Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Enchorde Is Paris Burning is the description of the fall of Paris, and Hitler's order in such an event to destroy the city. It is a detailed description, giving point of perspectives from all participants, from German Commander Choltitz, French Resistance Leader Rol and the advancing Allied Army. Thus it is quite long, approaching almost three hours, and feels like a combination of a drama and documentary. Even though some events and actions may be disputed, it feels plausible. And if you like me, like war movies Is Paris Burning is interesting despite its length. It actually never became dull, but not really entertaining either because of the documentarian feel. There was little suspense or surprising developments. We just tagged along with the story, with neither we or characters being able to change anything.It is quite interesting that the movie was filmed quite recent after the fact, when measured up with seriousness and the trauma of the event. Also that German officers are portrayed by Germans, most notably Fröbe. Also check the trivia why it was filmed in black and white.The movie is also augmented by its cast list, it is almost worth watching because of it, which among many others include Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas, Orson Welles, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anthony Perkins, Yves Montand , Jean Pierre Cassel and along with Fröbe (Goldfinger) Michel Lonsdale (Sir Hugo Drax (Moonraker)) is the second Bond villain to appear. Also written by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola.5/10

ma-cortes The film concerns about the Allies advance on Paris during WWII, in a remarkable act of courage, several French Resistance groups(Bruno Cremer,Alain Delon,Jean Paul Belmondo,Georges Geret,Bernard Fresson, among others) confront to regain Paris from the Nazis, who rule tyrannically the city and detailing the last days before the liberation. The German general in charge Von Choltitz (Get Froebe) is under direct orders from Hitler to destroy Paris, rather than left to the Allied, commanded by general Omar Bradley(Glenn Ford) and general Patton(Kirk Douglas) . But the Resistance fighters eventually take over Paris and Van Choltitz decides not to burn the city but to let intact to the liberators , as he thought which destroying it no useful for the future like a mankind legacy.This is a spectacular pseudo-documentary style developing the liberation of Paris with the Resistance factions and tryings to burn the city by Nazy hierarchy . It's a co-production French and Paramount US with a plethora of international actors, many of them playing cameos and prestigious intervention. Special mention to Bruno Cremer as Resistance chief , Orson Welles as Sweden consul and Leslie Caron as fighter wishing to free her husband. The short details-characters about Resistance leaders only for a minutes are based on the stories of real-life people. Appear historical characters well incarnated by famous players Omar Bradley(Glenn Ford),George Patton(Kirk Douglas) General Lecrec(Claude Rich), Von Choltitz(Get Froebe), among others. The title movie comes from the continuous phone calls realized by Hitler to Von Choltitz that always began with : It's Paris burning ?. The movie was filmed in atmospheric black and white which allow the edition adding actual-life footage but also the main reason was the German swastikas flags but the French Mayor rejected to let the black and red in Paris and they would agree sole to gray and black version of flag that looked real when shot.The motion picture displays an interesting script by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola, based on Larry Collins and Dominic Pierre novel who give you a much better perspective about role each Resistance faction played in the Paris liberation. The picture was deservedly nominated to Academy Award for best Art Direction, and best cinematography by Marcel Grignon, though didn't achieve none. The movie is professionally directed by Rene Clement, though sometimes is confuse and contains some flaws.

Robert J. Maxwell I'd like to recommend this movie because it deals with a subject of such historic significance, but I found it confusing. It meanders all over the place, like the Seine. The Germans have been ordered to destroy the city, including its historical monuments, by an insane Adolf Hitler, if it is ever in danger of falling into Allied hands. That's clear enough, but then the waters turn turbid. The General in charge, Gert Frobe, is reluctant to follow the order for humanitarian reasons but will evidently do what he's told. He's held up by the French resistance, who gather their small arms and fire on German patrols. (They were a lot more organized than I'd realized.) A messenger is sent to the Americans to ask them to divert from their plans to destroy the German army and aid in the liberation of Paris. The request reaches General Bradley who agrees. The Free French Army enters Paris, followed by the Amis, and shortly the Germans are subdued and the city saved.For me, the most stirring moment is when two men activate the bells of Notre Dame. What a job. The huge old chimes weight tons and are covered with cobwebs and it takes a heap of huffing and puffing to get the clappers going but this is the liberation of Paris.It's one of those "spot-the-stars" movies, with more famous faces than you can count, and every other time one of them first appears on screen, the director, Rene Clement, moves the camera in for a close up in case you might miss the dimple in the middle of Kirk Douglas's chin. Well, maybe it's understandable since you've only got about 30 seconds to spot it. A central character would probably have helped to integrate these loosely linked tesserae.The sound is so terrible it distracts a viewer from the already fragmented story. The voices are all dubbed, of course, and only occasionally by their real-life owners, like Orson Welles and Tony Perkins (in a stereotypical and dispensable role). The gun shots sound as if they were lifted from an inexpensive Italian war movie. Loud incidental noises have been added to the sound track -- the crunching of boots on gravel, the clicks of a bolt action rifle. Maurice Jarre's score isn't bad, however closely it resembles some of his other works during this period.The visuals are okay. Some black-and-white news footage from the street fighting is integrated into the drama. But it's not a gripping film and not very innovative. If a man is shot, he twirls around and dies in conventional Hollywood fashion. Nice shots of some Parisian tourist spots though. We get a good look at Napolean's tomb.I'm glad that Paris wasn't destroyed. The greatest sandwich I ever had was at a nondescript café in the Gare du Nord. And it's good to see the Free French Army in combat in a movie like this. They may have been organized in exile but they did a splendid job alongside the rest of the Allies in Italy, particularly at Monte Cassino.

jbetke-1 I made my first trip to Paris this past year. There are remembrances of World War Two on nearly every street corner, plaques with the names of resistance fighters who died during the war and during the Liberation. And France's military history is also on display, from monuments to Louis XIII, to Napoleon, and to their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe. As Americans we forget sometimes that the French army lost millions during World War One, and struggled with how to fight the Second World War. Losing Paris was a humiliating defeat that the Free French army needed desperately to avenge. This film does a pretty engaging job of telling the story from a French point of view. Like many war films from the time it's a little too long, some celebrity cameos are miscast, and some facts and events are abridged. But unlike some other films from the period, it has some humor, and some great pathos. There's also great footage of the real liberation intercut with the narrative. If you've ever been to Paris, it's a beautiful travelogue of all the famous public spaces, seen through eyes from 1945 and 1966. I can only imagine seeing it in widescreen, and I hope to get a non-dubbed version soon.