Is Paris Burning?

Is Paris Burning?
Theatrical poster
Directed by	René Clément
Produced by	Paul Graetz
Written by	Gore Vidal Francis Ford Coppola
Starring	Kirk Douglas Glenn Ford Gert Fröbe Yves Montand Jean-Paul Belmondo Robert Stack Alain Delon
Music by	Maurice Jarre
Cinematography	Marcel Grignon
Editing by	Robert Lawrence
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	26 October 1966 (1966-10-26) (France) 10 November 1966 (1966-11-10) (United States)
Running time	173 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

Is Paris Burning? (French: Paris brûle-t-il ?) is a 1966 film directed by René Clément, starring an ensemble cast, about the 1944 liberation of Paris by the French Resistance and the Free French Forces during World War II. The script was based on the book of the same title by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre.

Plot

The film opens shortly after the 20 July plot as general Dietrich von Choltitz (Gert Fröbe) is appointed military governor of occupied Paris by Adolf Hitler (Billy Frick). Hitler believes von Choltitz will obey his order to not let the Allies capture Paris without the Germans destroying it completely (similar to the planned destruction of Warsaw).

The French Resistance learn that the Allies aren't planning to take Paris, but are heading straight for Germany instead. The two different factions within the Resistance react differently to this news. The Gaullists want to wait and see, while the Communists want to take action. The Communists force the issue by calling for a general uprising by the citizens of Paris and by occupying important government buildings. The Gaullists go along with this plan of action once it is set in motion.

Initially von Choltitz is intent on following his order to level the city. After his troops fail to dislodge the Resistance from the Prefecture of Police, he orders the German air force to bomb the building but withdraws the order at the urging of the Swedish Consul, Raoul Nordling (Orson Welles) who points out that bombs that miss the Prefecture risk destroying nearby culturally invaluable buildings such as the Notre Dame Cathedral. von Choltitz accepts a truce offer from the Resistance (conceived by the Gaullist faction), but the Communists want to keep fighting (in spite of a lack of ammunition). The truce is therefore shortened to one day and the fighting resumes.

After learning that the Germans plan to destroy Paris (the Eiffel Tower and other landmarks are rigged with explosives), a messenger from the Resistance is sent across enemy lines to contact the Americans. He implores the Allies to act and afterwards General Eisenhower gives the Free French Forces under General Charles de Gaulle the go-ahead to move on Paris.

As the military situation deteriorates, von Choltitz delays the order to destroy Paris (he secretly believes that Hitler is insane and that the war is lost making the destruction of Paris a futile gesture). He instead chooses to surrender shortly after the Allies enter the city. The final shots of the film consists of documentary stock footage of the Free French Forces and de Gaulle as they parade down the streets of Paris, greeted by cheering crowds, interspersed with a shot of a phone receiver that is off the hook with a voice in German repeatedly asking "is Paris burning?". As the credits roll an aerial view of Paris, its buildings still standing, is shown, switching from black and white to color.

Production

The film is based on the best-selling book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre and was directed by René Clément, from a screenplay by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola. The music is by Maurice Jarre. Jarre's music for "The Paris Waltz" later had words added by Maurice Vidalin and became a patriotic anthem sung by Mireille Mathieu under the title Paris en colère.

Is Paris Burning? stars Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Gert Fröbe, Orson Welles, Anthony Perkins, Robert Stack, Charles Boyer, Yves Montand, Leslie Caron, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Simone Signoret, and Alain Delon. It was filmed in 180 sites. Claude Rich plays two parts: General Leclerc, with a moustache, and Lt Pierre de la Fouchardière, without a moustache. He is credited at the end only with the part of Leclerc. His role as the young lieutenant is not by chance; Claude Rich, as a teenager, was watching soldiers in the street when the real-life Pierre de la Fouchardière called him into a building to protect him.

The film is almost entirely in black and white, presumably to better blend the documentary stock footage that is included in the film (the film was shot in black and white mainly because, although the French authorities would allow swastika flags to be displayed on public buildings for key shots, they would not permit those flags to be in their original red color; as a result, green swastika flags were used, which photographed adequately in black and white but would have been entirely the wrong color), but the closing credits feature aerial shots of Paris in color. The entire film was shot on location in Paris.

Cast

Awards and honors

The film was nominated for two Academy Awards:^[1]

• Best Art Direction (Willy Holt, Marc Frédérix, Pierre Guffroy)
• Best Cinematography (Marcel Grignon)

In popular culture

The film was spoofed in Mad magazine, in the September 1967 issue (#113), under the title "Is Paris Boring?"^[2]

See also

• Battle of Britain
• The Longest Day
• Patton
• Battle of the Bulge
• Midway

References

Further reading

• Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, Is Paris Burning?, New York: Pocket Books, 1965.

External links

• Is Paris Burning? at the Internet Movie Database