IS PARIS BURNING? Movie Review

Paris Brule-t-il?

1966 Rene Clement

A truly international (and unconventional) collaboration of filmmakers created this companion piece to The Longest Day. The two films share similar defects and assets: the familiar “all-star cast” that gives good actors little to do and sprawling scope on one hand, unexpected wit and attention to individual detail on the other. The opening titles set the stage. “Paris, 1944, after four years of bitter occupation, was seething on the verge of revolt against the Nazi oppressors. With the Allies almost at the doorstep, the French Resistance in the city, composed of many divergent groups, struggled bitterly among themselves to find the way to liberation. Time was terribly short … “ Time is short because Hitler (Billy Frick) orders Gen. Cholitz (Gert Frobe), who has never disobeyed him, to destroy the city before he allows it to fall into Allied hands. Cholitz agrees but as soon as he arrives in the city, the Swedish Consul Nordling (Orson Welles) begins to pressure him for concessions and compromise.

At the same time, the various Resistance groups squabble over strategy and worry about the tactics of the Americans. Will they enter the city or simply bypass it on their way to Germany? The people involved in the Resistance range from experienced, canny campaigners who know that the endgame must be handled carefully, to students whose enthusiasm eclipses their good sense. Most of the characters on that side of the story are portrayed by popular young French stars of the day—Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Pierre Vaneck, Alain Delon. The big American names—Kirk Douglas, Robert Stack, Glenn Ford—play generals, and their scenes tend to be clunkers.

The most interesting characters are Cholitz and Nordling. Welles, even at something less than his best, is more engaging than his more attractive co-stars. Frobe is able to make Cholitz a somewhat sympathetic and complex figure. Despite the basic good guys—bad guys plot, he's actually the protagonist of the story. He's the one character who has to make the important decisions, though that distinction tends to fade into the background of the busy action. With a script by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola (what a combination!), based on the bestseller by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre, with additional material by others for the French and German scenes, the overachieving plot is no surprise. Director Rene Clement manages to maintain an even semi-cinema verite tone throughout, and in the last hour, when the various forces come into direct contact, he does an excellent job of incorporating archival documentary footage into his own combat recreations and fiction.

Given the film's extended running time and overall lack of focus, its primary value now is as nostalgia, but it's also representative of the second wave of World War II films that toned down partisanship and attempted to view the conflict with some historical perspective. That limits the entertainment value, but on some level, you've got to like a movie that casts an actor named Billy Frick as Adolf Hitler.

Cast: Jean-Paul Belmondo (Pierreflot/Morandat), Charles Boyer (Docteur Monod), Leslie Caron (Francoise Labe), Jean-Pierre Cassel (Lt. Henri Karcher), George Chakiris (G.I. in tank), Claude Dauphin (Col. Lebel), Alain Delon (Jacques Chaban-Delmas), Kirk Douglas (Gen. George S. Patton), Glenn Ford (Gen. Omar Bradley), Gert Frobe (Gen. Dietrich von Cholitz), Daniel Gelin (Yves Bayet), E.G. Marshall (Intelligence Officer Powell), Yves Montand (Sgt. Tankiste), Anthony Perkins (Sgt. Warren), Claude Rich (Gen. Leclerc), Simone Signoret (Cafe proprietress), Robert Stack (Gen. Sibert), Jean-Louis Trintignant (Capt. Serge), Pierre Vaneck (Gallois), Orson Welles (Consul Nordling), Bruno Cremer (Col. Roy Tanguy), Suzy Delair (A Parisienne), Michael (Michel) Lonsdale (Debu-Bridel), Billy Frick (Adolf Hitler); Written by: Gore Vidal, Francis Ford Coppola; Cinematography by: Marcel Grignon; Music by: Maurice Jarre. Producer: Transcontinental Pictures Industries, Paramount Pictures, Paul Graetz. French. Awards: Nominations: Academy Awards ‘66: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (B & W), Best Black and White Cinematography. Running Time: 173 minutes. Format: VHS, Closed Caption.