Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792172161
Format: Black & White
ISBN: 0792172167
Label: Paramount
Manufacturer: Paramount
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2002-11-26
Running Time: 118
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: 1953-09

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Great movie, but why full screen?
Comment: I love this movie, and that's why I was disappointed when I went to watch it and found that it was in full screen format.

I suppose it's my fault for not looking carefully enough at the info here, but I assumed that the "Special Collector's Edition" would be in widescreen - special editions are almost always in widescreen (at least, I've never found or bought one that wasn't).

And what would possess them to chop off part of the screen for a film that has such excellent cinematography of Rome? The movie begs to be in theatrical form.

OK, I'm done whining. Just know that if you buy this version, it's full screen.

Customer Rating:

Summary: When Actors Could Really Act
Comment: My wife and I saw this wonderful movie on DVD last night for the very first time, eventhough we are both old enough to have seen it in a movie theater in the 50s. The storyline has been explained many times here, so I'll not go into it again. Audrey Hepburn was simply beautiful and played the role perfectly of a princess wanting to live a "normal" life and do all of the things she wanted to do, dreamed of doing, for just one entire day. Peck was typically restrained as the man who wanted that one BIG SCOOP to further his career as a newspaperman and land himself his dream of working in New York City. Her dreams comes true and is surprised to find love among them, if only for twenty-four hours, he sacrifices his dream of being a star reporter for love of her.

This was the perfect movie for two romantics who are generally unimpressed with today's lifeless actors, four-letter-word infused dialog, and plotless movies. Highly recommended.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Audrey at her BEST
Comment: For anyone that isn't familiar with Audrey Hepburn's movies, this is the best one to start with... in my opinion this is her best work. Roman Holiday is the movie that started it all for Hepburn, and you'll see why. This is one of those movies that you can just escape in... it brings you into a fun, safe, playful world. Hepburn and Peck are a perfect romantic match in this classic movie. I whole heartedly recommend this film to anyone!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Roam through Rome with Audrey Hepburn!
Comment: Roman Holiday is my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie! I was so excited when my brother, knowing how much I loved it, gave it to me for Christmas!
In her screen debut, Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar for her performance as Princess Ann. Tired of all the obligations and duties of being princess, she runs away while on a goodwill tour in Rome. She meets Joe Bradley (played by Gregory Peck), an American newspaper man, who offers to show her all the sights of Rome - with the intention of getting an exclusive interview. (I love the part when Audrey walks into his tiny apartment looks around and says, "Is this the elevator?") She agrees and they spend the day together "just doing whatever they'd like" - riding mopeds, dancing, getting caught in the rain and (I like this part) their visit to the "Mouth of Truth." As the two spend the day together they realize they are falling in love.

The part of Joe Bradley was originally offered to Cary Grant who turned it down (he didn't make a movie with Audrey Hepburn until 1963's Charade). I think Cary Grant would have been better for the part, and as he is so good at comedic roles he would have seemed more natural for the part. But I can see why he didn't take the part - the movie is about the princess and he didn't know then what a great actress Audrey was. Elizabeth Taylor was also considered for the part of Princess Ann, but she was already making a movie and the director, William Wyler, decided to use a new actress. And lucky for us he decided to use Audrey Hepburn! In my mind, no one but Audrey could play the part of Princess Ann! What an incredible actress!

Customer Rating:

Summary: A bittersweet romance and a beautiful travelogue of Rome
Comment: Roman Holiday is a beautifully bittersweet romance starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck (originally, it was optioned by Frank Capra, who had hoped to cast Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor in the lead roles). Hepburn plays the spoiled Princess Ann, who is fed up with palace life and the endless protocol. After being given a sedative, she makes a run for it and ends up out cold on a park bench in Rome, where newspaper man Joe Bradley discovers her and begrudgingly takes her home with him, fearing for her safety.

He quickly pieces together her formal, outdated manner of speaking and the disappearance of the princess (official reason: sudden illness), and his first inclination is to cash in on her secret identity by writing a tell-all story for $5000. He enlists his friend Irving as photographer. But as Joe indulges Ann's simple wishes for gelato, sightseeing, and a dash of adventure, he finds himself genuinely falling for Ann. The two engage in a complicated tango of avoidance; Joe hides the fact that he's press, and Ann tells him that she's run away from school. Irving uses a camera hidden in his lighter to snap impromptu photos. Poor Irving is tripped and spilled on by Joe in a none-too-subtle attempt to shut him up before he spills the beans on more than one occasion, and I felt bad for Irving's bewildered expression as Joe keeps taking him out.

Pandemonium breaks out as the palace sends out secret police to retrieve Ann, and the film falls into near-slapstick in the final third at a barge dancehall. The ending is bittersweet yet appropriate, neither too much nor too little. Roman Holiday is a stunning vehicle for the luminous Audrey Hepburn, who won an Oscar for her performance, was the first comedy for Gregory Peck, and most of all, serves as a showcase for the timeless wonders of Rome. It was the first American film to be shot entirely in Italy (Paramount had frozen assets in Italy). Real Italian nobility and real international press corps were featured in the film. Most of the locations exist, and the colorful, authentic backgrounds and ethnic faces add a degree of authenticity that could never have been matched in a California studio.

There are several extras including a documentary on the film's restoration, a stills gallery, and the original trailer. The transfer is crisp enough and looks fresh despite its age. Roman Holiday will appeal to fans of romance, comedy, and travelogues, and is a mesmerizing blend of all three elements.

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Editorial Reviews:

Maybe it doesn't quite live up to its sterling reputation, and maybe the leading man and director were slightly miscast. But who cares? Roman Holiday is the film that brought Audrey Hepburn to prominence, and the world movie audience went weak at the knees. The endlessly charming Hepburn had her first starring role in this sweet romance, playing a European princess on an official tour through Rome. Frustrated by her lack of connection to the real world, she slips away from her protective handlers and goes on a spree, aided by a tough-guy news reporter (Gregory Peck). Director William Wyler, more at home with such heavy-going, Oscar-winning classics as The Best Years of Our Lives and Ben- Hur, doesn't always keep the champagne bubbles afloat, and the Peck role would have fit Cary Grant like a silk glove. But the film is great fun, the location shooting is irresistible, and Hepburn embodies an image of chic style that would rule for the rest of the fifties. No coincidence: she won an Oscar, and so did veteran costume designer Edith Head. --Robert Horton