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Is Paris Burning?

Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il ?)

Movie · 1966 · 3 people

Paramount conceived Is Paris Burning? (French: Paris brûle-t-il ?) as Europe's answer to Fox's The Longest Day (1962), and René Clément directed the black-and-white war epic as a 1966 French-American co-production. The 1965 book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre was adapted by five writers, Gore Vidal, Francis Ford Coppola and Jean Aurenche among them. It opened in France on 26 October 1966 and, with over four million admissions, was the year's fourth most popular film there.

Set in one week of August 1944, it follows the liberation of Paris from the sides of the Resistance, the Allies and the occupiers. General von Choltitz, military governor of Greater Paris, has received Hitler's order to destroy the city. The film shows him sparing Paris out of humanity, a legend now debunked, since he lacked the means and time. French, American and German stars fill the cast, among them Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Yves Montand, Orson Welles, Kirk Douglas and Gert Fröbe; it runs about 175 minutes.

Made at the height of the Resistance myth, it faced the memory dispute between Gaullists and communists. It was nominated at the 40th Academy Awards for black-and-white cinematography and art direction, and Maurice Jarre's score for a Golden Globe.

DirectorRené Clément
Production companyParamount Pictures Corporation

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Cast

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Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Belmondo Film actor · died at 88 Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Trintignant Character Actor · died at 91 Michael Lonsdale Michael Lonsdale Actor · died at 89

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History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film, about the liberation of Paris in August 1944, brings the Resistance, the Allies and the occupiers into a single frame. Historically, the point that needs most care is its portrayal of General von Choltitz as the man who spared Paris out of humanity; today that account is regarded as a legend. Because it was made at the peak of the Resistance myth and had to contend with the memory dispute between Gaullists and communists, it reveals less about the war itself than about how 1960s France wanted to remember that past. Its reach of more than four million viewers in France points to how strong that need to remember was.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

René Clément's film is a giant production conceived as Europe's answer to The Longest Day, and that identity is both its strength and its weakness. The script, by five writers including Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola, tries to fit many fronts and characters into a single week, and at times the result feels more like a parade of stars than a narrative. Seeing Belmondo, Delon, Montand, Welles and Douglas in one film is exciting, but the crowd leaves little room for any single character to deepen. The black-and-white images shot on real locations create an almost documentary texture; the Oscar nomination for cinematography is well earned. At around 175 minutes, it asks for a patient viewer.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Whether a whole city will be destroyed is about as high as stakes get. Is Paris Burning? pairs that question with the time pressure of a single week. But around 175 minutes is a very long run, and the pace keeps dropping as it hops between many characters and fronts. Impressive for a patient war-film fan, too heavy for anyone after a fast thriller.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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