Is Paris Burning?
![Watch film Is Paris Burning? — Is Paris Burning? (1966) Original Trailer [HD]](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/images/posters/g/b/is-paris-burning-1966-l1WlJ.jpg)
Short description
In August 1944, as Allied forces close in on Paris, Adolf Hitler orders General Dietrich von Choltitz to hold the city or leave it in ruins. The general must weigh his orders against the fate of the capital and its residents, while Resistance leaders organize an uprising and a Swedish diplomat works to prevent the destruction. The fighting inside the city and the German chain of command form the film's central conflict.
René Clément directed this 1966 Franco-American production, which came after Joy House in his filmography. The screenplay was written by Francis Ford Coppola and Gore Vidal, and the producer was Paul Graetz. The large credited cast of 75 includes Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Jean-Pierre Cassel, George Chakiris and Bruno Cremer. The film runs 173 minutes.
On IMDb, the film holds a rating of 6.8 from 5,600 votes, while on TMDB it has a rating of 7.2 from 229 votes. A critics' rating of 6.4 from 8 reviews places it slightly below both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Orson Welles (1915-1985), who had a small role in the film, was extremely rude to director René Clément (1913-1996) and, although he spoke fluent French himself, refused to communicate with Clément directly, preferring to use Yves Boisset as a translator. According to Boisset, Welles was simply envious of the large budget Clément had been allocated for the filming.
- The plot revolves around each member of the acting ensemble speaking their native language. Initially, the film was planned as a joint Franco-German-British project (with a little bit of Swedish involvement). However, in video format, the film was released fully dubbed in only one language.
- A postman fell off his bicycle on the Champs-Élysées when he saw extras in German uniforms crossing the street during their lunch break. Jumping to his feet, the postman ran off, shouting: "They're here again! They've returned!"
- One of the reasons the film was shot in black and white was that French authorities prohibited the display of red and black Nazi flags in Paris, allowing only black and gray cloths to be used.
- The film's screenplay is based on the eponymous book by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins about the liberation of the French capital from German occupation in August 1944.
- During World War II, over 60,000 cars in France were converted to run on natural gas, and the film shows several vehicles with cylindrical gas tanks on their roofs.
- Francis Ford Coppola claimed that the film was greatly hindered by the demands of French President Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), who immediately stated that he would simply ban filming on location in Paris (and how could such a film be made without it?). In particular, Charles de Gaulle insisted that the filmmakers not emphasize the role played by the French Communist Party in the liberation of the country from the Nazis. According to Coppola, this was a blatant case of political censorship.
- The entire film was shot in Paris. 180 locations were used for filming in the city itself and the surrounding suburbs.
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