The filmography of French director René Clément is inextricably tied to the Second World War, a conflict that provided the backdrop for some of his most celebrated works. His feature debut, the 1946 epic Battle of the Rails, was produced while the war still raged, capturing the urgency and chaos of the era. Among his subsequent films, none rival the scale or ambition of Is Paris Burning? (1966), a sprawling epic that revisits one of the most gripping episodes of the war: the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Commissioned as a Franco-American co-production and anchored by meticulous research, the film represents Clément’s most lavish and ambitious project, blending historical drama with cinematic spectacle. Its title alone evokes the tension of a city teetering between salvation and annihilation, a theme that dominates the narrative’s relentless pace and moral complexity.
Adapted from Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre’s 1964 bestseller of the same name, Is Paris Burning? benefits from the authors’ exhaustive research and interviews with major participants of the event. The book, which reconstructs the chaotic final days of Nazi occupation in Paris, offered a uniquely granular perspective on the interplay between the German military, the French Resistance, and Allied forces. Clément’s film translates this dense narrative into a cinematic tapestry, though the adaptation inevitably simplifies the book’s sprawling scope. The screenplay, co-written by Gore Vidal and the then-26-year-old Francis Ford Coppola, tries to establish delicate balance between historical fidelity and dramatic flair. While the script occasionally succumbs to Hollywood-style embellishments—particularly in its handling of American characters—the foundation remains rooted in the meticulous research of the source material.
The film opens on August 7th 1944, immediately after the failed July 20th assassination attempt on Hitler (Billy Frick), with General Dietrich von Choltitz (Gert Fröbe) receiving a summons to the Wolf’s Lair. Appointed commander of Paris, von Choltitz faces a moral quandary: obey Hitler’s order to raze the city or defy his Führer to preserve its legacy. Meanwhile, the French Resistance, fragmented into ideological factions, prepares for an uprising. Jacques Chaban-Delmas (Alain Delon), aligned with De Gaulle, advocates restraint, but Communist leader Henri Rol-Tanguy (Bruno Cremer) pushes for immediate action. The latter’s insurrection on August 19 ignites a citywide revolt, though the poorly armed Resistance soon faces logistical crises. Major Cocteau-Gallois (Pierre Vaneck) risks his life to broker aid from Allied forces, encountering the General Patton (Kirk Douglas) and General Omar Bradley (Glenn Ford). Clément interweaves these threads with a subplot involving Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling (Orson Welles), whose diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire underscore the ethical stakes of the conflict. The narrative’s climax hinges on von Choltitz’s decision—a moment that balances personal honour, political pragmatism, and the fate of millions.
Is Paris Burning? was conceived as a direct competitor to The Longest Day (1962), a box-office sensation that popularised the WWII docudrama genre. To rival its predecessor, Clément secured unprecedented access: the French government granted use of 180 locations across Paris, including the Place de la Concorde and the Hôtel de Ville. The production even repurposed military hardware, such as M24 Chaffee tanks modified to resemble German Panthers, creating a visceral authenticity. Yet these concessions came with constraints. To avoid offending post-war sensibilities, the French government banned the display of Nazi flags on public buildings. This led to the film’s monochromatic cinematography—a creative compromise that allowed the crew to use incorrect flag colours, undetectable in black-and-white. Marcel Grignon’s stark visuals, while evocative, also enabled the seamless integration of archival footage, though attentive viewers may notice abrupt shifts in lighting or set details.
Like its literary and cinematic predecessors, Is Paris Burning? employs a vignette structure, alternating between perspectives of German officers, Resistance fighters, Allied commanders, and civilians. This approach, while effective in capturing the chaos of war, results in uneven pacing and thematic dissonance. Early sequences—such as the haunting depiction of French prisoners herded into cattle cars—anchor the film in visceral realism, reminiscent of Roberto Rossellini’s neorealist classics like Rome, Open City. Yet other segments, particularly the Hollywood-style cameos of Kirk Douglas and Glenn Ford, feel tonally at odds with the film’s otherwise gritty tone. The narrative’s focus on high-stakes diplomacy and military strategy sometimes overshadows the human cost of the uprising, leaving the civilian experience underexplored.
The film’s ensemble cast, though star-studded, struggles to transcend its status as a collection of archetypes. Gert Fröbe delivers the film’s most nuanced performance as von Choltitz, embodying the general’s internal conflict with quiet gravitas. His scenes with Orson Welles’ Nordling—a masterclass in diplomatic tension—are the film’s emotional core. By contrast, American stars like Kirk Douglas and Glenn Ford are shoehorned into roles that amplify the film’s appeal in North America but lack depth. Even French icons Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo (as Yvon Morandat, Resistance activist who established provisional government in liberated areas of Paris) are relegated to secondary roles, their charisma underutilized in service of the ensemble dynamic. The film’s reliance on name recognition over character development leaves many figures feeling like placeholders, their motivations and backstories sketched rather than explored.
René Clément directs with the precision of a historian and the flair of a storyteller, orchestrating battle scenes with technical precision. The film’s climax—a frenetic sequence of tanks rolling through the streets and rooftop snipers—demonstrates his ability to marry spectacle with narrative urgency. However, the film’s near-three-hour runtime strains under its own ambition. Extended military briefings and repetitive dialogue drag the pacing, particularly in the middle act. Maurice Jarre’s score, while lush, often drowns out the tension, its sweeping orchestration at odds with the film’s grittier moments. These flaws prevent Is Paris Burning? from achieving the timeless status of The Longest Day, yet it remains a competent, if uneven, docudrama.
The film’s commercial fate mirrored its creative challenges. In France, it was a modest success, praised for its patriotic themes and historical accuracy. Overseas, however, it flopped, particularly in the United States, where audiences and critics alike found its pacing sluggish and its focus on European politics alienating. The involvement of Vidal and Coppola—both then rising stars in Hollywood—did little to soften its reception. Decades later, the film’s legacy is further complicated by Völker Schlöndorff’s 2014 German production Diplomacy, which refocuses on Nordling’s mediation efforts. Schlöndorff’s tighter narrative and psychological depth offer a contrasting perspective, underscoring the limitations of Clément’s broader, more chaotic approach.
Is Paris Burning? is a fascinating artifact of its time: a transnational production grappling with the weight of history and the demands of commercial cinema. While its uneven pacing, tonal inconsistencies, and star-driven casting prevent it from being a masterpiece, it succeeds as a vivid, if imperfect, recreation of a pivotal moment in history. Clément’s film captures the visceral stakes of war—the clash of ideologies, the personal toll of leadership, and the fragile hope of liberation—with a scope that few films of its era could match. Though overshadowed by its predecessors and successors, Is Paris Burning? endures as a testament to the ambition of its creators and the enduring fascination of the Second World War’s final chapters.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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