Is Paris Burning? (1966)

The departure of the German Army from Paris in 1944.

Director:

René Clément

Writers:

Larry Collins (book), Dominique Lapierre (book)

Stars:

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Pierrelot - Yvon Morandat
Charles Boyer	...	Docteur Monod
Leslie Caron	...	Françoise Labé
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Lieutenant Henri Karcher
George Chakiris	...	GI in Tank (as Georges Chakiris)
Bruno Cremer	...	Colonel Rol-Tanguy
Claude Dauphin	...	Colonel Lebel
Alain Delon	...	Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Kirk Douglas	...	Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
Pierre Dux	...	Cerat - Alexandre Parodi
Glenn Ford	...	Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley
Gert Fröbe	...	General Dietrich von Choltitz (as Gert Froebe)
Daniel Gélin	...	Yves Bayet
Georges Géret	...	The Baker
Hannes Messemer	...	General Jodl

Storyline

In this sprawling, star-laden film, we see the struggles of various French resistance factions to regain control of Paris near the end of World War II. The Nazi general in charge of Paris, Dietrich von Cholitz (Fröbe), is under orders from Hitler himself to burn the city if he cannot control it or if the Allies get too close. Much of the drama centers around the moral deliberations of the general, the Swedish ambassador (Welles), and the eager but desperate leaders of the resistance.

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Plot Keywords:

year 1944 | french military | french resistance | firearm | wehrmacht | 

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Taglines:

Burn Paris! was the order that had come shrieking over the phone.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

In at least one version of this film, all of E.G. Marshall's scenes as Intelligence Officer Powell were cut out.

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Goofs

Judging by Choltitz's own memoirs ('Soldat enter Soldaten", 1951) there never was an order to deliberately destroy Paris or its monuments. The orders concerned laming industrial plants, blowing bridges, crushing uprisings, and defending the town as a fortress, accepting collateral damage. Choltitz later found out these orders were addressed to his superiors, not to him. He does mention Hitler asking "Is Paris burning?" but says he was informed of this by others, whose names he does not give.

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Quotes

Consul Raoul Nordling: And if a bomb should miss?
Général Von Choltitz: A few bombs always miss, but others will hit the target. It's the law of averages.
Consul Raoul Nordling: [very softly] A bomb that misses... could hit... Notre Dame. Sainte Chapelle. That's a thousand years of history, turned to dust.

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Crazy Credits

The end credit sequence is in color.

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Connections

Referenced in Project X Zone (2012)

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Soundtracks

Paris en Colère
Music by Maurice Jarre
Lyrics by Maurice Vidalin
Performed by Mireille Mathieu

User Reviews

A fair war picture

Before I comment I should note that I haven't read the book nor am I that familiar with figures in the French Resistance. One thing that I did notice was that the portrayal of the Nazis in this film wasn't quite as stereotypical as in most World War II movies. Of course Hitler has to be a rug chewing psychotic but many of the other Germans were actually depicted quite humanly. Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) is very believeable even sympathetic as the General in charge of Paris. On another note the star casting works in the case of Welles (Nordling) and is pointless in the case of Kirk Douglas and Anthony Perkins. All in all a fair war picture, 6/10.

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

French German English

Release Date:

26 October 1966 (France)

Also Known As:

Is Paris Burning?

Filming Locations:

Rue de la Huchette, Paris 5, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marianne Productions, Transcontinental Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

175 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Black and White Color (final sequence)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1