By Jack Shanley

Seventy years on and ‘Roman Holiday’ is still inspiring rom-coms of the 21st century.
It’s a fun, heart-warming and deep film with quite a basic story, starring Gregory Peck as the cool masculine news reporter and the wonderfully elegant Audrey Hepburn as Princess Ann. Overwhelmed by her suffocating schedule, touring Europe, Princess Ann (Hepburn) decides to take off for the night while in Rome. When a sedative she took earlier from her doctor finally kicks in, she falls asleep on a park bench and is later found by an American news reporter, Joe Bradley (Peck), who takes her back to his apartment for safety. At work next morning, Joe discovers Ann’s real identity and bets his editor that he can get an exclusive interview but romance quickly gets in the way. ‘Roman Holiday’, made in 1953, is the reason we love cinema. It’s a film that ages like fine wine and is still as entertaining as ever. Great American screenwriter Dalton Trumbo urges us to commit to life’s simple pleasures - money and status alone cannot create meaning and happiness. The classic steals our hearts, from the amazing scenes in which we see Ann get her haircut, to the iconic Vespa bike scene and on to the thrilling barge fight scene. We are ever poised for the next scene to capture our hearts once again, and with the ending being so beautiful, it will make your heart peel like an orange. The amazingly graceful Hepburn lights up our screen for the first time, her beauty, elegance and sense of fashion, making her an instant icon and one of Hollywood’s brightest stars. She didn’t just win our hearts in the end but also the Academy Award for Best Actress. This is a magical film the likes of which I don’t think we’ll ever see again and is still so fresh after all these years. I can’t help but give it FIVE stars. You can watch ‘Roman Holiday’ on Sky Cinema or buy it on DVD for €9.99 at Tower Records. Director: William Wyler – Rating: PG – Genre: Romance/Comedy – Run Time: 1h 58m – Language: English/Italian. For more film content please follow @movies4fanatics on Instagram.