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Movies / On DVD / Roman Holiday
Roman Holiday

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Roman Holiday (1953)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:40

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.2/10

Consensus: With Audrey Hepburn luminous in her American debut, Roman Holiday is as funny as it is beautiful, and sets the standard for the modern romantic comedy.

Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: This classic romantic comedy introduced Audrey Hepburn to audiences as a modern-day princess. Stifled by her royal entourage on a trip to Rome, Hepburn's Princess Ann escapes to explore the Italian... This classic romantic comedy introduced Audrey Hepburn to audiences as a modern-day princess. Stifled by her royal entourage on a trip to Rome, Hepburn's Princess Ann escapes to explore the Italian city on her own. While incognito, she falls in love with an American newspaperman, Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck). When Bradley learns of Ann's true identity, he finds himself torn between following his nose for news--and turning her into a big story--or the growing affections of his heart. A hit in 1953, ROMAN HOLIDAY won Hepburn an Academy Award for Best Actress, and was also notable for its Oscar-winning story by then-blacklisted Dalton Trumbo (credited as Ian McLellan Hunter). [More]

Starring: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Tullio Carminati

Starring: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Tullio Carminati, Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams, Margaret Rawlings, Paolo Carlini

Director: William Wyler

Director: William Wyler
Producer: William Wyler
Screenwriter: Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton
Composer: Georges Auric

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Roman Holiday

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The movie remains a great tonic.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The mix of silly comedy and innocent love turns the viewer into a willing tourist.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Timeless, exuberant classic, with Hepburn's naïve sense of fun and perfectly charming performance matched equally by Peck's lauche and charismatic worldy American.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/30/03
David Parkinson
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[An] unfailingly lovely fairy tale.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/01/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
01/23/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Roman Holiday is [Audrey Hepburn's] perfect picture.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar and popular acclaim in this story of a princess who breaks free of the palace and has a fling with Gregory Peck.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

For lovers of romantic comedies through the ages, Roman Holiday remains a favorite.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
04/01/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

The film itself is a classic of romantic wish fulfillment, exactly the sort of beautiful lie that Hollywood specialized in.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
01/24/03
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

It's a beautiful snapshot into the past, both for the historic look of Rome and to witness the birth of the romantic comedy.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
11/19/08
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

Mixes the romantic comedy formula of an unlikely couple slowly falling in love with some classic slapstick to create a movie that's tough not to be delighted by.

Full Review Source: Movie Views | comment Comment
12/08/08
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

Roman Holiday (1953) is a delightful, captivating fairy-tale romance shot entirely on location in Rome, and produced and directed by one of Hollywood's most

Full Review Source: Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films

One of the best romantic films of all time.

Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
05/30/01
Matt Easterbrook
Matt Easterbrook
Matt's Movie Reviews

Hepburn is utterly beguiling in her star-making role opposite Peck in a delightful romantic comedy about a poised young princess of an unspecified European country who spends a magical day with an American reporter playing hooky.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
08/22/03
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

Paramount restored Roman Holiday for its release on DVD, and the result is crisp and glorious.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
12/20/02
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

The Roman travelogue is pleasant enough, and Audrey Hepburn is positively peerless.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
02/14/04
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

Wyler lays out all the elements with care and precision, but the romantic comedy never comes together -- it's charm by computer.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 3 Comments
08/13/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck are just magic together in this delightful romantic comedy, which is perhaps one of the happiest and most enjoyable films ever made.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Louise Keller
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile

The final moments of Roman Holiday are among the most moving and memorable of any romantic comedy I can think of

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
12/16/02
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

Wyler's direction is heavyhanded (imagine what Lubitsch or Capra would have done with the romantic tale), but the actors (Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, and Eddie Albert) are charming and on-location shoot in Rome is major benefit even if the film is b/w.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
02/16/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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