Roman Holiday (1953)
Audrey Hepburn swans round Rome for the day with Gregory Peck and the city becomes the epitome of post war cool.
For those who haven't seen it, Hepburn plays a European princess who falls for an American reporter (Peck) during an official visit to Rome in the early fifties. However neither princess or reporter want the other to know who they are.
Whilst Gregory Peck is excellent (Is Peck ever not excellent?) it was the newcomer Hepburn who became the sensation in her debut major screen role. Elevated to equal headline billing on Peck's insistence during filming Hepburn positively shines.
It's credit to director William Wyler who wanted someone unlike the typical curvy Italian actresses of the day and he thought Hepburn the prime candidate saying "She was perfect ... his new star had no arse, no tits, no tight-fitting clothes, no high heels. In short a Martian. She will be a sensation" - He wasn't wrong.
It has just the right level of will they or won't they romance to avoid being saccharine and similarly honed levels of comedy. In fact it's a model in style and grace in both performances and script. It's beautifully shot by Wyler but even with all the superb compositions around the city his final shot of Peck walking out of the palace trumps them all.
A film to treasure.
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