Rating: 
Summary: A very odd and unforgettable movie
Review: I bought this Criterion Collection version of Children of Paradise because I had heard so much about the film. Yet, I did not know what it was about, or the style. It's quite long, and while I watched, I felt detached and somewhat bored. I marveled at the dialogue, which is extremely poetic and philosophical. Throughout I felt the leads were badly miscast. For example, Arletty, the female lead, seemed too old for the role, and she and the mime (Barrault) have no romantic chemistry whatsoever. It also feels that important chunks of the film are missing. For example, when Arletty has to flee Paris with the Count, the event happens off camera. It seems as if the director filmed the parts where there was no action, and asked the audience to fill in the blanks. Yet, although my comments sound negative, I am glad I saw this film. I will not forget the characters or the images. The experience felt as if reading a long, long romantic novel - where the episodes don't quite make sense, yet the meandering plot forms it own meaning. The extras included in the Criterion version make the entire package very special, and made me realize why so many film lovers appreciate this work.
Rating: 
Summary: A few more words and some related trivia
Review: I agree with the assessment that Les Enfants du Paradis is one of the greatest films of all time. To really appreciate it, one must view it repeatedly. (I believe I've watched it 50 times with ever-increasing admiration!) Only then can the subtleties of the integration of cinematography, acting, dialogue, choreography, and musical score be apprehended. The restoration is fantastic and the English subtitles are very good, though it's better to understand French.Viewers may also be interested to know that three of the four lovers of Garance (Frederick LeMaitre, the actor; Jean-Baptiste Gaspard Debureau, the mime; and Pierre Francois Lacenaire, the criminal) as well as the Funambules theatre and certain of the events in the storyline, are based upon historical fact. The character Garance is more archetypal--love in the eye of each beholder. Also, both of the male leads, Jean-Louis Barrault (Baptiste) and Pierre Brasseur (Frederick), strongly identified with the historical personages they were playing--so much so that they admitted they felt they were living rather than acting their roles. For the curious, Jill Forbes' book, Les Enfants du Paradis (published by BFI Classics and available through Amazon), provides a great deal of fascinating information about the making and meanings of this film.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: Certainly in the top ten greatest movies ever made, Les Enfants du Paradis would be a miraculous film under any circumstances - making a lavish, beautiful, grand-scale film about liberty and freedom while the Germans were still occupying Paris is an incredible achievement. It is a gorgeous, deep movie revolving around the love-lives of the actors in a tawdry theatre in a rough part of Paris - along "The Boulevard of Crime" as Jacques Prevert's immaculate, poetic script has it. Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) refers to the poor people who sit in the cheap seats at that theatre - in the area we would call "the Gods". If that is meant to imply that this movie is cheap entertainment, it is certainly ironic. This is a vivid, complex film with a Dickensian scope that shows society from the bottom - its criminals - to its top - the aristocracy. It's a long film certainly, but never dull. It's an utterly engrossing affair with some of the most memorable scenes in the history of world cinema - wait until you see Baptiste mime the stealing of the watch; it's funny and moving. The acting is immaculate, the direction superb. It's as close to perfection as you could possibly wish, and will move you through every emotion. You will watch it again and again and each time you will love it more. Perfect.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This film is a glittering gem from the early days of motion pictures. Shot in B&W in Paris when the City of Light was under German Occupation during WWII, it tells the story of a French mime and the wrenching love dramas he gets caught up in between his sublime performances. But the film is so much more than that- its a microcosm of mid nineteenth-century Paris complete with costume, sets and an acurate depiction of Parisian society at the time. In this respect it boarders on epic. Barrault's ultimate rejection hits like sharp spike due to the repercussions it has on himself and others around him. The high society of Paris has a coolness which stems from experience which Barrault comes cavorting into like a reckless child- and how the glass shatters. The acting is superb and the smoothness of the direction and film style is stunning. Its a long film- I think over three hours, and it is spoken in French with English subtitles. But it is a timeless and majestic works by the early French director Marcel Carne. Its amazing that he made this film inconspicuously to to avoid run-ins with the German troops who constantly encrouched upon his film studio. Today many very bad films are made in multi-million dollar studios. Children of Paradise goes to show how real genius shines through.
Rating:
Summary: RESTORED TO ITS ORIGINAL BRILLIANCE
Review: Marcel Carne's masterpiece set in the theater district of early 19th century Paris has been restored to its original brilliance. Filmed during the Nazi occupation of France, it is ripe with visual beauty and reality.
Rating: 
Summary: **
Review: I rented this after seeing Marlon Brando's comment that it is "maybe the best picture ever made." But I didn't like it, and I think perhaps if I'd seen it in its own time, I may have liked it, but it's terribly dated. Not that I would have liked it even so, but, what is sure, I couldn't wait for it to end.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest french film ever
Review: It's hard to put in words the essential terms which describe that brilliant masterpiece .
Marcel Carne and Jacques Prevert made an eternal film. The poetry envolves the plot from start to end. The locations, the superb performances of Barrault like the mime and Maria Casares are amazing. The atmosphere you breathe since the first sequence , seems to carry us to another dimension, to that extatic experience that trascends us. When an artistic expression gets it (like Beethoven's Eroica or Miguel Angel's Sixtine ) , becomes unique due to its originality. Carne gave us big remarkable films like Le jour se leve, The night visitors , Les portes de la nuit, Le quai de brumes and Therese Raquin, but none of them will reach the height of that monumental work . A must for every human being , in any age, because like a genuine masterpiece, it goes far away its historical circunstance and maintains the eternal freshness for all the eternity.
A venezuelan poet (Rafael Cadenas) said once upon a time: "The genius is always contemporean" .
And the rest is silence (Shakespeare - Julius Caesar)
Rating:
Summary: love is simple.
Review: under the conditions of pure magic - a fairytale - i'd find it rather difficult to believe that a person would be unable to enjoy this movie. for soldiers of love, fizzled cynics in contempt against the modern world, and artists interested in exploring - from outside oneself - the metaphysical relationship with his or her muse - i doubt there's a more perfect film than 'children of paradise'. the criterion dvd is loaded with features, though, save for the wonderful and poetic commentary, most of them are completely worthless and unnecessary. they could have done us a lot more favors. perhaps when the next great video medium comes around, the 'children of paradise' release will have more bonus featurettes and what not. but as for now, the transfer is exquisite. the sound is great. and the movie, of course, is perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Children of the Theater
Review: A timeless story about the price of art, set in 19th century Paris. 'Paradise' is the name of the theater where the actors struggle to ply thir craft. It's meant as a double entendre, since it is at once both paradise and hell. The main action plot cosists of a love triangle between remarkable characters. The actors are magnificent, including Marcel Marceau's teacher, the great mime, Jean Barrault. This classic was shot during the occupation, and many actors and stagehands literally risked their lives to finish the project, including the director, Marcel Carne. This is perhaps the best French film of all time. Certainly among the top five. I could name 'Grand illusion' and 'Beauty and the Beast' , but then would be hard pressed to come up with another in the same league. Magical.
Rating:
Summary: Epic story, Great visuals
Review: Wait for a long rainy day to watch this one to truly enjoy it.It's a bit long but very worth it. Jean Louis Barrault is fabulous as the mime.
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