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| Director: Rene Clement
Actors: Jean-paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Jean-pierre Cassel, George Chakiris
Studio: Paramount
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $2.98
You Save: $11.97 (80%)
New (6) Used (26) Collectible (3) from $2.98
Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 17034
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, Hifi Sound, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 173 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 079211972X
UPC: 097360660333
EAN: 9780792119722
ASIN: 079211972X
Theatrical Release Date: 1968
Release Date: May 5, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 26
 A passionate history lesson... August 3, 2003
R. Gawlitta (Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA)
12 out of 17 found this review helpful
The great director, Rene Clement, put his angst to rest with this empowered version of the French Resistance in 1944. Most icons of the French Cinema appeared, including the great Charles Boyer, as well as modern idols Delon, Trintignant, Belmondo and the radiant Leslie Caron. This film was originally made with subtitles all around, except for the few scenes with Americans Kirk Douglas (as Patton via Spartacus), Anthony Perkins, Robert Stack, Glenn Ford and a particularly powerful performance from Orson Welles as Swedish consul Nordling. I was also very impressed with the performance of Gert Frobe (Goldfinger), as the German general with a serious dilemma. The DVD doesn't offer any features, and the entire film is dubbed, which is a great reason to try to get your kids to watch this as a valid history lesson. (I learned more about history from movies than I ever did in a classroom...) It's interesting that the film was written by Americans Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola. Director Clement never failed to show impassioned moments, and all very well played. Terrific crowd scenes were mixed with archival footage. The war-torn Paris scenes were Oscar- nominated for Art Direction, and the seamless photography was also up for an Oscar. ("Virginia Woolf?" won in both categories, though these sets were stunning!). A great wide 2.35:1 Letterbox showed off some wonderful panoramas. Maurice Jarre's score was the icing on the cake! It is another feather in his epic cap (Lawrence, Zhivago, Ryan's Daughter). One line that moved me a bit was when the resistance fighter finally made it to Patton and said "The French people would never forgive the Allies for not coming to their aid." Well, we did. Why do they hate us so much?
 Will Goldfinger burn Paris? February 20, 2007
Anthony Hand (Dublin, Ireland)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
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 inter- group 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.
Its few flaws do not distract from its excellence May 6, 2005
C. B Collins Jr. (Atlanta, GA United States)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
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.
Have merci, monsieur le screenwriter! July 18, 1999
10 out of 15 found this review helpful
Perhaps the greatest epic story of the 20th century gets wasted away in a sea of cliches 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!
5 Stars and Why August 30, 2002
thisisgibbie (Indianapolis)
10 out of 21 found this review helpful
This movie will make you feel patriotic about the cause in World War II, eventhough it makes the French the war heroes. The large group of international actors make it a memorable story. Some of Maurice Jarre's best soundtrack music. He has such a talent for passionate anthems (Some new country needs to call him up to write their national anthem). It is worth watching just to hear the The Paris Waltz at the end. And, it was the last war movie I saw with my late-father, who was a World War II hero.
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