Is Paris Burning?

Is Paris Burning?

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War Drama History

"Burn Paris!" was the order that had come shrieking over the phone.

Director: René Clément

Producer: Paul Graetz

Near the end of World War II, Gen. Dietrich von Choltitz receives orders to burn down Paris if it becomes clear the Allies are going to invade, or if he cannot maintain control of the city. After much contemplation Choltitz decides to ignore his orders, enraging the Germans and giving hope to various resistance factions that the city will be liberated. Choltitz, along with Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling, helps a resistance leader organize his forces.

173 min Rating: 7.171/10 Released
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Top Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Belmondo
 Yvon Morandat
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer
 Doctor Monod
Leslie Caron
Leslie Caron
 Françoise Labé
Jean-Pierre Cassel
Jean-Pierre Cassel
 Lt. Henri Karcher
George Chakiris
George Chakiris
 GI in Tank
Bruno Cremer
Bruno Cremer
 Colonel Rol Tanguy

Movie Info

Director: René Clément

Producer: Paul Graetz

Production Companies: Paramount Pictures, Marianne Productions, Transcontinental Films, Seven Arts Productions, Rastar Productions

Countries: France, United States of America

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User Reviews

What Others Said

CinemaSerf: With the Allies rapidly approaching Paris, the general in charge of the city is issued with orders by his Führer to prepare plans to destroy the city. Fortunately, von Choltitz (Gert Fröbe) is not convinced that in the face of imminent defeat, this is the right thing to do - so he obeys, but in a rather lacklustre and half-hearted fashion. Meantime, scenting victory, the resistance are starting to make their own plans to seize control of increasingly larger parts of the city ready for the arrival of George Patton's American troops. René Clément has assembled a pretty stellar cast here with Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Alain Delon - a veritable who's who of French cinema supported by brief cameos from Kirk Douglas and Glenn Ford. The problem for me is with the pace of the thing. It's not just that it's fractionally shy of three hours long, it's that it tries to tell the story in too bitty a fashion. We dart about the chronology and geography just a bit too often for the story to have much cohesion and there are simply too many characters for us to keep up with - a little like "The Longest Day" from 1962. It serves as a useful piece of propaganda, though, illustrating that it was to the French that the Nazis surrendered and that they were poised to ease into the civilian government of France as soon as the Swastika fell. As is always the case, the best history is always written by the winners - so I'm not sure just how accurate this is, but at least we know who emerges victorious in the end.