Is Paris Burning?
| Is Paris Burning? | |
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Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | René Clément |
| Produced by | Paul Graetz |
| Written by |
Gore Vidal Francis Ford Coppola Jean Aurenche Pierre Bost Claude Brulé |
| Starring |
Kirk Douglas Glenn Ford Gert Fröbe Yves Montand Jean-Paul Belmondo Robert Stack Alain Delon |
| Music by | Maurice Jarre |
| Cinematography | Marcel Grignon |
| Edited by | Robert Lawrence |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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173 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $37.1 million |
Is Paris Burning? (French: Paris brûle-t-il ?) is a 1966 film directed by René Clément, starring an ensemble cast, about the liberation of Paris in August 1944 by the French Resistance and the Free French Forces during World War II. The script was based on the book of the same title by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre.
Shortly after the failed 1944 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler (Billy Frick), he appoints General Dietrich von Choltitz (Gert Fröbe) as military governor of occupied Paris. Hitler believes Choltitz will obey his order that the Allies should not be allowed to capture Paris without the Germans destroying it completely, similar to the planned destruction of Warsaw.
The French Resistance learn that the Allies are not planning to take Paris, but are heading straight to Germany instead. The two factions within the Resistance react to this news differently. The Gaullists want to wait and see, while the Communists want to take action. The Communists force the issue by calling for a general uprising by the citizens of Paris and by occupying important government buildings. The Gaullists go along with this plan of action once it is set in motion.
Initially, Choltitz is intent on following Hitler's order to level the city. After his troops fail to dislodge the Resistance from the Prefecture of Police, he orders the German air force to bomb the building but withdraws the order at the urging of the Swedish Consul, Raoul Nordling (Orson Welles), who points out that bombs that miss the Prefecture risk destroying nearby culturally invaluable buildings such as the Notre Dame Cathedral. Choltitz accepts a truce offer from the Resistance (conceived by the Gaullist faction), but the Communists want to keep on fighting, in spite of a lack of ammunition. The truce is, therefore, shortened to one day and the fighting resumes.
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Wikipedia