Paris Is Burning
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Movie Reviews of Paris Is Burning
Movie Review: Colors of the Rainbow
Summary: 4 Stars
"Paris is Burning" is a fascinating 1990 documentary depicting the fabulous underside of gritty '80s NYC. The Big Apple was still rough around the edges. At the time, Times Square was seamy. In "Paris is Burning",the down-and-out (of the closet) have made a paradise of their own in the clubs.
"Paris is Burning" chronicles the lives of African-American and Latino gays, and defines their terms like "shade","reading" and of course,"voguing",the dance style they perfected. Their balls (usually held at the Elks Lodge in Harlem) weren't the usual drag balls. Some impersonate army officers; others impersonate executives. They mimic what they see as "straight white America." There are breakdancers. Some,like Octavia St. Laurent and Venus Xtravaganza, are famous for embodying femininity. An old drag queen, Dorian Corey,reflects on how the "houses" and their "children" have evolved from emulating silver screen icons like Marilyn Monroe to small screen divas like the ladies of Dynasty. Questions of gender identity, family, and sexuality are explored. Venus dreams of a white wedding to the man of his/her dreams. Another brags he'll never have a sex change operation. Pepper LaBeija reminisces,sadly,how his mother burned his mink coat. Two teenaged boys,their arms around each other,are joyful despite the fact their families kicked them out.
"Paris is Burning" is bittersweet. There's the pageantry of the balls,an escape from a difficult life. There's a longing for identity and family. Many of the people depicted came to tragic ends. Pepper LaBeija died from the complications of diabetes. Venus Xtravaganza was found strangled in his/her apartment. Choreographer Willi Ninja died from AIDS two years ago. When Dorian Corey died,a skeleton was found-literally-in his closet,a mummy underneath his bed. There is a sense of tragedy. Paris is burning,and it burns brightly.
Movie Review: Fabulous
Summary: 4 Stars
I've watched this video numerous times, and it still amazes me. The story line tells a story of triumph, struggle and identity, and the sadness of it all is that many of the young people who starred in this videos have died. However, Octavia, Willie, Dorian and the others display courage to tell their story.
Movie Review: Interesting
Summary: 3 Stars
Movie was good wonder where they are now? shows how gays have created there own world which they should not have to because we all was born into one world together just diffrent places.Movie Review: rm
Summary: 2 Stars
With all the five stars having been given this movie, I expected much more. The packaging of the DVD gives a false impression (looks nice on the outside but inside mostly repackaged old stuff.) While the historical context of gay life is worthy of perhaps four stars, the feature itself rates less. It is short at seventy-six minutes. The picture quality for this overpriced DVD is poor. The outtakes are very poor. They appear to be copied from an old worn out VHS tape with no remastering. Don't expect much from this DVD.Movie Review: For sure 70's
Summary: 2 Stars
I found it entertaining and interesting from a historical prospective, with a few interviews that allowed a glimpse of the real person, otherwise not much substance. My feel was that the way they approached was from a voyeuristic angle rather than one looking to gain insight.