IS PARIS BURNING ?
| 1966 – 170′ – Drama, War, Paris, Classic, Period & History, Films & Literature.
Written by: Gore Vidal, Francis Ford Coppola, Jean Aurenche, Pierre Bost, Yves Boisset, Claude Brulé, Marcel Moussy, Beate Van Molo.
Based on the Book by: Larry Collins & Dominique Lapierre.
Directed by: René Clément.
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Alain Delon, Claude Rich, Kirk Douglas, Yves Montand, Gert Fröbe, Orson Wells, Anthony Perkins, Simone Signoret, Bruno Cremer, Marie Versini, Claude Dauphin, Michel Piccoli, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Daniel Gélin, Glenn Ford, Pierre Dux.
1967 Academy Award Nomination (Best Artistic Direction).
In French with English subtitles.
An Apple TV release. |
In this sprawling, star-laden film, we see the struggles of various French resistance factions to regain control of Paris near the end of World War II. The Nazi general in charge of Paris, Dietrich von Choltitz (Fröbe), is under orders from Hitler himself to burn the city if he cannot control it or if the Allies get too close. Much of the drama centers around the moral deliberations of the general, the Swedish ambassador (Welles), and the eager but desperate leaders of the resistance.