Enchanting is the word that comes to mind to describe "Roman Holiday". It's got that escape from reality wonder about it that might be envied even by royalty. Audrey Hepburn is luminous in her first American film appearance, allowing the viewer to believe that she really could pull off the disappearing act for twenty fours hours for the purpose of living life on a 'fun schedule'.
I was impressed by how much mileage Princess Ann got out of that five thousand lira note; could one really buy sandals, a haircut and a cone of gelato all for less than a dollar and a half in 1953? That would have made Joe Bradley's (Gregory Peck) five thousand dollar payday close to a king's ransom, or at least a princess's. Bradley's put into a predicament when Ann comments on his sacrifice to spend the day showing her around Rome; she describes it as 'completely unselfish'. By that time, one gets the idea that just maybe he'll wind up doing the right thing.
Slow to pick up on Bradley's non verbals, photographer Irving Radovich (Eddie Albert) bears the brunt of Joe's spilled drinks and takes a pratfall or two. Sadly, one of his remarks to Joe brought to mind the unending scrutiny suffered in real life by Princess Diana - "She's fair game Joe, it's always open season on princesses." Odd how art imitating life, in this case predicting it, could end in such tragedy.
It was heartwarming then to see how Joe and Irving turned their back on a story, and instead opted to reaffirm humanity. The finale is both uplifting and bittersweet, echoing one of Gregory Peck's lines to Hepburn earlier in the story - "Life isn't always what one likes, is it?"
I was impressed by how much mileage Princess Ann got out of that five thousand lira note; could one really buy sandals, a haircut and a cone of gelato all for less than a dollar and a half in 1953? That would have made Joe Bradley's (Gregory Peck) five thousand dollar payday close to a king's ransom, or at least a princess's. Bradley's put into a predicament when Ann comments on his sacrifice to spend the day showing her around Rome; she describes it as 'completely unselfish'. By that time, one gets the idea that just maybe he'll wind up doing the right thing.
Slow to pick up on Bradley's non verbals, photographer Irving Radovich (Eddie Albert) bears the brunt of Joe's spilled drinks and takes a pratfall or two. Sadly, one of his remarks to Joe brought to mind the unending scrutiny suffered in real life by Princess Diana - "She's fair game Joe, it's always open season on princesses." Odd how art imitating life, in this case predicting it, could end in such tragedy.
It was heartwarming then to see how Joe and Irving turned their back on a story, and instead opted to reaffirm humanity. The finale is both uplifting and bittersweet, echoing one of Gregory Peck's lines to Hepburn earlier in the story - "Life isn't always what one likes, is it?"