Rating: 
Summary: A Very Very Enjoyable Film
Review: "Is Paris Burning?" (In France: "Paris brûle-t-il?") (1966) tells the story of the liberation of Paris at the end of World War II, as related by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins in their book of the same title. This book was extremely popular, especially in France, and to date has sold more than 20 million copies in more than a dozen languages. Apart from some dramatic liberties, the movie follows the book closely, and the documentary style of the book is taken over by the film. As a result, the film is episodic in nature without a single hero dominating the story. In that respect, and also because of its large mega-star cast, it is reminiscent of "The Longest Day," about the D-Day invasion, which preceded the events in this film by two-and-a-half months. This reviewer finds "Is Paris Burning?" the more interesting film. The title of the book and the film comes from Hitler's order that Paris be defended to the end and that the city be completely demolished before it can be recaptured by the Allies. While this threat certainly pervades the film, it is the story of the Liberation itself, mostly by the French Resistance, which is the dominant story. The film has a multi-national cast, with American actors playing Americans, French actors play Frenchmen, and German actors playing Germans. Unfortunately, the American producers of the film insisted on larger-than-life American stars for the American roles, which detracts slightly from the film. The French and German stars, who have always been much more low-key than their American counterparts, do not present as great a distraction for the audience. Fortunately, with the exception of Orson Welles, who is one of the few actors with a persistant role in the film and whose acting is wonderfully understated, the American movie stars make only cameo appearances. The French actors too appear for the most part in only a single episode and then disappear for the rest of the film, but, unlike the American stars, their scenes are much longer. This is essentially a French movie, with a French director (René Clément). It is probably much the better for it. What is truly unfortunate is that the French and English soundtracks on the DVD are monotonously monolingual with non-English or non-French speakers overdubbed according to the language of the soundtrack. I remember having seen this film in a trilingual version with subtitles for the French and German dialogue. In many cases, the English dubbing on the DVD was done by the original actors. Leslie Caron's and Simone Signoret's voices, for example, are unmistakable. English dubbing was not a possibility for Gert Froebe (as General von Chotlitz, the German commander of Paris), whose command of English was only slightly better than that of my neighbor's cocker spaniel. When the original foreign actors were not fluent in English, the English dubbing was done sometimes by Americans and Britons, so that many French and Germans sound inauthentic in the English soundtrack. The situation is even worse on the French soundtrack. None of the French dubbers for the Americans has an American accent. There is the vestige of a French subtitle track on the DVD, unannounced on the cover but selectable with my remote. It becomes invisible, however, after the opening credits. Before that, Germans speak German on the French soundtrack. When I watch this DVD, I frequently flip between French and English soundtracks with my remote. I really like this film, even if it is not a "great" film. (For much greater, but less exciting, Clément films, watch "Forbidden Games" and "Purple Noon.") The week or so that the film covers was very complex, and, thankfully, the film did not choose to trivialize it. I wish that Paramount had included a trilingual soundtrack for "Is Paris Burning?," but one must be thankful for what one has. If you generally enjoy History Channel documentaries, or if you enjoyed "The Longest Day," you will enjoy this film even more. Just don't expect your typical hero-centered war movie. Hopefully, now that the DVD has appeared, the book will reappear in English. If you like the movie, you will like the book, which contains many more stories of the Liberation. It is still a big seller in France, where the bullet holes (now almost sacred) in the building facades of Paris are still visible, and Parisians easily recognize the streets in the film. If you do not know Paris and you buy the book, you will learn the names of these streets and can follow the action on a map. After you have watched the film, you can even go to Paris and see the reminders of the Liberation up close....
Rating:
Summary: A Very Very Enjoyable Film
Review: "Is Paris Burning?" (In France: "Paris brûle-t-il?") (1966) tells the story of the liberation of Paris at the end of World War II, as related by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins in their book of the same title. This book was extremely popular, especially in France, and to date has sold more than 20 million copies in more than a dozen languages. Apart from some dramatic liberties, the movie follows the book closely, and the documentary style of the book is taken over by the film. As a result, the film is episodic in nature without a single hero dominating the story. In that respect, and also because of its large mega-star cast, it is reminiscent of "The Longest Day," about the D-Day invasion, which preceded the events in this film by two-and-a-half months. This reviewer finds "Is Paris Burning?" the more interesting film. The title of the book and the film comes from Hitler's order that Paris be defended to the end and that the city be completely demolished before it can be recaptured by the Allies. While this threat certainly pervades the film, it is the story of the Liberation itself, mostly by the French Resistance, which is the dominant story. The film has a multi-national cast, with American actors playing Americans, French actors play Frenchmen, and German actors playing Germans. Unfortunately, the American producers of the film insisted on larger-than-life American stars for the American roles, which detracts slightly from the film. The French and German stars, who have always been much more low-key than their American counterparts, do not present as great a distraction for the audience. Fortunately, with the exception of Orson Welles, who is one of the few actors with a persistant role in the film and whose acting is wonderfully understated, the American movie stars make only cameo appearances. The French actors too appear for the most part in only a single episode and then disappear for the rest of the film, but, unlike the American stars, their scenes are much longer. This is essentially a French movie, with a French director (René Clément). It is probably much the better for it. What is truly unfortunate is that the French and English soundtracks on the DVD are monotonously monolingual with non-English or non-French speakers overdubbed according to the language of the soundtrack. I remember having seen this film in a trilingual version with subtitles for the French and German dialogue. In many cases, the English dubbing on the DVD was done by the original actors. Leslie Caron's and Simone Signoret's voices, for example, are unmistakable. English dubbing was not a possibility for Gert Froebe (as General von Chotlitz, the German commander of Paris), whose command of English was only slightly better than that of my neighbor's cocker spaniel. When the original foreign actors were not fluent in English, the English dubbing was done sometimes by Americans and Britons, so that many French and Germans sound inauthentic in the English soundtrack. The situation is even worse on the French soundtrack. None of the French dubbers for the Americans has an American accent. There is the vestige of a French subtitle track on the DVD, unannounced on the cover but selectable with my remote. It becomes invisible, however, after the opening credits. Before that, Germans speak German on the French soundtrack. When I watch this DVD, I frequently flip between French and English soundtracks with my remote. I really like this film, even if it is not a "great" film. (For much greater, but less exciting, Clément films, watch "Forbidden Games" and "Purple Noon.") The week or so that the film covers was very complex, and, thankfully, the film did not choose to trivialize it. I wish that Paramount had included a trilingual soundtrack for "Is Paris Burning?," but one must be thankful for what one has. If you generally enjoy History Channel documentaries, or if you enjoyed "The Longest Day," you will enjoy this film even more. Just don't expect your typical hero-centered war movie. Hopefully, now that the DVD has appeared, the book will reappear in English. If you like the movie, you will like the book, which contains many more stories of the Liberation. It is still a big seller in France, where the bullet holes (now almost sacred) in the building facades of Paris are still visible, and Parisians easily recognize the streets in the film. If you do not know Paris and you buy the book, you will learn the names of these streets and can follow the action on a map. After you have watched the film, you can even go to Paris and see the reminders of the Liberation up close....
Rating:
Summary: Vivid but Difficult to Follow - in Tradition of Longest Day
Review: Although this movie fails to fit the classic 'war film' category, it still has some decent battle scences and pays tribute to the French resistance who played such a vital role in the defeat of Hitler's Nazi war machine. On the down side, i thought the acting was a little ordinary in comparison to other films of its time ('The longest day', 'The train' etc)and at times became a little long winded. It did have a great soundtrack and overall was a film worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: One dedicated to The Resistance
Review: Although this movie fails to fit the classic 'war film' category, it still has some decent battle scences and pays tribute to the French resistance who played such a vital role in the defeat of Hitler's Nazi war machine. On the down side, i thought the acting was a little ordinary in comparison to other films of its time ('The longest day', 'The train' etc)and at times became a little long winded. It did have a great soundtrack and overall was a film worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: Where is this soundtrack?
Review: I first heard the theme song to this movie back in the 60's on the radio in my mother's car. I've looked, but I can't find the theme song or the soundtrack anywhere. Anyone know where to find it? I watch the movie just to hear the music!
Rating: 
Summary: 2 Best War Movies: Is Paris Burning and the Longest Day
Review: I just got the DVD last Friday, I can't believe last time I saw this movie was almost 25 years ago in Hong Kong.
If you have THe Longest Day, you should definitely get this movie, feels like they are attached to each other.
Well, I can also say that most of the good war movies are back in the 60s. Nowadays, we just see explosive and bloody scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Vivid but Difficult to Follow - in Tradition of Longest Day
Review: I loved watching this movie. It deftly splices documentary and fictional scenes to create an emotional, uplifting story of the individuals involved in the liberation of Paris (the greater emphasis is on the Parisian resistance). It is very much in the tradition of The Longest Day - many stars in cameos, a hundred short stories of bravery and resistance - among the French, Americans and Germans; it's often humorous. The music is superb (I have it going through my head now - 2 years after renting the movie). It's also fun to see virtually all the French male stars of the 1950s and 1960s in one movie - Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Jean Louis Trintignant, Yves Montand, Alain Delon - the French casting for the movie pulled out all the stops. The wonderful emotional impact aside, the movie is actually difficult to follow. The primary reason is that the filmmakers apparently didn't want to offend anyone (except Nazis) so were not explicit on the Communist/Gaullist rivalry that is at the heart of the book (bottom line - the Gaullists elbowed out the Communists). Instead, the movie viewer watches a large resistance group that seems to fissure, but has no idea why, sees jealousies and rivalries without explanation. You'll see some French resistance members upset that others have captured the Police Headquarters, but have no idea why. The book gives you a sense of DeGaulle's understanding of the French, amounting to genius (and of why any American or Englishman in command would have found him outrageous to deal with). So, I'd suggest a truly CAREFUL read of the short, wonderful and fascinating book on which the movie is based - THEN watch the movie, which is glorious in its emotional impact.
Rating:
Summary: Have merci, monsieur le screenwriter!
Review: Perhaps the greatest epic story of the 20th century gets wasted away in a sea of clichés provided by actors who speak to History-at-large whenever they get their chance. Some of them didn't even have the decency to change into costume, so one sees them fighting for freedom in their 60's Pierre Cardins! Only the nazis and the yanks dress accordingly! The only thing worth saving from zhis bomb (besides Paris) is Maurice Jarre's extraordinary music score. Ze rest est une m+rde, mes amis!
Rating:
Summary: Fortunately Paris was saved!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: History up close
Review: The few frantic and decisive days as the Allies approached Paris during World War II are beautifully reproduced in this black and white movie. With a feeling of complete realism it exposes both the traumas and the small acts of courage which added up to produce some of the most moving and triumphant moments in a city which suffered under a foreign yoke. I dare you not to cheer!
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