Roman Holiday (Wyler, 1953): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 6.20pm & NFT2, 8.30pm
This film starts an extended run at the cinema. More details here.
Time Out review:
This has the hallmarks of a Billy Wilder picture - Americans abroad,
masquerades leading to moral transformation - and Wilder would doubtless
have turned it into a blazing masterpiece. Wyler's style was not
particularly suited to comedy - the film is a little long, a little
heavy at times, the spontaneity a little over-rehearsed - and he simply
makes a wonderfully enjoyable movie. Hepburn is the Princess bored with
protocol who goes AWOL in Rome; Peck (Holden would have been better,
edgier) is the American journalist who has the scoop fall into his lap;
and Albert (the best performance) is the photographer who has to snap
all of Hepburn's un-royal escapades. This sort of thing was churned out
by Lubitsch in the '30s, on the Paramount back-lot; Wyler went on
location, and in 1953 that was a real eye-opener, Hollywood's answer to
neo-realism. The movie remains a great tonic.
Adrian Turner
Here is the trailer.
No comments:
Post a Comment