Roman Holiday, William Wyler (U.S., 1953): Gregory Peck: An Agreeable Gentleman

Film - Feature | June 16 | 8:30 p.m. |  PFA Theater

Sponsor: Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive

A backwards Cinderella story with an unexpected moral: “Life isn’t always what one likes.” Young princess Audrey Hepburn decides to go incognito in Rome, trading fairy-tale opulence for the enchantment of “ordinary” life. American reporter Gregory Peck picks her up, and realizes he has a scoop on his hands; princess and hack try to hide their respective identities, but they can’t conceal their growing feelings for each other. Shot entirely on location, Roman Holiday tempers its touristic pleasures with a note of melancholy. In a performance that is cynical and tender by turns, Peck conveys the understanding that holidays are temporary, and not all fairy tales have happy endings. Juliet Clark

Written by Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton, from a story by Dalton Trumbo. Photographed by Frank F. Planer, Henri Alekan. With Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Margaret Rawlings, Hartley Power. (118 mins, B&W, 35mm, From Paramount Pictures)

Tickets: $5.50 BAM/PFA Members and UC Berkeley, staff, students, and faculty,  $6.50 UC Berkeley faculty and staff, non-UC Berkeley students, senior citizens (65 & over), disabled persons, and youth (17 & under),  $9.50 Adults (18-64)

Event Contact: bampfa@berkeley.edu, (510) 642-1412