back, she looks naturally authoritarian, she politely dismisses everyone and she's ready to be a Princess again. The day after, she and Joe meet during the press conference and exchange a few tender looks. When asked if Roma is the greatest town she visited, she starts with a conventional answer but then opens her heart, one last time, and through her tribute to the city, indirectly gives a poignant farewell to Joe. It's all in the unspoken.I was surprised by how mature and adult the script was, kudos for Wyler for having given the job to then-blacklisted scriptwriter Trumbo who wrote a terrific story… that ending showed that the film was more than a benign romance or a trip across Roma, it was a wonderful coming-of-age story… in a way, she became a Princess again, but it took the Roman Holiday. In a way, it's still a Cinderella story, like her next film "Sabrina" would be... in a way, Audrey Hepburn is THE real life Cinderella.

Some people called old but gold this film absolutely fit that description.It's romantic and emotional film and actor and actress perform very high.Also that film show us Roma's beauty and historical place.If you want to go Roma city I think firstly you should watch this film.William Wyler's film quality always very good , we can see Ben-Hur and The Best Years Our Lives.On the other hand Audrey Hepburn very good and beautiful too this movie.My opinion that film about money not enough to single happiness.Today it become old popularity The Roman Holiday.I hope in the future lots of people will watch this movie and have a fun.