Sometime
movies are magic and sometimes movies create magic, ROMAN HOLIDAY ($25)
is a movie that offers a little of both. ROMAN HOLIDAY is a
delightful romantic fairy tale that that casts a spell over audiences with
its breezy charm, sophisticated comedy and sense of utter weightlessness.
Much of the film’s success can be attributed to the wonderful, star
making, Academy Award winning performance of Audrey Hepburn, who was a
virtual unknown at the time of the movie’s production. Of course, in any
discussion of ROMAN HOLIDAY there is no way I can overlook the work
of leading man Gregory Peck, whose natural easy going nature is perfectly
suited to the light, comedic tone and playing opposite such an enchanting
leading lady.
In
ROMAN HOLIDAY, Audrey Hepburn portrays a young princess on a
goodwill tour across Europe. After an exceedingly hectic schedule,
Princess Ann runs away from her caretakers, so she can have a few hours to
herself, and enjoy the city of Rome like any other young woman. After an
unexpected turn of events, Ann winds up in the company of American
newspaperman Joe Bradley (Peck), who plans on selling the story of the
runaway princess for a large sum of cash. Of course, after a daylong
adventure the mismatched twosome find themselves falling in love, which
complicates things for a Princess who must return to her duties, and for
the newspaperman who could have really used the cash for this exclusive
story. The cast of ROMAN HOLIDAY also features Eddie Albert,
Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams and Margaret Rawlings.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made ROMAN HOLIDAY available on DVD in a
very fine looking black and white transfer that frames the film in its
proper 1.37:1 full screen aspect ratio. ROMAN HOLIDAY is another
Paramount classic to take advantages of the services of Lowry Digital
Images, whose techniques were utilized to restore the look of this movie
to its full 1953 luster. The ravages of time have been virtually
eliminated from the presentation, as has excessive graininess, leaving ROMAN
HOLIDAY with an image that is pristinely clean, wonderfully crisp and
very smooth looking. Kudos to the folks at Paramount for a job exceedingly
well done.
Unlike
the majority of 50’s American movies, ROMAN HOLIDAY was shot on
location in Rome, and as such, the cinematography doesn’t always have
the sheen and glossy quality of something shot on a Hollywood back lot or
on sound stages. However, having Rome as the backdrop to the movie creates
true cinematic magic, and more than compensates for the occasional little
irregularities in the on location cinematography. Blacks always appear
solid and inky, while the whites are clean and stable. The grayscale
offers a good deal of nuance and contrast is generally pleasing. There are
a few shots display tiny bit of background shimmer, and that is about the
only flaw that I can find in this otherwise wonderful presentation.
Digital compression artifacts are well concealed throughout on this
cleanly authored DVD.
ROMAN
HOLIDAY is presented on DVD with a very nice Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. Taken from a good optical source and digitally rehabilitated
to remove noticeable background hiss and surface noise, this
half-century-old recording sounds as good any track of this vintage is
ever likely to sound. Dialogue is crisp and clean, with all the English
language passages coming across with full intelligibility. Of course, the
limited fidelity of the recordings does leave the film’s score sounding
a bit reedy, lacking in any significant top or bottom end. A French
language track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a nice supplemental section. Starting
things off is the twenty-five minute program Remembering Roman
holiday, which looks back on the production and its stars, as well
as offering new and archival interviews, including the comments of ninety
four year old cast member Eddie Albert. Restoring Roman Holiday
is a seven-minute program that offers a fascinating glimpse at the steps
undertaken by Lowry Digital Images to rejuvenate the film, including some
before and after demonstrations. Paramount has once again chosen to
include Edith Head: The Paramount Years, a fourteen-minute
program that looks at the career of Hollywood’s most famous costume
designer. Three theatrical trailers and four black and white photo
galleries close out the DVD’s supplemental materials.
As
I stated above, ROMAN HOLIDAY is a wonderful bit of cinematic
magic. This classic film has been given royal treatment by the folks at
Paramount, and is a movie buff’s dream come true. If you are a fan of
the movie or of Audrey Hepburn or Gregory Peck, you will absolutely want
to own a copy of ROMAN HOLIDAY on DVD.
Sometime
movies are magic and sometimes movies create magic, ROMAN HOLIDAY ($25)
is a movie that offers a little of both. ROMAN HOLIDAY is a
delightful romantic fairy tale that that casts a spell over audiences with
its breezy charm, sophisticated comedy and sense of utter weightlessness.
Much of the film’s success can be attributed to the wonderful, star
making, Academy Award winning performance of Audrey Hepburn, who was a
virtual unknown at the time of the movie’s production. Of course, in any
discussion of ROMAN HOLIDAY there is no way I can overlook the work
of leading man Gregory Peck, whose natural easy going nature is perfectly
suited to the light, comedic tone and playing opposite such an enchanting
leading lady.
In
ROMAN HOLIDAY, Audrey Hepburn portrays a young princess on a
goodwill tour across Europe. After an exceedingly hectic schedule,
Princess Ann runs away from her caretakers, so she can have a few hours to
herself, and enjoy the city of Rome like any other young woman. After an
unexpected turn of events, Ann winds up in the company of American
newspaperman Joe Bradley (Peck), who plans on selling the story of the
runaway princess for a large sum of cash. Of course, after a daylong
adventure the mismatched twosome find themselves falling in love, which
complicates things for a Princess who must return to her duties, and for
the newspaperman who could have really used the cash for this exclusive
story. The cast of ROMAN HOLIDAY also features Eddie Albert,
Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams and Margaret Rawlings.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made ROMAN HOLIDAY available on DVD in a
very fine looking black and white transfer that frames the film in its
proper 1.37:1 full screen aspect ratio. ROMAN HOLIDAY is another
Paramount classic to take advantages of the services of Lowry Digital
Images, whose techniques were utilized to restore the look of this movie
to its full 1953 luster. The ravages of time have been virtually
eliminated from the presentation, as has excessive graininess, leaving ROMAN
HOLIDAY with an image that is pristinely clean, wonderfully crisp and
very smooth looking. Kudos to the folks at Paramount for a job exceedingly
well done.
Unlike
the majority of 50’s American movies, ROMAN HOLIDAY was shot on
location in Rome, and as such, the cinematography doesn’t always have
the sheen and glossy quality of something shot on a Hollywood back lot or
on sound stages. However, having Rome as the backdrop to the movie creates
true cinematic magic, and more than compensates for the occasional little
irregularities in the on location cinematography. Blacks always appear
solid and inky, while the whites are clean and stable. The grayscale
offers a good deal of nuance and contrast is generally pleasing. There are
a few shots display tiny bit of background shimmer, and that is about the
only flaw that I can find in this otherwise wonderful presentation.
Digital compression artifacts are well concealed throughout on this
cleanly authored DVD.
ROMAN
HOLIDAY is presented on DVD with a very nice Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. Taken from a good optical source and digitally rehabilitated
to remove noticeable background hiss and surface noise, this
half-century-old recording sounds as good any track of this vintage is
ever likely to sound. Dialogue is crisp and clean, with all the English
language passages coming across with full intelligibility. Of course, the
limited fidelity of the recordings does leave the film’s score sounding
a bit reedy, lacking in any significant top or bottom end. A French
language track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a nice supplemental section. Starting
things off is the twenty-five minute program Remembering Roman
holiday, which looks back on the production and its stars, as well
as offering new and archival interviews, including the comments of ninety
four year old cast member Eddie Albert. Restoring Roman Holiday
is a seven-minute program that offers a fascinating glimpse at the steps
undertaken by Lowry Digital Images to rejuvenate the film, including some
before and after demonstrations. Paramount has once again chosen to
include Edith Head: The Paramount Years, a fourteen-minute
program that looks at the career of Hollywood’s most famous costume
designer. Three theatrical trailers and four black and white photo
galleries close out the DVD’s supplemental materials.
As
I stated above, ROMAN HOLIDAY is a wonderful bit of cinematic
magic. This classic film has been given royal treatment by the folks at
Paramount, and is a movie buff’s dream come true. If you are a fan of
the movie or of Audrey Hepburn or Gregory Peck, you will absolutely want
to own a copy of ROMAN HOLIDAY on DVD.