Princess Anna’s Day Off
We offer you a summer movie set in Rome. Directed by William Wyler, and starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, Roman Holiday tells the story of an American newspaper reporter who meets a princess and liberates her from the confinement of her royal station for a romantic adventure in 1950s Rome for a classic royal and the commoner tale. The people and the scenery are beautiful, and the actors have lovely chemistry. The is among the earliest, and best of the 1950s-60s films that took Americans to a Europe that had finally begun recovering from the horrors of World War II.
Listen to this episode (58 minutes)
Show Notes
Old Movies, New Things: discs, books and other physical objects
- Blu-ray: Murder by Decree (Kino Lorber), Strike Up the Band (Warner Archive), House of Wax (Warner Archive), Romance on the High Seas (Warner Archive), Universal Horror Collection 5 (Scream Factory), Columbia Classics Ultra 4k HD Collection (Sony)
- Books about the Black cinematic experience
Sightings: what’s coming on TCM, streaming services, and the festival circuit
The Movie
Roman Holiday (1953) trailer
Available to stream, rent or buy digitally
- On disc: DVD, as part of The Audrey Hepburn Collection
Next Time
- We’ll watch Sullivan’s Travels (1941) available for purchase or digital rental, plus dicey free YouTube version
