IS PARIS BURNING? On Blu-ray From Kino

 

As a World War II buff, I've seen nearly every major film that revolves around a battle or campaign from that conflict. One WWII picture I had not yet seen was the 1966 French epic IS PARIS BURNING? Kino has just released a restored version of the film on Blu-ray.

IS PARIS BURNING? is essentially a French equivalent of THE LONGEST DAY. Both films have a massive running time, several characters played by plenty of famous names, and a sweeping, dramatic look at an important time in history from various viewpoints. 

The Liberation of Paris in 1944 was a messy, chaotic, thrilling affair, and IS PARIS BURNING? does its best to present it in a cinematic fashion. French President Charles de Gaulle was firmly behind the production, which allowed director Rene Clement and his crew incredible access to the city of Paris and its landmarks. (To get this access, however, the filmmakers had to accede to de Gaulle's wishes when it came to script and story development.) The script is credited to Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola.  

There's plenty of notable performers in this three-hour epic, including such legends of French cinema as Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Alain Delon, Yves Montand, and Simone Signoret. The American actors who make cameos are more distracting than welcome--this is a French story, after all. (Kirk Douglas as George Patton?? Glenn Ford as Omar Bradley??). Orson Welles gives another of his many bit roles in a major international production as a Swedish diplomat trying to save Paris from being destroyed, but this time around he seems more committed to his role than in his other cameos. Gert Frobe does very well as the German commander of Paris, a man stuck in a very difficult position. 

If there is a lead character in this film, it is the city of Paris itself. Due to the fact that this movie was made in black & white, and it was produced only 20 years after the end of WWII, there's a definite documentary-like feel to IS PARIS BURNING?, especially since there's a lot of historical footage mixed in. Despite the length of the film, it has a driving momentum throughout, and the tension increases as the actual liberation comes closer. One can't help but be moved during the climax, even though the final result is already known. One of the major successful elements of IS PARIS BURNING? is the majestic music score by Maurice Jarre. 

I found IS PARIS BURNING? to be an excellent and riveting film, and I rank it among the best WWII epics. The movie wasn't a big hit upon release in America, and I can't ever remember it being shown on local TV during my younger days. This may be due to the fact that, as I have stated before, this is a French story--and the big American names are only onscreen for a few minutes at most. I'm very happy that Kino has given this film a proper home video release--it deserves to be better known. 

On the disc cover of IS PARIS BURNING? Kino states that the film has been restored from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative. The black & white 2.35:1 image is very sharp--but it does make the actual historical footage stick out even more. There are three audio options: 5.1 English, 2.0 English, and 2.0 French (with English subtitles). The 5.1 mix is very robust, and it really brings out Maurice Jarre's wonderful score. This Region A disc presents the full uncut version of the film, with the roadshow overture, intermission, and entr'acte. 

A new audio commentary is included by Daniel Kremer and Howard S. Berger. Both men are very enthusiastic, but that enthusiasm gets them carried away at times, to the point where they spend too much time talking about things that have nothing to do with the actual film. 

If you love historical and/or World War II epics, this Kino release of IS PARIS BURNING? will be a fine addition to your movie collection.