August 1944. The Allies are approaching Paris and resistance groups within the city start to plan an uprising against the Germans. However, Hitler wants the city destroyed if it looks like t... Read allAugust 1944. The Allies are approaching Paris and resistance groups within the city start to plan an uprising against the Germans. However, Hitler wants the city destroyed if it looks like the Allies will take it.August 1944. The Allies are approaching Paris and resistance groups within the city start to plan an uprising against the Germans. However, Hitler wants the city destroyed if it looks like the Allies will take it.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 4 nominations total
- GI in Tank
- (as Georges Chakiris)
- General Dietrich von Choltitz
- (as Gert Froebe)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of the main reasons for the movie being filmed in black and white: the French authorities refused to allow red and black Nazi flags to fly in Paris, even for a movie. They agreed only to the use of black and gray Nazi flags.
- GoofsJudging by Choltitz's own memoirs ('Soldat enter Soldaten", 1951) there never was an order to deliberately destroy Paris or its monuments. The orders concerned laming industrial plants, blowing bridges, crushing uprisings, and defending the town as a fortress, accepting collateral damage. Choltitz later found out these orders were addressed to his superiors, not to him. He does mention Hitler asking "Is Paris burning?" but says he was informed of this by others, whose names he does not give.
- Quotes
Lieutenant Henri Karcher: [over the phone to his father] Hello, Papa? This is Lieutenant Karcher. Your son. In spite of your pessimstic view of my military career, I'd like to announce I've just made some prisoners of the general in command of Paris at the Hotel Meurice. He surrendered to me. But I'm still very bad at drill.
- Crazy creditsThe end credit sequence is in color.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014)
This is a spectacular pseudo-documentary style developing the liberation of Paris with the Resistance factions and tryings to burn the city by Nazy hierarchy . It's a co-production French and Paramount US with a plethora of international actors, many of them playing cameos and prestigious intervention. Special mention to Bruno Cremer as Resistance chief , Orson Welles as Sweden consul and Leslie Caron as fighter wishing to free her husband. The short details-characters about Resistance leaders only for a minutes are based on the stories of real-life people. Appear historical characters well incarnated by famous players Omar Bradley(Glenn Ford),George Patton(Kirk Douglas) General Lecrec(Claude Rich), Von Choltitz(Get Froebe), among others. The title movie comes from the continuous phone calls realized by Hitler to Von Choltitz that always began with : It's Paris burning ?. The movie was filmed in atmospheric black and white which allow the edition adding actual-life footage but also the main reason was the German swastikas flags but the French Mayor rejected to let the black and red in Paris and they would agree sole to gray and black version of flag that looked real when shot.
The motion picture displays an interesting script by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola, based on Larry Collins and Dominic Pierre novel who give you a much better perspective about role each Resistance faction played in the Paris liberation. The picture was deservedly nominated to Academy Award for best Art Direction, and best cinematography by Marcel Grignon, though didn't achieve none. The movie is professionally directed by Rene Clement, though sometimes is confuse and contains some flaws.
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Details
- Runtime2 hours 53 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1