Roman Holiday (1953)

Wonderful Classic Movie

I love this movie. I watched it right before my trip to Rome. The sights have not changed a bit and it's such a cute story line. Old black and white movies are so classic and so is Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. It portrays Rome so well. June 23, 2008

Roman Holiday

The DVD arrived quickly and in new condition.
We enjoyed reviewing it very much. It was Audrey Hepburn's first starring role in a movie and the first movie shot on location. Great movie. June 19, 2008

A Fun and Silly Movie

This movie is not the best work for either Hepburn or Peck, but it is fun to see and shows some great scenes of Rome from that time. If you are a fan of either star it is worth owning. May 29, 2008

Pure Romance in Radiant Rome

Roman Holiday is an incomparable romantic comedy; truly one of the most enjoyable films of all time. It is also Audrey Hepburn's debut starring role, for which she won a Best Actress Oscar. At just 24, Audrey was young, stunning, talented, charming, radiant, majestic, cute, elfin, and clearly at the top of her game. Rumor has it that the credits originally were to have Gregory Peck's name first, then the title of the film, then the statement "and introducing Audrey Hepburn." After the first week of filming, Gregory Peck called the studio and the director, and told them something along the lines of "Audrey Hepburn IS this movie; her name needs to appear above the title with mine." How noble and gallant. Mr. Peck, himself, is top-notch in this role; I fall in love with him a little more each time I watch it.

This movie was filmed on location in Rome, and the scenery is breathtaking, making this movie all the more romantic. My husband and I have fun pointing out all of the places we have been. The restoration is very impressive; the print looks fresh and clear; the details are vivid. It is also interesting to notice the play of light and dark, of shadow and bright. These techniques are used at their best in this film, and are lost (and perhaps unnecessary) in color films.

We recently showed this film to our 11 year old daughter. It was a lazy, rainy Sunday morning, and she "didn't have anything better to do." She started watch with some token protest, and then watched quite intently. At the end, she said, "Hey, that was pretty good...and I didn't even really notice that it was in black and white!" There is hope, yet, for younger generations!

This film is romantic, playful, sweet, fun, delicious, beautiful, and charming. I give it my highest recommendation for anyone.
May 18, 2008

Great movie, but why full screen?

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. May 6, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...