That was an excellent one.

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Blistering performances.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The first disappointment is not to have been able to see the movie in an original French version. When you know the real voices of Cremer, Delon,Dux, etc, you're exasperated from the very first minute. I watched the movie on YouTube. And I stopped one third from the end when Bradley gives Leclerc the go to liberate Paris.There are also huge missing and errors. Nordling had a heart attack on August 22nd and his brother Rolf met Bradley the next day to get Leclerc . Others claim it was Gallois? Who tells the truth especially at the time the book was written and the film shot? But of course we all know of the antagonism between the Communist resistance and the other side! Thank god the communists did not win in the end to take power as they would surely have if permitted. De Gaulle was there to prevent such an eventuality. I doubt unless Morandat gave the information to the production, that he did not know where Matignon was located.No, although René Clément is a great director, I don't think this is a masterpiece, and this major event of Paris history remained to be treated with more accuracy and it would not need 3 so long hours to digest. A French movie has been released this year (2014) Diplomatie ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3129564/ ) which I have not seen fearing that again it was betraying history. It would appear that it presents the decision not to burn Paris in a 24 hours period. Only those having seen the movie can answer the question. It is certain that it took more than that to make Von Choltitz take his decision.The best review of René CLément's movie is probably the one of SgtSlaughter on this site. He clearly exposes why it is so important in our history (I'm French and living in Paris since 1953). I'm not surprised to see that there are no reviews by french people here, the movie doesn't deserve it.

Director Rene Clement's 1966 film, the all-star extravaganza "Is Paris Burning?" regarding the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation in 1944, makes for an interesting movie even if it is top-heavy with every well-known French actor and actress of that era and some obvious miscasting (Kirk Douglas just doesn't cut it as General Patton). That said, the story itself is one that should be familiar to every American school-age kid and all knowledgeable adults. The fact that it isn't speaks volumes about our own educational system. The title "Is Paris Burning?" refers to Adolph Hitler's ranting and raving into the phone at General Choltitz, the German commander of the city played by Bert Frobe (Mr. "Goldfinger" himself). The film does an exceptional job of portraying Choltitz's decidedly mixed feelings about whether he should obey Hitler's order to destroy the city or preserve his own reputation for posterity. He made the right choice. The rest of the cast holds up well and does justice to the serious material and historical events. They include Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Glenn Ford (as General Omar Bradley) and many other familiar names and faces. As for the real General Choltitz, he forever fancied himself a hero in the eyes of the "liberators" even though his decision was based mainly on saving his own skin. There's no doubt that Choltitz would've been hanged (or worse) if he had followed orders. But being the loyal German soldier that he was, Choltitz did not hang up on Hitler that fateful day. He merely left the phone off the hook and took a nice stroll.

I've never been a big fan of big star cameos but I always overlook this fromage cinematique every time I watch this film. I first saw this film on TV after having recently returned from a visit in and around Paris on business. Maurice Jarre's (Lawrence of Arabia) militaristic heavy beat of marching drums crowds the plaintive theme music as arrogant looking German victors roll down the Champs Elysee to the utter horror and humiliation of the populace.Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) is perfect as a member of the evil Master Race who dominate the city, and is the best actor in the film by far. He looked as much like the real-life General Von Coltitz as Kirk Douglas did General Patton. But Frobe's stern yet surprisingly sensitive portrayal of Von Coltitz is as brilliant and as sympathetic a performance as you will ever see of a portrait of a Wehrmacht officer.Jarre's soaring theme music "The Paris Waltz" at the end of the film, with the liberation of Paris, the film changes from an oppressive black and white to a spectacular segue to glorious color. It is as sublimely joyous and unabashedly sincerely emotional a moment in cinema as any I have ever experienced. I cannot imagine anyone who has been to the City of Light feeling anything but jubilation and appreciation in watching this film despite it's minor flaws.My feeling after the film concluded was this; what a profound loss it would have been if Paris was indeed reduced to ashes. General Von Coltitz' humanity in refusing Hitler's Satanic order was a coupe de grace that history will probably forget. What a shame.

Before I comment I should note that I haven't read the book nor am I that familiar with figures in the French Resistance. One thing that I did notice was that the portrayal of the Nazis in this film wasn't quite as stereotypical as in most World War II movies. Of course Hitler has to be a rug chewing psychotic but many of the other Germans were actually depicted quite humanly. Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) is very believeable even sympathetic as the General in charge of Paris. On another note the star casting works in the case of Welles (Nordling) and is pointless in the case of Kirk Douglas and Anthony Perkins. All in all a fair war picture, 6/10.