- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,428
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
I want to measure my words here, as I don't want to turn anyone away from this beautifully crafter Blu-ray. Kino is releasing Paramount's 1966 Is Paris Burning?, directed by Rene Clement, a quality filmmaker.
This is a huge international production, presumably Paramount's answer to Fox's The Longest Day.
It's a long film - 173 minutes with an Intermission. Overture and entr'acte are included, so this is the roadshow.
The problem that I have with the film is that it just doesn't seem to work, and I've always surmised that it wasn't the writers (Gore Vidal, Francis Coppola and others), but rather the inability of Clement to handle a huge tactical production, while being pushed by the Gaullist's to not tell the entire story. It was shot in black and white, and I've heard two reasons. One was the De Gaulle would not permit the Nazi flag to fly in Paris, even for a film with its proper colors - the flags used were basically grays and blacks. The other was that there was a concern that the myriad of stock footage couldn't be properly cut in if the film was in color.
The cast is a who's who of French actors, with a group of Americans oddly thrown in, and to my mind they never worked. Kirk Douglas as Patton, Glenn Ford (actually a Canadian) as Omar Bradley, Robert Stack as Edwin Sibert, and in bits and quick appearances Anthony Perkins, George Chakiris (for possibly twenty seconds riding atop a tank), and Orson Welles as the Swiss Consul.
The list of French actors makes me think of Mad World.
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claude Dauphin, Alain Delon, Daniel Gelin (you know him from The Man Who Knew Too Much), Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, Simone Signoret, Jean-Louis Trintignant...
And as the lead German, fresh from Goldfinger, Gert Fröbe, as the hulking general over-seeing Paris in the light of the Allied invasion for Hitler.
The film is huge, confusing and extremely episodic. But there's a film still there, and it deserves to be seen. Especially in this gorgeous Blu-ray, which from a nominal seating distance looks for all the world like 4k. Gorgeous blacks, beautiful shadow detail, and great resolution.
The score is by Maurice Jarre.
It's almost maddening that it never seems to come together - and with all the talent involved - should.
I had a problem with the audio defaulting to 2-channel monaural. The 5.1 is track number two.
Image – 5
Audio – 5
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors - Yes
Worth your attention - 4
Upgrade from DVD - Yes
Slipcover rating - 2
Recommended
RAH
This is a huge international production, presumably Paramount's answer to Fox's The Longest Day.
It's a long film - 173 minutes with an Intermission. Overture and entr'acte are included, so this is the roadshow.
The problem that I have with the film is that it just doesn't seem to work, and I've always surmised that it wasn't the writers (Gore Vidal, Francis Coppola and others), but rather the inability of Clement to handle a huge tactical production, while being pushed by the Gaullist's to not tell the entire story. It was shot in black and white, and I've heard two reasons. One was the De Gaulle would not permit the Nazi flag to fly in Paris, even for a film with its proper colors - the flags used were basically grays and blacks. The other was that there was a concern that the myriad of stock footage couldn't be properly cut in if the film was in color.
The cast is a who's who of French actors, with a group of Americans oddly thrown in, and to my mind they never worked. Kirk Douglas as Patton, Glenn Ford (actually a Canadian) as Omar Bradley, Robert Stack as Edwin Sibert, and in bits and quick appearances Anthony Perkins, George Chakiris (for possibly twenty seconds riding atop a tank), and Orson Welles as the Swiss Consul.
The list of French actors makes me think of Mad World.
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claude Dauphin, Alain Delon, Daniel Gelin (you know him from The Man Who Knew Too Much), Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, Simone Signoret, Jean-Louis Trintignant...
And as the lead German, fresh from Goldfinger, Gert Fröbe, as the hulking general over-seeing Paris in the light of the Allied invasion for Hitler.
The film is huge, confusing and extremely episodic. But there's a film still there, and it deserves to be seen. Especially in this gorgeous Blu-ray, which from a nominal seating distance looks for all the world like 4k. Gorgeous blacks, beautiful shadow detail, and great resolution.
The score is by Maurice Jarre.
It's almost maddening that it never seems to come together - and with all the talent involved - should.
I had a problem with the audio defaulting to 2-channel monaural. The 5.1 is track number two.
Image – 5
Audio – 5
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors - Yes
Worth your attention - 4
Upgrade from DVD - Yes
Slipcover rating - 2
Recommended
RAH
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