Is Paris Burning?

Directed by René Clément, this 1966 French-American co-production is a black-and-white epic war film adapted from the book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. It depicts the liberation of Paris from German occupation in August 1944, during the final phase of World War II. Scripted by Gore Vidal, Francis Ford Coppola, Jean Aurenche, Pierre Bost and Claude Brulé, the film follows the French Resistance, the Free French Forces and the occupying Germans through one decisive week. A central thread concerns General von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, who disobeyed Hitler's order to destroy the city. The production assembled a major international cast, including French stars such as Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon and Yves Montand, Americans like Kirk Douglas, Orson Welles and Anthony Perkins, and Germans including Gert Fröbe. Released in France in October 1966, it drew more than four million admissions and became one of the year's biggest hits there. The film earned Academy Award nominations for black-and-white cinematography and art direction, while Maurice Jarre's score was nominated for a Golden Globe.