The film was a colossal failure in its initial realease; it is often called a 'turkey'. I'd have to disagree pretty strongly with that assessment. Its biggest problem, at least for American audiences, is that it is--well, so French. Even though the screenplay was written by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola, the cast is nearly all French--some of the biggest French stars of the 1960s. Americans are relegated to cameo roles.
Americans also disliked the film because it claims that the French, not the Americans, liberated Paris. That notion has never gone down well on this side of the pond. But if you read the book (and just about any other account of the incident), it's clear that the Americans and British wanted to bypass Paris. They had good reason for doing so--Patton argued that he would save enough gasoline to make the Rhine by the end of August and end the war by Christmas.
The Parisian insurrection in mid-August made those plans pretty questionable, but it was DeGaulle's threat to withdraw his forces and march on Paris, together with horror at the destruction of Warsaw (which Stalin was 'bypassing' at the same time), that changed things. Even so, the Allies let French Gen. LeClerc take the city, because they still had hopes of maintaining the momentum of their main thrust toward the Rhine.
If you are a Freedom-Fry lover, you probably won't like this film. If you are interested in this period of history, read the book first, but definitely watch the movie. Some reviews criticize this movie for dubbing it's French actors (many of whom dubbed their own lines into English). I certainly would have preferred the movie that way, and I dearly wish someone would restore it with French dialog. But, had that been done, about 85% of the movie would have been in French. That's a hard sell in America, whether the year is 1966 or 2006.
Finally the movie is in black and white, except, oddly enough, for the end credits. Many assume that's because of the amount of archive footage incorporated into the movie. But the real reason is that the French government refused to allow the Nazi flag to fly over any Parisian buildings for the exterior shots. A compromise was worked out where limited display of the swastika was permitted, but only on a gray flag (rather than a red one). During filming, one elderly Parisian stumbled across a couple of extras in German uniforms and ran off screaming "They're back!"
But in 1966. the era of black and white was over, and the use of B&W was the third strike against this film for American audiences. It's a shame, because this film really does a great job of showing how German Gen. Von Choltitz saved the city, at considerable risk to himself and, ultimately, his family. His reason? He concluded that Hitler was insane, and that the destruction of Paris would do nothing to improve the German military position. "If I thought that destroying Paris would aid our war effort," he said, "then I would not hesitate to burn it to the ground. But that is not the case."
Recommended for WW II buffs and those who love Paris.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
The dreadful question "Is Paris burning?" was put by Hitler himself to the German commander of Paris and closes the film story.It anticipated the mad politic he will follow in the last year of WWII: burn it all, destroy it all (enemy or German alike).
The fate Paris eluded occurred to Warsaw, when the Soviet "liberators" decided to stop their march towards Germany, allowing the Nazis to destroy the City and annihilate the pro western resistance.
The film is based on the book of the same title written by Collins and Lapierre and is a very good visual transcription.
The late French director Réne Clément has signed other remarkable movies on the WWII subject as "La Battaille du Rail" (1946 The Battle of the Rails) and the poetic story "Jeux Interdits" (1952 Forbidden Games), but in my opinion the present film is his best ever.
Structured similarly to "The Longest Day" or "A Bridge to Far" it collects many short anecdotes performed by well known actresses & actors. From the cast we may point out as outstanding in their characterizations: Jean-Paul Belmondo as Yvess Morandat, Gert Fröebe as General von Choltitz , Orson Welles as Consul Nordling, Leslie Caron as Françoise Labé, selected from a very good collection of acting work.
The black and white photography, from Marcel Grignon, enhances the story; it makes you feel more "there". Some images are paradigmatic: the long line of German soldiers going up the stairs at the side of the Seine River; the crossing of the "no-man-lands" by the Resistance emissary; the young French students being massacred by the Gestapo; the Resistance members attacking the Panzer almost bare handed and so on. The list is longer as the film gives no respite until the end.
Last but not least the original music from Maurice Jarre, specially the "leitmotiv", is bonus to the whole movie.
I think a broad audience may enjoy this film.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
Best Deals for Is Paris Burning? (1968)
I fail to understand why a film company would go through the process of cleaning up a negative for DVD and not bother trying to source the original soundtrack for the same DVD. There must exist, somewhere, the original language soundtrack to "Is Paris Burning?" as least in some form. Even an original mono soundtrack included as a bonus would have done the trick.As it stands, what we get looks like the version that was done a few years ago for the NTSC video release.
The film itself looks clean and clear and it's a nice enough anamorphic transfer. The dubbed soundtrack, for what it's worth is clear, but nothing spectacular. But after all it is a 1966 film. The major problem technically, is that it quickly becomes very irritating seeing all these actors performances reduced to a level of stupidity because their words don't match their mouth movements. Dubbing has never sat right on foreign films and this is no exception. It was and always will be a bad solution for idiots who cannot / will not read subtitles. It's never a good alternative. At least the Region 1 DVD has a French soundtrack. But then EVERYONE will speak French. The Region 2 version I watched didn't. Bizarrely, only Spanish and Italian were included!
The story itself concerns the German attempts to prepare to hold Paris in the face of overwhelming odds. As well as the advancing Allied armies, the Germans also have to deal with the various resistance groups that are building up in the City itself. The films portrayal of the Nationalist and Communist groups however is confused and disjointed. It looks like a deliberate attempt though to make it look like the resistance groups were essentially fighting for the same things...which historically was not correct. I also suspect the producers wished to tone down the Communist element, who were the new "bad guys" in the 1960's, so that the film would do better box office in the States. There are hints are the inter-group rivalry, but the viewer is left unclear why they exist. Either way, it is far more defined in the book that the film is based on.
Most of the performances are good and it's a joy to spot so many faces on the screen. Gert Frobe (ahem...Goldfinger) deserves special mention as General von Choltitz, the Paris Garrison commander. He has the dubious decision of choosing to carry out the Fuhrer's order to "destroy Paris" or to leave the City intact. Historically, of course, it would have been an absolute impossibility for the German's to destroy the city given the parameters involved, but the choice to obey or disobey still remained.
There are a number of cameos too from US stars, such as Anthony Perkins and Glenn Ford, but this really is a film about the French during the end of the Paris occupation.
As a whole it isn't a bad film, but isn't really a good film either. I felt somewhat empty at the end and disappointed too with some un-necessary bog standard "evil German" representations. In the main though, the German's are presented as human. The French are presented as nothing but heroic and noble, which is to be expected, I suppose, but I would have liked to have seen more of the intergroup rivalry that took place in reality. The "good guy/bad guy" polemic just doesn't cut it for a cynical post-Vietnam/Iraq audience anymore.
I can't really recommend "Is Paris Burning" in this format to be honest, but if you don't mind dubbing, sometimes confusing plot structure and a near 3 hour running time, then you may enjoy it. A version with the original French, German and English soundtrack would have been a winner, but the producers missed the boat on that one.
Bottom line is rent instead of buy.
Honest reviews on Is Paris Burning? (1968)
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.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Is Paris Burning? (1968)
This all star international cast does an excellent job of portraying the events leading up to the liberation of Paris in August 1944. The film tells the story from the perspective of the German and French forces with some participation, it seems, from US forces.This film is a good overview of general activities in the battle but to fully understand the events leading up to the revolt by the French Undergound against German occupation forces, one needs to read the book by the same name and other military history. Internal frictions within the underground is downplayed in the film. The treatment of the German occupation force is good and makes a clear distinction between the military occupation force and the Gestapo in their actions during the battle.
This film gives good treatment to a high point in French history and presents a balanced, thoughtful film.
The theme music is unforgetable and captures the spirit of Paris in August 1944. This should be in all historical film collections.
No comments:
Post a Comment