Is Paris Burning?
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charles Boyer, George Chakiris, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Leslie CaronBrand: BELMONDO,JEAN-PAUL
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 173 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of Is Paris Burning?
Movie Review: Its few flaws do not distract from its excellence
Summary: 5 Stars
The DVD "Is Paris Burning?" deserves 10 stars. It is compelling history come alive. With an amazing musical score, an all star cast, and a fascinating story, this film is a total winner.
Whereas I enjoyed watching some of the great actors of American and France, such as Orson Wells, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Anthony Perkins, Robert Stack, Simone Signoret, Yves Montand, and Gert Froebe; the city of Paris entrapped in the march of history is the real star of this film.
Gert Froebe does a super job as General von Choltitz, the Nazi Commander of Paris. He is given direct orders from Adolf Hitler to burn Paris upon recieving an order directly from Hitler himself. The Swedish consul Nordling, played by Orson Wells, tries to convince him not to destroy Paris due to its significance to Western Civilization. In the end General von Choltitz decides not to destroy Paris primarily because it serves no rational purpose. The General is a military strategist and he recognizes that Germany has lost the war and the burning of Paris makes no strategic sense. Thus a sane man disobeys an insane man and the city is saved.
The film is almost documentary in style, shot in black and white with historic films integrated into the rest of movie. Francis Ford Coppola and Gore Vidal's screenplay uses characters to tell the story but the story does not center upon any one character. The city of Paris remains the star. This is the way of history. We are all swept up in historic time and whereas we feel we are the star of our own lives, we are cameo bit-part players in the drama of history. Coppola and Vidal captured this philosophical point perfectly.
The photography of Paris throughout the film is super. Extremely unique views of every famous landmark allow you to see Paris higlighted in a way that no other city has been highlighted in a film. The film was actually shot in front of all these major landmarks and they never looked better.
There are many wonder compelling scenes that stick in your mind after seeing this film. The Gestapo double cross of French students; the journey of one lone Resistance fighter across German lines to reach General Patton and General Bradley; and then the wonderful scenes of the liberation of the city. The scenes where the French and Americans invade the city, are joined by the French resistance as street fighters, fight the last of the German army resistance, and try to control the outpouring Parisian crowds, are wonderful.
This film is superb, you will not be disappointed.
Summary of Is Paris Burning?
Epic story of the Allied Resistance in France and the liberation of Paris in 1944.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 1-MAR-2004
Media Type: DVD
This big-budget, star-studded epic 1966 French film features well-known actors from both Europe and America in the story of the final battles over the liberation of Paris at the end of the Second World War. Is Paris Burning? tells the story from all perspectives, from the Nazis to the French resistance, allowing for star turns and cameos from an illustrious group of actors, including Jean-Paul Belmondo (Breathless), Kirk Douglas (Spartacus), Orson Welles (The Third Man), Leslie Caron, Glenn Ford, Charles Boyer, Anthony Perkins, and many others. As the members of the resistance fight for control of the city, the Nazis order the commander in Paris (Gert Fröbe) to burn the city if the resistance gains the upper hand. Written for the screen by author Gore Vidal and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, director René Clément's film hearkens back to the star-filled epics of America's heyday while retaining a modern French sensibility. --Robert Lane
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