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Roman Holiday (1953) and Sabrina (1954) - Audrey Hepburn

PostPosted:Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:46 am
by Julius Seeker
Got 4 Audrey Hepburn movies: Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Charade, and How to Steal a Million. I have previously seen Robin and Marian (long ago now) and Breakfast at Tiffany's (which I think just about any movie viewer will enjoy).

Audrey Hepburn - it is easy to see, after watching these two movies, how she always seems to rank near the top of the best actresses of all time charts, and flat out top lists as the most beautiful woman of the last 100 years. I do think that she will continue to top those lists - don't get me wrong, there are a lot of beautiful actresses, but she was something a more than that.

Roman Holiday - This is a rather simple princess movie, similar to the one Anne Hathaway did for Disney, except much better. Although, unlike Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), it does have an old movie feel to it; it has that sort of old monotone orchestrated music that is characteristic of 40's and 50's movies. Hard to believe how far cinematography came between 53 and 61. That's not to say that this is not a very enjoyable movie; it is. She earned the Oscar for best actress for it afterall, and it was her debut. It also stars Gregory Peck who is often cited as being one of the top actors of all time, although the Oscar he won for To Kill a Mockingbird should have gone to Peter O'Toole's outstanding performance as T.E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia.

Sabrina - is the opposite. She plays the daughter of a limo-driver who goes away to Paris, and comes back to be noticed by the two sons of the wealthy man her father drives limos for. It ends up being somewhat of a love triangle flick, but with a lot more charm than those types of movies have had in more recent decades. She had some excellent scenes with Humphrey Bogart in this movie. The themes and ideals of the 1950's are a little outdated by our standards - more traditional; that said, there is an unparalleled amount of charm that these movies have when compared to later flicks.




This interview that she did on Donahue close to the end of her life, gives a lot of insight into her life and character as a living human being. It begins with her recounting her experience living under the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. It goes on to describe how her family and the people around her were all helped so much by the red cross; a cause which she would become involved with for the rest of her life, and eventually become the face of UNICEF - but saying she was the face of the organization severely underestimates her involvement, she was someone who worked on the field for them. It's 4 parts long, here's the start of it:



I am going to watch Charade and How to Steal a Million probably this weekend or next.