Very disappointed :(

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This movie begins with an appearance by Noel Coward, well known for extremely fast dialog (a foreshadowing of what is to come). I had high hopes for this movie, simply because of Audrey Hepburn and William Holden, however, from the beginning, the dialog is so fast and furious that it gets annoying, despite the witty lines. I usually use the closed captioning in these types of films (like "His Girl Friday, "Bringing Up Baby"), it helps a little. The movie calms down a bit at times, but could have been a much better film if everyone had just relaxed a bit...the script is likable. The age difference between Holden and Hepburn is a little jarring, but not as much as when she starred with Gary Cooper or Fred Astaire. I would recommend, but for those drinking lots of caffeine only. P. S. I could only stand it halfway, then had to turn off, so unfortunately this review is based on that.

This picture was widely panned (see Barry Paris' bio of Audrey), but I think the critics were looking at the film too narrowly. I saw it for the first time about a month ago, and my basic impression was that God is in his heaven and all is well in the motion picture business (at least in 1962 when this picture was made).Much has been written about Audrey, who did the movie because she owed Paramont one more picture, even though she was nervous about appearing again with her former paramour, Holden.I especially liked Noel Coward, and not much has been said about him. Coward wrote hundreds of screen plays in addition to doing some acting. In his final scene (with Holden) - the grotesque edifice one - I am not sure he was acting. It seemed too real.Anyway, it ended when those two highly paid heads came together for that ultimate, final, and inevitable, studio-rent paying, theater-filling, popcorn-selling, kiss.

Even with the glorious views of the City of Light as the background, no one could have saved a movie that went through a disastrous production. It is well known that William Holden had to go into rehab because of his drinking binges while working on the picture. It didn't help either that George Axelrod, the screen writer, was trying to translate the far superior model, Julien Duvivier's "La fete a Henriette", which served as the model for this picture.Paramount had a terrible time trying to release a film that didn't make much sense, because the story just doesn't hold the viewer's interest. To add to that, the story is full of inside jokes of the movie industry, something that was not intended for the public at large. Richard Quine, the director must have gone through a rough period with delays and the frustrations that went along.The only thing to hold our attention is the lovely Audrey Hepburn, clad in her signature Givenchy clothes. As a young secretary, we must do a stretch of our imagination just to reconcile the idea that Gabrielle Simpson could have been able to get all those marvelous costumes from a famous designer with her salary. For all we know there must have been a Parisian branch of Loehmann's, even in those days!! Ms. Hepburn merits all the credit for staying focused and sober throughout the production because the shenanigans of her co-star could have driven anyone to drink! William Holden was a good actor with a big sobriety problem. When he was good, he was excellent, but alas, no one could have been able to convince him to give his best to this movie. Tony Curtis has a brief role, and is quite good. Marlene Dietrich has a cameo where she exudes class and sophistication. Noel Coward doesn't have much to do, as the producer of the fictional movie being written.The cinematography of Charles Lang was one of the best assets in the film. Nelson Riddle, a giant in music composed the score.

In 1954, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn lit up the screen in Billy Wilder's 'Sabrina (1954),' though certain narrative requirements stipulated that the latter must instead end up in the arms of a certain other grizzled Hollywood star. 'Paris When It Sizzles (1964)' was the pair's second and final teaming, and it's a light, breezy and likable enough romantic comedy, with a nice concept but a rather lazy screenplay. I've always enjoyed exploring the notion that an author (or a screenwriter, in this case) is virtually a god with respect to his own story, able to direct his characters' every action and impulse, and to alter and even reverse reality if he feels the tale requires it. This is exactly what Richard Benson (Holden) and Gabrielle Simpson (Hepburn) do during two warm days in Paris – they explore their own romantic connection indirectly through their screenplay, and, each time the relationship turns sour, they are able to permanently reverse the action and start out fresh; this is a luxury that real-life can never afford us.There's a spontaneity to the screen writing process that I liked. When the story suddenly reverts to the tired cliché of government agents in trench-coats, Benson hastily condemns his lack of originality and rolls back the plot. When the story is in need of a handsome but arrogant male suitor, they postulate somebody like Tony Curtis – and, behold, Tony Curtis arrives on a scooter to fill the part! All this reminded me strongly of a short film that I wrote and directed several years ago, age 16, about a failed novelist trying unsuccessfully to compose his masterpiece, constantly revising and rewriting until the story takes on a life of its own. Unfortunately, the terrific concept of 'Paris When It Sizzles' eventually runs out of steam, and "The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower" soon becomes a trite and cheesy crime caper, of the sort that only the 1960s could have produced. What might have been a clever, witty and insightful dissection of human relationships (and the artificiality of Hollywood romance), instead retires as an agreeable but insubstantial light comedy.The screenplay for 'Paris When It Sizzles' was written by George Axelrod, who also co-penned my least favourite Billy Wilder film, 'The Seven Year Itch (1955).' There is some good-natured banter concerning the true nature of Hollywood film-making (did you know that "Frankenstein" and "My Fair Lady" are effectively the same story?), but otherwise the dialogue is fairly forgettable, and doesn't move the story anywhere. Some Wilder witticisms in this film, certainly, could not have gone amiss! Holden and Hepburn are, predictably, charming and likable, sharing a chemistry that suggests both stars had a lot of fun during filming. There's always enjoyment to be derived from harassing Tony Curtis (by getting his character's name wrong, and then constantly reminding him that he's playing an insignificant bit part). However, in the film's second half, he's obviously being used as padding to compensate for the absence of William Holden, who was then undergoing treatment for alcoholism. Overall, this picture doesn't quite sizzle, but it'll nonetheless provide enough heat to warm your hands.