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Hi all,
Today I'm posting to Live Journal only, a sneak peak of the type of thing I will be doing on my new Movie Project blog. I've review movies before on this blog - so it will be like that.
I watched Roman Holiday last night - which I hadn't actually seen before. The way I ended-up with a copy of the film was that I actually had a Bonus Points gift certificate for Best Buy and when I went in I couldn't find the actual item I wanted. I also couldn't find the three items I would have taken as good second choices (as a side bar -- that's a reason I hate shopping retail and buy a majority of my stuff, especially DVDs on-line). Anyway, I was about to leave in disgust, when I spotted a three-set of Audrey Hepburn classics. It was inexpensive (I think around $15.00 - and the gift certificate would cover most of it) and they were all classics -- including Breakfast at Tiffany's which I always wanted to see - as it's a famous classic, so I figured, "What the heck - I'll pick it up". And Audrey Hepburn is a classic actress as well - so I figured I couldn't go wrong. The three films were: Breakfast At Tiffany's, Sabrina, Roman Holiday. I've now seen all three and I don't regret the "blind buy" at all. But then, classics tend to become classics for a reason! :-) And now on to the proper review!
Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers
Roman Holiday
Starring Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert
Directed by William Wyler
Date: 1953
Formats: 4X3 (Standard), Black and White, DVD is Region 1, NTSC
Special Features: "Remembering Roman Holiday", "Restoring Roman Holiday", "Edith Head - The Paramount Years" (Edith Head was a famous costume designer at Paramount), Photo Galleries, Trailers
Roman Holiday is a Cinderella tale in reverse: a princess, while on a European whirlwind good will tour, breaks down and runs off when the tour stops in Rome. She runs into Joe (Gregory Peck), a down on his luck reporter, and his buddy, a free-lance photographer played by Eddie Albert. At first, Peck thinks he can use his day with Princess Ann (Hepburn) to write an exclusive story and make some real money to pay off some debts, and get him back to New York and on a real paper. His buddy seems to be a bit of a Paparazzi - years, well, decades, before the term was even used. Yet, Joe and Ann manage to fall in love. However, unlike most romantic comedies, Roman Holiday has a bitter sweet undertone. At the end of the day, Ann directs Joe to a place to drop her off. Their tearful farewell is truly sad - and wrought with the undertone of secrets - she hasn't told him she's a princess, and he hasn't told her he knows that and thought her day off would make a great story. The next day, Princess Ann holds her press conference - and Joe's in attendance with his photographer. The photographer gives her the photos he took in an envelope, but overall it's a bittersweet, sad ending. Yet, not completely unexpected -- Joe and Ann are from different worlds, and they can't really be together. For a Romantic Comedy - it's unusual, because almost by definition - a romantic comedy ends-up with the couple together. However, me personally, I love the romantic "comedies" (or musicals) where the couple doesn't actually end-up together at the end of the film.
The film is actually shot in Rome -- highly unusual for the 1950s, when studio system films tended to stick to warehouse-studios and Hollywood back lots. Audrey Hepburn tends to look absolutely gorgeous - whether she's wearing a fancy ball gown and jewels or borrowing Joe's pajamas (she ends-up staying overnight in his apartment in a scene reminiscent of "It Happened One Night"). Hepburn also has excellent acting chops - pixie-ish one minute, demure the next -- and completely believable as both the princess and the lost girl enjoying a day in Rome. Although, you'd think Peck would seem too old for Hepburn, he has a gravitas that works well with Hepburn's slight flightiness. Peck keeps the film grounded and real. Roman Holiday is so good, and Audrey Hepburn is so good in it, it's amazing that she has an "Introducing" credit - as in her first role. It's not amazing that she won an Oscar for it! The only thing in the least bit negative I can say about Audrey Hepburn, and it was a product of the times, is I've seen her in four films now: Charade, Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Roman Holiday and all four are romantic comedies. I think she was better than that. It's a pity that the studio system didn't allow her to do something else - with a bit more meaning than what we now call the "Rom-Com". The other thing I thought about Audrey Hepburn, especially in Roman Holiday was she sort of reminded me, in term of modern actresses, of Julia Roberts. Not in looks, obviously, but in type of role and in their approach to the role. Roberts can also do better than playing endless rom-coms against actors such as Hugh Grant.
But overall, I enjoyed Roman Holiday - and it will be a pleasure to watch it again and review it a second time for my project when I get to the R's. I also recommend this film - if you haven't seen it, do rent or buy it and enjoy the film. And the black and white adds to it - the layers of shading work very well. And directors of 1950s films and earlier knew how to film in black and white - Ann's white ball gowns, for example, practically glow. Whereas, the texture of Joe's suits is more notable when you aren't distracted by color. Wyler could have filmed the film in Technicolor (which has been around since 1938 or 1939) but he choose to film in black and white - thus using lighter cameras, allowing for more movement and a better feel - which also added to the film's real location filming.
--Olivia
PS: Comments are welcome!
Today I'm posting to Live Journal only, a sneak peak of the type of thing I will be doing on my new Movie Project blog. I've review movies before on this blog - so it will be like that.
I watched Roman Holiday last night - which I hadn't actually seen before. The way I ended-up with a copy of the film was that I actually had a Bonus Points gift certificate for Best Buy and when I went in I couldn't find the actual item I wanted. I also couldn't find the three items I would have taken as good second choices (as a side bar -- that's a reason I hate shopping retail and buy a majority of my stuff, especially DVDs on-line). Anyway, I was about to leave in disgust, when I spotted a three-set of Audrey Hepburn classics. It was inexpensive (I think around $15.00 - and the gift certificate would cover most of it) and they were all classics -- including Breakfast at Tiffany's which I always wanted to see - as it's a famous classic, so I figured, "What the heck - I'll pick it up". And Audrey Hepburn is a classic actress as well - so I figured I couldn't go wrong. The three films were: Breakfast At Tiffany's, Sabrina, Roman Holiday. I've now seen all three and I don't regret the "blind buy" at all. But then, classics tend to become classics for a reason! :-) And now on to the proper review!
Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers -- Spoilers
Roman Holiday
Starring Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert
Directed by William Wyler
Date: 1953
Formats: 4X3 (Standard), Black and White, DVD is Region 1, NTSC
Special Features: "Remembering Roman Holiday", "Restoring Roman Holiday", "Edith Head - The Paramount Years" (Edith Head was a famous costume designer at Paramount), Photo Galleries, Trailers
Roman Holiday is a Cinderella tale in reverse: a princess, while on a European whirlwind good will tour, breaks down and runs off when the tour stops in Rome. She runs into Joe (Gregory Peck), a down on his luck reporter, and his buddy, a free-lance photographer played by Eddie Albert. At first, Peck thinks he can use his day with Princess Ann (Hepburn) to write an exclusive story and make some real money to pay off some debts, and get him back to New York and on a real paper. His buddy seems to be a bit of a Paparazzi - years, well, decades, before the term was even used. Yet, Joe and Ann manage to fall in love. However, unlike most romantic comedies, Roman Holiday has a bitter sweet undertone. At the end of the day, Ann directs Joe to a place to drop her off. Their tearful farewell is truly sad - and wrought with the undertone of secrets - she hasn't told him she's a princess, and he hasn't told her he knows that and thought her day off would make a great story. The next day, Princess Ann holds her press conference - and Joe's in attendance with his photographer. The photographer gives her the photos he took in an envelope, but overall it's a bittersweet, sad ending. Yet, not completely unexpected -- Joe and Ann are from different worlds, and they can't really be together. For a Romantic Comedy - it's unusual, because almost by definition - a romantic comedy ends-up with the couple together. However, me personally, I love the romantic "comedies" (or musicals) where the couple doesn't actually end-up together at the end of the film.
The film is actually shot in Rome -- highly unusual for the 1950s, when studio system films tended to stick to warehouse-studios and Hollywood back lots. Audrey Hepburn tends to look absolutely gorgeous - whether she's wearing a fancy ball gown and jewels or borrowing Joe's pajamas (she ends-up staying overnight in his apartment in a scene reminiscent of "It Happened One Night"). Hepburn also has excellent acting chops - pixie-ish one minute, demure the next -- and completely believable as both the princess and the lost girl enjoying a day in Rome. Although, you'd think Peck would seem too old for Hepburn, he has a gravitas that works well with Hepburn's slight flightiness. Peck keeps the film grounded and real. Roman Holiday is so good, and Audrey Hepburn is so good in it, it's amazing that she has an "Introducing" credit - as in her first role. It's not amazing that she won an Oscar for it! The only thing in the least bit negative I can say about Audrey Hepburn, and it was a product of the times, is I've seen her in four films now: Charade, Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Roman Holiday and all four are romantic comedies. I think she was better than that. It's a pity that the studio system didn't allow her to do something else - with a bit more meaning than what we now call the "Rom-Com". The other thing I thought about Audrey Hepburn, especially in Roman Holiday was she sort of reminded me, in term of modern actresses, of Julia Roberts. Not in looks, obviously, but in type of role and in their approach to the role. Roberts can also do better than playing endless rom-coms against actors such as Hugh Grant.
But overall, I enjoyed Roman Holiday - and it will be a pleasure to watch it again and review it a second time for my project when I get to the R's. I also recommend this film - if you haven't seen it, do rent or buy it and enjoy the film. And the black and white adds to it - the layers of shading work very well. And directors of 1950s films and earlier knew how to film in black and white - Ann's white ball gowns, for example, practically glow. Whereas, the texture of Joe's suits is more notable when you aren't distracted by color. Wyler could have filmed the film in Technicolor (which has been around since 1938 or 1939) but he choose to film in black and white - thus using lighter cameras, allowing for more movement and a better feel - which also added to the film's real location filming.
--Olivia
PS: Comments are welcome!
