Roman Holiday (1953)
Roman Holiday is a 1953 film featuring Audrey Hepburn’s first major screen debut, alongside Gregory Peck in a tale about a princess who escapes her regimented life and experiences a day outside the palace in the city. It went on to receive 8 awards across various ceremonies, including an Academy and Golden Globe for Audrey as Best Actress.
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Despite being a classic, I’d never seen Roman Holiday before so I was elated to thrift a copy earlier this year. The movie had to be shot in black and white because it was too expensive at the time to make it in colour, especially with most scenes being shot outside in Rome, and I love that this 2003 restored version makes no attempt to colorise it because this adds to the charm.
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Audrey is absolutely captivating as Princess Ann - it’s impossible to take your eyes off her throughout the film and this is helped by the beautiful costume design by Edith Head, for which she also won an Academy Award. Her acting through the first part of the film, while under the influence of a sedative, is really convincing and comical too, and the chemistry between her and Gregory Peck is undeniable.
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As for Gregory, I don’t think a better person could have been chosen as the romantic interest of our protagonist. He’s so effortlessly charming and he plays off Audrey’s energy perfectly. I love that his character has an ulterior motive to use his proximity to Princess Ann to get an exclusive interview, but instead falls in love with her and chooses to respect her privacy instead.
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Roman Holiday was written by John Dighton and Dalton Trumbo, the latter blacklisted in Hollywood for many years over refusal to answer questions about his alleged involvement with the Communist party - he didn’t get credited for the film until almost 60 years later. The plot was definitely progressive of the time for the way it explores gender, and the drugging of Princess Ann presents the brutality of the psychiatric field as she is pathologized for being burdened by the banality of her daily routine.
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The special features offers alot, from a short video about the endearing legacy of Roman Holiday, to the restoration process for this 2003 release and a biopic on costume designer Edith Head, alongside trailers and a gallery.
