Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Roman Holiday Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 19, 2020

Director William Wyler's timeless 1953 film Roman Holiday is a fairy tale of sorts but one that isn't afraid of altering the formula to its whims and for its benefits. The film focuses on its story's here-and-now rather than the end goal of happily ever after. It's like a reverse of the classic Cinderella story, focusing on a princess trying to escape her life and experience life as a normal girl. It's a plot that the film helped to widely popularize and has become something of a staple for theatrical films (The Prince & Me) and several Hallmark movies.

Longing to be free.

Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) is bored with her tour of Europe -- the schedules, the events, the entirety of her royal life -- and so chooses to escape the embassy and experience the real Rome as a real person without the weight and expectations and exposure her position demands. Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) is a struggling reporter scheduled to cover the princess’ press interview. When Bradley rescues a girl on his way home, he has no idea he has met the princess he is to cover. Once he discovers who she is, will Bradley take advantage of the princess in disguise and write his exposé? Or will he fall for her charms and enjoy a brief escape from reality while showing her around Rome?

What better vehicle to truly launch Audrey Hepburn’s Hollywood career than Roman Holiday, a superficially simple but emotionally complex character piece that's both free spirited and fun yet somehow more personal and deep than one might expect of it. Hepburn expertly channel the princess’ perfect exterior during her public appearances and, contrastingly, the naïve girl during her incognito jaunts through Rome. Hepburn offers an authentic, believable character build, someone stuck in a difficult situation and forced to choose duty or pleasure not necessarily for her life, but in the moment. Peck offers a perfect foil to the perfect princess and the pair’s chemistry plays well in every scene.

Roman Holiday's claim to fame is certainly Hepburn's breakthrough but it's also the beneficiary of its location shooting. At the time it was made, it was certainly the exception to the rule for a major production to be filmed on location rather than on a stage or in a studio setting. The boost to the film's authentic atmosphere and the opportunity to directly insert its characters into Rome and visit various landmarks only furthers the illusion and affords the actors another layer with which to work. So many things about the movie just fall into place. A charmingly authentic Hepburn, a real location, fine writing, and superior technical workmanship all contribute to one of the best films of its kind and of its time.

Roman Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Roman Holiday's 1080p picture presentation is quite attractive and faithful to its roots. The picture, framed at its native 1.37:1 aspect ratio (placing vertical "black bars" on either side of the modern 1.78:1 HD display), retains a pleasing grain structure, one that appears accurate and authentic, relatively light but very flattering and complimentary; it's a boon for the image's innate filmic credentials. Details are appropriately sharp across the board, whether exploring intimate facial features, a wide array of clothing (from royal garb to everyday attire), and of course plenty of wonderfully realized interior and exterior details around Rome where storefronts, streets, carts, people, all sorts of environmental elements appear on screen with practically perfect command of both the broad essentials and the intimate points alike. The grayscale is rewarding. Certainly the image could have only been bolstered by an HDR grading on a UHD disc but whites are pleasant, blacks are deep, and the expansive middle ground finds plenty of pleasing nuanced gradations, again seen through a broad range of visual elements including humans, clothes, and locations. There are some vertical lines and signs of debris on the newsreel footage to begin the movie (and appear deliberately so) but the film proper sees little in the way sourcing flaw. There are no encode issue of note, either. Fans are going to be thrilled with Paramount's work on this one; it's hard to imagine this classic looking substantially better on Blu-ray.

Roman Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Roman Holiday's Dolby TrueHD 2.0 lossless soundtrack keeps things relatively simple. The track exhibits no frequent wants for an expanded soundtrack, offering enough expressiveness as-is to satisfy its meager sound design elements. The track keeps things largely within the confines of a simple front-center imaged area. Dialogue is obviously the most readily apparent sonic element, here naturally placing in that middle area with perfectly acceptable clarity and prioritization. A few random sound effects don't stray far, either, from the middle imaged spacing, such as basic city din in various exteriors or clanking typewriters and other era specific office effects as heard in chapter seven. Some wailing police sirens in chapter eight represent just about the most ambitious sonic output. They drift into and out of the stage with appropriate volume but not much feel for spacial engagement, unsurprising given the limited output (and it's really the only time the track desperately wants for that channel expansion). Music pushes a little farther to the edges while holding fast to good, basic fidelity. The track lacks verve, but it's not lacking in faithfulness to the source. Listeners should be well pleased with this one.

Roman Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Roman Holiday contains a fine assortment of interesting bonuses. This release is the ninth entry in the collectible "Paramount Presents" line which includes unique packaging beyond standard Blu-ray case and slipcover components. No DVD is included, but Paramount has bundled in a digital copy code.

• Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on Roman Holiday (1080p, 6:59): Film Critic and Historian Leonard Maltin discusses Roman Holiday: Director William Wyler's work on the film and Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn's acting in the film.
• Behind the Gates: Costumes (1080i, 5:31): Paramount Archivist Randall Thropp tours the Paramount costume collection and shares some interesting pieces saved through the years. He also discusses Edith Head and her contributions to Paramount's films.
• Rome with a Princess (1080i, 8:57): This piece explores the famous historical sites seen in the film via a mixture of postcards, archival footage, film clips, and present-day stills.
• Audrey Hepburn: The Paramount Years (1080i, 29:55): This piece follows Audrey Hepburn's life from her childhood through her acting career. It explores her background in ballet, her Broadway debut, and her films for Paramount including Roman Holiday, Sabrina, War and Peace, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Paris when it Sizzles. Also covered are her marriage, her children, and her charity work.
• Dalton Trumbo: From A-List to Blacklist (1080i, 11:55): Actors and historians recall Trumbo, the acclaimed (and long uncredited) Roman Holiday screenwriter whose political views saw him blacklisted in Hollywood in the post-World War II era.
• Paramount in the '50s (480i, 9:33): A look back at some of Paramount's iconic films from the 1950s.
• Remembering Audrey (1080i, 12:12): Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn's son; and Robert Wolders, her companion; discuss Hepburn's life from her childhood in Nazi occupied Holland to her acting career and work with children.
• Theatrical Trailers (480i): Included are Original Theatrical Teaser Trailer (1:48), Original Theatrical Trailer (2:12), and Theatrical Re-Release Trailer (2:28).
• Galleries (1080p): User-advanced stills grouped into four categories. Included are Production, The Movie, Publicity, and The Premiere.

Roman Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Beautifully filmed, great acting, a cherished story, numerous Oscar nominations, and several wins have created an endearing legacy for Roman Holiday, a long cherished film that is as technically beautiful and soothing to the soul today as it was many decades ago upon release. Paramount's new Blu-ray is just as charming. Great video, solid audio, and a healthy compliment of extra content make this one to own. Very highly recommended.