Roman Holiday

Locations
Call Number: DVD Comedy Roman
On Shelf At: Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Westgate Adult A/V 1-week checkout	DVD Comedy Roman	1-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult A/V 1-week checkout	DVD Comedy Roman	1-week checkout	Due 09-18-2024
Pittsfield Adult A/V 1-week checkout	DVD Comedy Roman	1-week checkout	Due 10-05-2024

Originally released as a motion picture in 1953.
Special features: Remembering Roman holiday; Restoring Roman holiday; Edith Head : the Paramount years; Trailers; Photo galleries.
Special features include: full screen format, "Remembering Roman Holiday" documentary, "Restoring Roman Holiday" featurette, "Edith Head-The Paramount years" featurette, photo galleries, teaser trailer, theatrical trailer, re-release trailer.
Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams, Margaret Rawlings, Tullio Carminati, Paolo Carlini, Claudio Ermelli, Paola Borboni, Alfredo Rizzo, Laura Solari, Gorella Gori.
A princess rebels against her royal obligations and explores Rome on her own. She meets an American newspaperman who, seeking an exclusive story, pretends ignorance of her identity. But his plan falters as they fall in love.
DVD; NTSC, Region 1; Dolby digital mono.; full-screen presentation.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

An Absolute Must-See submitted by CasualTim on May 9, 2010, 3:08pm Though "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is the better-known work of the classic trio (thanks a bunch, Deep Blue Something), which includes "Sabrina," this one has always been my favorite. I'm tempted to use the word 'romp,' but I think modern cultural definitions would imply a much more base experience than this movie is. How about this: this movie will redefine your understanding of what a romp can be. And somehow despite all the laughs, still pulverize your heart into a gelatinous mush in the end.

"Roman Holiday" is a masterpiece. Clean and simple, it is a perfect tour through release and restraint, abandon and propriety, indulgence and duty. Any romantic comedy today has a predetermined ending, with the protagonist taking the life-altering journey from propriety or general high-strungedness to the unconstrained flailing of the gratification muscle. It's the 'let down your hair and take off your glasses and you will change from outcast to perfect' theory of plot. "Roman Holiday" is proof that refinement once existed in this genre, with even the moments of personal excess and silliness being conducted with a style and etiquette that would seem entirely foreign now. And the question of whether or how much lives are changed is mostly left up to the viewer to decide.

To be fair, when Princess Ann very, very briefly breaks from the script at the press conference at the end, giving something away to her public and partially answering that question of change for the viewer, it's always a breathtaking moment for me. After several viewings the only thing that's changed about the impact of that moment in the film is that I can feel the welling-up start slightly earlier. "Roman Holiday" is both fun and honest, and does for the viewer almost everything it does for its characters; expect hijinx, suspense, laughter, hope, redemption, and those pesky tears.

And hey, what film has done more to show the style and class inherent to scootering?

10/10

classic submitted by kevinhe on July 18, 2019, 9:53pm it's such a classic love story.

a grand old dame of rom-com submitted by FordAlpha on August 15, 2019, 10:04pm Peck! Hepburn! Vespas! The Fountains of Rome! One of the greatest classics of the romantic comedy genre, this is a delightful film. I love the ending.

A different style of comedy submitted by ccrose on August 29, 2019, 8:01pm I love to see Audrey Hepburn make a first entrance in a movie. Of course she was physically graceful and wore her clothing with sharp details. Even though she was young, she didn’t act like a child, unfamiliar with their body.
Her comedy was certainly in her retorts, her insistence to be free to see Rome alone. Even soaking wet, having jumped in the river to save Gregory Peck, she still had grace.

d submitted by kscapellie on July 11, 2020, 4:59pm unfamiliar with there body , romantic comedy

A Warm Cozy Blanket submitted by tlaberge on July 26, 2024, 9:00am This is just a movie that makes me feel so warm and happy. Great acting, great story, great setting, fabulous clothes! One of my top favorite Hepburn movies.

A classic from the the "Hollywood on the Tiber" era submitted by Diananana on August 13, 2024, 2:51pm This is a really fun, yet somewhat bittersweet film. Rome was the ideal setting for this story. The bonus features on the DVD are quite interesting. I particularly like the one about Edith Head, the Hollywood costume designer. She was a household name during my childhood.

Roman Holiday is one of a number of films made in Rome during the "Hollywood on the Tiber" era. Rome, with its Cinecittà Studios, drew many international filmmakers during the 1950's and early 60's. Cinecittà Studios remains the largest film studio in Europe. (See Wikipedia "Hollywood on the Tiber" for more on this.)