Mark Maloy

For those who appreciate great films, or want to learn about heroic efforts getting liberated from a madman, I recommend watching the forgotten movie, “Is Paris Burning?” (1966). The true story of how citizens of the French Resistance (in all their political diversity) rose up to begin the urgent battles to free Paris from Nazi occupation in August 1944. The drugged and desperate Hitler (injured after a recent failed assassination attempt) set in motion a devastating scheme that could leave Paris, in his words, “a field of ruins". It resulted in 2 weeks of incredible daring and heroism. Few recall that the liberation of Paris after D-Day was not top on the menu for the Allies who needed to maintain their momentum to get to the Rhine. They would bypass Paris and liberate it later after getting firmly established. 10 weeks into the invasion, the Allies were ill equipped and struggling through France. The first week of August 1944, Hitler assigned General Dietrich von Choltitz to defend Paris, crush any resistance or reduce the city to rubble before it could be taken back. To me, in a few ways, it all feels eerily timely. Choltitz immediately had demolition teams wire the capital’s many treasured and historic sites for instant destruction. The Luftwaffe was to assist as well if the button was to be pushed. Overnight, citizens of the French Resistance had to begin open warfare with the Nazi’s in the streets, as well as convince the distracted reluctant Allies to alter their course and finish saving the city. Gore Vidal and the 26-year-old Francis Ford Coppola wrote the screenplay from the episodic, well researched 1965 bestselling book of the same name. The film is not mentioned in Coppola’s Wikipedia bio, an omission I’m curious about. It is filmed in B&W with actual battle footage integrated into key scenes. Some scenes were shot to expand the original source films. The matching isn't always as seamless as hoped. I used to assume filming in B&W during that era was due to cost or to help blending actual footage of WWII battles. I discovered a different reason "Is Paris Burning?" is not in color. As with “The Sound of Music” filmed in Austria in 1964, there were problems on location with the Nazi flags being shown. In the case of “Is Paris Burning?” French authorities would not allow displaying the Nazi flag in its original red color! These flag controversies take too long to unpack but also feel timely 55 years later. The impressive cast is international and one of the first to offer a war film where French actors play French characters, Germans play Germans, and American actors play Americans. Naturally, that involved some dubbing which, like the WWII footage sewn in, is not always convincing. One of the many true-life characters, Swedish Consul Raoul Nordling, is played by an American actor. No less than a soft voiced Orson Welles underplaying to perfection. The actors are not listed until the end and recognizing the big names in small roles was surprising and wonderful. Some of the French actors were in Paris during the liberation 22 years earlier. As with many WWII films from the 1960’s, the suits, dresses and hair styles are a little too 1966 au courant. The question, “is Paris burning?” is credited to Hitler by General Dietrich von Choltitz during a phone call after the Fuhrer was made aware the liberation was successfully underway. Due to the efforts of patriotic citizens, the city was scarred but not mortally wounded. Watch the movie (or read the book!) and find out why there is still an Eiffel Tower standing.