Roman Holiday - 70th Anniversary (4K UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Paramount       
 Release Date: August 15, 2023
Rating:  Not Rated
Film:  5/5
 
 Plot
 Director William Wyler’s 1953 fairy tale was one of Hollywood’s first on-location motion pictures and memorably captures the bustling streets and iconic sites of Rome.  Roman Holiday expresses the exhilaration of joyously breaking free as the lead character escapes her royal obligations against the backdrop of post-war Europe embracing long-awaited peace.
 
The film features a legendary, Oscar-winning performance from Audrey Hepburn (in her first starring role), as a princess who, rebelling against her royal obligations, explores Rome on her own. She soon meets and American newspaperman (Gregory Peck) who pretends ignorance of her true identity, in the hopes of obtaining an exclusive story. Naturally, his plan falters as they inevitably fall in love.
 
Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was blacklisted for refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee and his name was not included in the film’s original credits.  In 1992 the Board of Governors of the Academy voted to finally credit Trumbo for the “Story Writing” Oscar and his widow received a statuette in 1993.  In 2011, the WGA restored Trumbo’s name to the screenwriting credits.  This is the first physical home entertainment release to correctly credit Dalton Trumbo with both the screenplay and story by credits both on packaging and the film itself.
 
 
 My Thoughts
 The only Audrey Hepburn film I had ever seen was Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which was made about eight years after this debut performance and it’s easy to see how she became one of the most iconic movie stars of the 1950s. For one, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. Second, her joyous personality is infectious. Finally, her million-dollar smile will melt your heart.
 
About the Restoration
The original negative was processed at a local film lab in Rome and was unfortunately badly scratched and damaged.  The film had to be pieced back together, but the splices were so weak due to the damage that extensive amounts of tape had to be used to allow the negative to make it through a printing machine.  Because of the fragile state of the negative, a Dupe Negative was made and then blown up a few thousandths of an inch to cover all the splice tape that held the original negative together.
 
In anticipation of this new Blu-ray release (and now 4K release as well), the film was digitally restored using the Dupe Negative and a Fine Grain element to capture the best possible image.  Every frame was reviewed, and the film received extensive clean up to remove thousands of scratches, bits of dirt, and other damage.  Because audio elements to properly up-mix to 5.1 do not exist, the original mono track was remastered, and minor anomalies were corrected.  The result is a film returned to its original vibrancy and beauty that remains true to director William Wyler’s vision. 
 
The film was then scanned into 4K for its Blu-ray release and I presume they utilized the that master for this release. The black and white photography is excellent—although Rome should be viewed in full color, but I digress—and the restoration is considered a job well done. Perfect? No, but given its age it’s probably the best it has looked. The Dolby TrueHD Mono track is about what you’d expect but at least the dialog is always intelligible.

  
 Video 4.5/5 
 
 Audio 4/5 (Dolby TrueHD Mono)
 
 Special Features:
 
·        Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on Roman Holiday            
·        Behind the Gates: Costumes
·        Rome with a Princess
·        Audrey Hepburn: The Paramount Years 
·        Dalton Trumbo: From A-List to Blacklist 
·        Paramount in the '50s: Remembering Audrey
·        Theatrical Trailers
·        Four Photo Galleries:  Production, The Movie, Publicity, The Premiere  
 

 
 

 Conclusion
 This is the second time I’ve seen the film in the past three years and it’s just as enjoyable the second time through. It’s a darn-near perfect film and a lot of fun and the chemistry between the leads is excellent, although still a bit uncomfortable given their massive age differences (Peck was twice as old as Hepburn). As I suspected at the time, I figured a 4K version would come eventually and I just wish the studio hadn’t waited 3 years between releases, but I’m sure the bean counters told them that this would maximize profits.
 

 Reference Review System:
  
 JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110” 2.35:1 Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Kaleidescape Strato + Server
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
Dual Rythmik FV15HP2
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling

PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner