As a Humphrey Bogart fan, I was exposed to the delight that is [[[Sabrina]]] back in high school and fell in love with the romantic comedy.  It has held up to repeated viewings through the years and makes you wonder why Paramount ever bothered to remake it.  If you forget, it starred Harrison Ford and was atrocious.

Instead, if you’re unfamiliar with the story hie thee to the store and buy the Centennial Collection edition, which is number three in a new series from Paramount Home Video. The two disc set is a treat.

First, you get the story set in East Egg, I mean Great Neck, when it was where the high society lived in the first half of the 20th century.  They were tended to by a full staff, many of who, lived on premises including the chauffeur’s daughter, Sabrina, played with wide-eyed charm by Audrey Hepburn.  Her father tends to drive Linus Larrabee (Bogart) to the New York offices of the family business. Linus works all day and worries about the company all night, never seeming to have fun.  His opposite is his younger brother David, played by William Holden.  He’s all carefree and never thinks about the business, just spending its profits.

Sabrina has just returned from cooking school in Paris and the time away has done her a world of good.  She looks older, more mature, and a different girl entirely so the Larrabees all have trouble recognizing her. She, though, continues to have only eyes for David, who is presently engaged, not that that stops him from encouraging a flirtation with “the chauffeur’s daughter”.  To keep David focused on the impending wedding; Linus begins spending time with Sabrina.  The rest, as they say, is magic.

Interestingly, depending upon which featurette you watch, Bogart either did or did not want to be in the film but certainly was beloved for taking on the part. The extras celebrate a social world that is long gone in Sabrina’s World then a long look at the wonderful supporting cast that enriched this and so many others films of the 1940s and 1950s.

The [[[Audrey Hepburn: Fashion]]] Icon feature looks at how the film turned Hepburn into a fashion icon and spotlighted Hubert de Givenchy’s designs. Although Edith Head got all the credit for the film, Hepburn’s lifelong devotion to Givenchy paid dividends.

Holden gets the full bio treatment in a 24 minute mini-documentary and the [[[Behind the Gates]]] feature this time looks at the camera. Paramount in the ‘50s makes it third appearance in the series and the disc is rounded out with stills and trailers.

These first three films in the series celebrate all that was right with Hollywood i the 1950s when movies could be smart, looked good, and were well acted.  And in every case, they were about something while providing entertainment.

When it opened, Roman Holiday enchanted a world that had largely never really seen Italy.  The film was one of the first filmed entirely on a foreign location and it became as much a travelogue to a post-World War II America as it was a fresh romantic tale about a princess and a commoner. The second film in Paramount Home Video’s Centennial Collection, it has been cleaned up and remastered, looking sharper and richer than previous editions.

The film introduced the world to Audrey Hepburn, the fresh-faced gamine who became an instant star and fashion trend-setter. Paired with the relaxed Gregory Peck, they made an engaging couple as the two spent a full day seeing the sights.  She’s Princess Ann, in Rome as part of a European tour and tired of her over-scheduled, protected life.  When she escapes for a day off, she strikes up a friendship with American journalist Joe Bradley (Peck).  They go off to explore the city, opening his eyes to a less cynical world as she sees the real people of the city.  They’re tailed by Eddie Albert in a beatnik beard, who’s playing a cameraman smelling a scoop.  It’s poignant, funny, romantic, and a delight that has held up through the years, thanks to a sharp script from Dalton Trumbo.

Trumbo was one of the celebrated screenwriters pilloried during the Congressional witch hunt seeking Communists throughout Hollywood.  His credit was withheld from the film for fifty years but it proudly restored here and his heroism is recounted in [[[Dalton Trumbo: From A-List to Blacklist]]], one of the all new features.  Interesting, most of the extras from the 2002 disc are gone with the exception of Restoring [[[Roman Holiday]]] which is a fascinating look at the process.

Being Hepburn’s debut, she is spotlighted in the thirty minute career piece, [[[Audrey Hepburn: The Paramount Years]]], followed by [[[Remembering Audrey]]], which looks at her affect on the world and her charitable efforts.

Behind the Gates: Costumes is part of the series’ look at the filmmaking process and spotlights legendary costumer Edith Head although we have a look at random clothes from various films that have been carefully preserved.  We also get Paramount in the ‘50s once more which practically is an ad for future titles in this welcome series.

You get a look at Rome at a time when the war debris had been cleaned up and the city hadn’t been filled to the brim with tourists and cars. The antics are innocent and the characters a little thin but certainly enjoyable.  The film holds up and is well celebrated here.

On December 2, Metalocalypse: Season Two will be released by Warner Home Video. Along with featuring all the latest escapades of destruction, murder and mayhem from Dethklok — the world’s most brutal and incompetent heavy metal band — this long-awaited release features a plethora of bonus features that fans will have to find. That’s right. Anything worthwhile demands some work after all! This perfect stocking stuffer arrives after Dethklok’s debut CD — Dethklok: The Dethalbum — became the fastest selling death metal album of all time, debuting at #21 on the Billboard Top 100 list.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume 6 follows on December 16. For the first time, creators Dave Willis (Squidbillies) and Matt Maiellero (12 Oz. Mouse) will debut four never-before-seen episodes on the DVD, along with nine others from the series’ sixth season. The DVD is also loaded with bonus materials including "I’m Pissed" — Carl Sports Blogs, the "Radical Axis Presents Radical Axis Presents" behind-the-scenes featurette, commentary and more! In this latest installment, Frylock, Master Shake and Meatwad once again join forces with their lewd neighbor Carl and do their best impersonation of crime fighters who never actually come close to fighting crime.
 

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