Roman Holiday [Remastered Blu-ray] [2020] [Region Free]

Movie received in good shape,

A wonderful romantic movie in the classic sense. Love Hepburn and Peck! This was a Valentine gift from my husband, best ever!

I had never seen this movie before although I had heard about it for years. It was good and I was surprised by the end.

We did not mind waiting a very long period of time for the Blu Ray version of Roman Holiday to arrive, as both my husband and I enjoy the cast and the sights bring back wonderful memories of our long ago trip to Italy and Rome. The problem began in the middle of a dramatic scene in the movie. The picture became distorted, moving quickly and then freezing. This continued during three to four scenes in the movie, we missed two of the most important locations and dialogue due to the difficulties. I told Amazon bout this problem and filled out the form twice, no help. Due to medical issues I must be very careful about possible infections, so my husband and I are camped out together. What we have found to be wrong, was that I was ignored both by Amazon which was surprising, and the movie company in England. A moments courtesy would have been so nice for a good customer. Mrs. T.J.

Great movie, but won't play on North American DVD players.

Je n'avais jamais vu ce vieux film et quelle belle histoire. Audrey est absolument magnifique, à croquer en fait, et elle dégage un charme incroyable. Je me suis presque marré à chaque instant tellement ceci est frais et amusant, avec une fin somme toute logique mais qui ne résume pas le film. Presque 2 heures qui passent vite. Vraiment superbe, je n'ai pas été déçu par ceci au contraire. Envie de (re)voir ses autres films.

There are apparently only a few basic plots which often recur, and the most popular of these is Cinderella. Roman Holiday might be described as the inverse of this plot. Instead of a lowly Cinderella we have a princess, and instead of going to a palace ball to meet Prince Charming, she escapes court life to meet an ordinary man.She has travelled from her own country (never identified) for a round of official visits and has finally tired of these, so much so that after a tantrum her doctor prescribes a sedative. Before this can take effect, she makes her escape from the embassy.She is found fast asleep by Joe Bradley, an American who works for a local news agency, played by Gregory Peck. Despite his efforts to avoid responsibility, he has reluctantly to take her back to his apartment. It is only next morning, when he sees pictures of the princess in a newspaper, that he realises who his guest is, and hatches a plot to gain a scoop.For the princess, after a sheltered upbringing, everyday life in the city is an exciting novelty, so he offers to show her around, having roped in a photographer, played by Eddie Albert, to document her experiences. She has her long hair styled by a barber, takes a scooter ride which involves the police, and causes a minor riot at dance on the river Tiber,Hepburn convincingly portrays the princess’s gradual change from the inexperienced girl, of the opening scenes, to a woman ready to impose her will on the courtiers at the end of the film. She was not the first choice for the role of the princess; Elizabeth Taylor and Jean Simmons were approached but were unavailable and Hepburn came on board after a screen test. Cary Grant turned down the role of the newsman, not wanting to play opposite an unknown, although she had appeared as Gigi on Broadway.It was only in the restored version of the film that Dalton Trumbo received the credit he deserved. This was the period of the McCarthy dominated House Un-American Activities Committee, which resulted in actors and writers, including Trumbo, being black-listed because they were suspected of Communist sympathies. In the revised credits he is listed only as contributing the story, but other sources claim that he co-wrote the script with John Dighton, and that Ian McLellan Hunter only fronted for him.Unusually for the time, when films were usually shot in the studio or the back lot, the film was entirely shot in Rome, with exteriors on location and interiors at the Cinecitta studio. Surprisingly the Ministry for Tourism initially refused permission for shooting despite its obvious advantages in publicising the country, but fortunately wiser counsels prevailed.There was speculation at the time that the film was inspired by the relationship between Princess Margaret and Group Captain Peter Townsend, but in fact it was completed before the real-life affair became public. Early on, as rushes became available, there was much talk of this amazing performance by a newcomer and Peck generously insisted that she was given equal billing, The film was nominated for the then record of ten Academy Awards, and went on to win three, for Hepburn’s performance, the script, and costume.This version of the film includes a DVD as well as the Blu-ray. Confusingly the original DVD extras are on the Blu-ray disc and include contributions from those involved, and features on the restoration and costumes. On the DVD there are fresh extras including an appreciation by Leonard Maltin, and features on Hepburn, Trumbo and Paramount in the 50s.It's a tribute to the film’s quality that it still comes up fresh nearly six decades later, when sadly none of those involved are around to appreciate this. In particular Hepburn’s distinctive voice, and dazzling smile are just as beguiling as when I first saw them, and will surely enchant generations yet to come.

This is probably best version of Roman Holiday we will get. The original negative was badly damaged by a film lab in Rome of all places. Paramount set about making a duplicate which from the original which had to be spliced back together with tape. They then blew the picture up few thousands of an inch to hide the tape. Every single frame was cleaned of dirt, scratches and damage. The result is a vibrant and beautiful looking version.The duplicate was scanned at 4K and we can only hope one day they will release a 4K Blu-ray but ... it is doubtful. Also because none of the original audio elements exist you will not get anything like a 5.1 audio version. The audio was corrected and cleaned though .This is a great version of Audrey's first starring role.However if you want to see her in true 4K glory ... get the new 4K Bluray of My Fair Lady.It is truly stunning,. A masterpiece of restoration and probably the new yardstick for 4K Blu-ray restorations.Having seen so many poor versions of this film it was an absolute pleasure to look at this clean vibrant version. Worth the tenner.

Item as described.

Very disappointed with the BD quality. On the cover it is written "remastered from a 4K film transfer" - really? Hard to believe. I thought it must have been upscaled from the 2002 master. The conspicuous lack of a feature on restoration is telling. (It does not certainly say that it was newly restored.) I purchased this together with the excellent BFI BD/DVD edition of "A Farewell to Arms" with Cooper, and that 20-years-older film does not look any inferior to this one!I waste no word of praise on the beloved classic itself.New are extra features (I have not viewed them all), in which people born decades later tells you what happened then as if they were there. It suddenly occurred to me that I contributed towards financing their fees by purchasing this latest issue. If you have the 2002 DVD, you can give this a pass.