Paris Is Burning
Tags: queer

Plot synopsis:
Shortly after the failed 1944 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler (Billy Frick), he appoints General Dietrich von Choltitz (Gert Fröbe) as military governor of occupied Paris. Hitler believes Choltitz will obey his order that the Allies should not be allowed to capture Paris without the Germans destroying it completely, similar to the planned destruction of Warsaw.
The French Resistance learn that the Allies are not planning to take Paris, but are heading straight to Germany instead. The two factions within the Resistance react to this news differently. The Gaullists want to wait and see, while the Communists want to take action. The Communists force the issue by calling for a general uprising by the citizens of Paris and by occupying important government buildings. The Gaullists go along with this plan of action once it is set in motion.
Initially, Choltitz is intent on following Hitler's order to level the city. After his troops fail to dislodge the Resistance from the Prefecture of Police, he orders the German air force to bomb the building but withdraws the order at the urging of the Swedish Consul, Raoul Nordling (Orson Welles), who points out that bombs that miss the Prefecture risk destroying nearby culturally invaluable buildings such as the Notre Dame Cathedral. Choltitz accepts a truce offer from the Resistance (conceived by the Gaullist faction), but the Communists want to keep on fighting, in spite of a lack of ammunition. The truce is, therefore, shortened to one day and the fighting resumes.
After learning that the Germans plan to destroy Paris (the Eiffel Tower and other landmarks are rigged with explosives), a messenger from the Resistance is sent across enemy lines to contact the Americans. He implores the Allies to act and afterwards U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the Free French Forces under General Charles de Gaulle the go-ahead to move on Paris.
As the military situation deteriorates, Choltitz delays the order to destroy Paris, believing that Hitler is insane and that the war is lost, making the destruction of Paris a futile gesture. He chooses instead to surrender shortly after the Allies enter the city.
As the Free French Forces and De Gaulle parade down the streets of Paris, greeted by cheering crowds, a phone receiver off the hook is seen with a voice in German repeatedly asking "Is Paris burning?" From the air, Paris is seen, its buildings still standing.

Review: "Paris is Burning" is a documentary about gay black and Hispanic men who are tranvestites or transsexuals.The miracle of "Paris is Burning" is that director Jennie Livingston takes a subject that could have very easily become a freak show and allows the people in it their humanity.
But if you do see this movie you'll realise "Paris is Burning" isn't really about men wearing women's clothes, it's about a group of people who are routinely marginalised and put down by society at large, and what they do to get a sense of community in their lives.I've watched this movie four times since it was released in 1991, because it says so many things:  it's a commentary about materialism in our culture, about gender roles, about rich and poor people, about the media and what it celebrates, about fame and adulation.
I had many gay friends growing up in New York in the eighties and the one thing about them i always admired was their courage to live their lives the way they wanted to live them.
This is a great film, watch it and take in what it was like to be a flamboyant African American or Hispanic Gay man in the New York of the eighties.
Some are still very much alive and quite well, Octavia is more radiant and beautiful than ever, Willi Ninja is very accomplished and gives a great deal of support to the gay community as a whole, Pepper Labeija just passed on last year of natural cause, may she rest in peace.
After Anji's passing Carmen became the mother of the house of Xtravaganza (she was in the beach scene) and she is looking more and more lovely as well.
Documentary starts in 1986 in NYC where black and hispanic drag queens hold "balls".
As one man says to another--"You have three strikes against you--you're black, gay and a drag queen".
This movie is for anyone that wasn't around during that time period.This shows the one thing the African American Gay Underclass felt was solely theirs and the love and camadrie you see is real.
This film came out 12 years years ago, and was a revelation even for people who knew something of the drag scene in New York.
Julian Fleisher's "The Drag Queens of New York: An Illustrated Field Guide" with its flow chart of influence that pulls together Julian Eltinge, Minette, the Warhol queens, and the 90s club scene - and postdates the film - ignores the houses completely.
Even Laurence Senelick's "The Changing Room" - the closest thing that we have to a definitive book on drag performance rushes quickly past the film and does not give the background information that one would have expected from it.I understand from the film itself,and various articles I found on the web that this house system goes back decades.
The major film performance by a house member prior to 1990 seems to be Chrystal La Beija in "The Queen", 1968.
The historical context is the biggest missing part of "Paris is Burning".The film is valuable because it focuses on a scene otherwise being ignored.
As we now know, Dorian Corey had a mummified corpse in her literal closet, but this did not come out until three years later.Of historical importance, but we still need someone to do either a book or a documentary film that provides more context..
You feel you're watching these people as they once were, over 10 years ago, when they still had hopes and dreams that by now have probably dwindled to nothing.
to give folks an update on the individuals interviewed in "Paris Is Burning", Angie Xtravaganza, Dorian Corey & just last year(or early this year?), Pepper LaBeija all passed-away, unfortunately.
..i'm not sure what has become of the rest of the cast, though.to this day, i watch this film as if it's the first time seeing it....i, personally, would like Ms. Livingston to make a follow-up film, catching back-up with the surviving individuals....as i'm sure a good many of you would like to see as well.;).
Most people see this movie as an introduction to the world of drag queens or introduction to voguing and "balls".
I am a straight Latina who grew up in the NYC club scene but for me the best thing about this movie besides the great dancers and "characters" is what it says about being a marginalized group in the dog eat dog 1980's, and what they did to hold on to a semblance of family and fame.
Most of the house "mothers" died within a few years of the movie...
Growing up in NYC in the late 80's/early 90's club-scene, I can personally say this is one of the most important documentaries made in covering that place in this time period.
Seeing these kind of extraordinarily talented/well orchestrated "throw-downs" in the clubs was nothing short of spectacular and all the big names from back in the day are here...Pepper La Beija, Paris Duprée,Xtragavaganza, etc...all commemorated in the likes of such period-pieces as Malcom McLaren's song "Deep in Vogue"...it didn't matter who you were, or where you were from because when you walked through those doors into this "magic kingdom" of sorts, you became part of something bigger than yourself/you were important/and most importantly the creation of your own moves and imagination...and anybody from anywhere could become King (or Queen) as the case may have been.
this is so important to the community period..well if your are reading this please consider doing another documentary of this sort...I am really tired of hearing from naive writers how AIDS and Men go together when they don't; actually its the hetero's that we need to look into..this film didn't even bother to mention HIV or AIDS and I was so glad for that..I really appreciated the break downs and definitions too.
I had just recently watched "Paris Is Burning" and I love it.
All this by a white female director (who obviously must have been a Sister Gurl or Mizz Thing in a former life.) I could go on, but I think you get the point by now: I love this movie!.
I saw Paris IS BURNING at the San Francisco Gay Film Festival when it wasn't yet finished.
At least that closing piece.BTW: I was very actively gay in NYC in the 80s, for two years I shared an apt with the love of my life who was an African-American man.
"Paris Is Burning" is one of the best documentaries ever in that it perfectly captures a world that exists within our own and makes it seem totally alien to us.
While I am not unfamiliar with drag queens and New York City (I am a young gay man who was raised an hour from New York City in suburban New Jersey), this movie's take on drag balls in the 80's is very eye opening.
Drag queens are all about attitude and flamboyance, but this movie takes us behind that to the sorrow and desperation and the need to be accepted, by family, by society, and by our peers.
This is a very important "queer" film that says a lot about gay society in America.
For a challenge, watch this on a Double Feature with "Wigstock", a documentary about the (formerly) annual Drag Festival in New York City..
Ballroom Fun. Being a fan of the RuPaul Drag Race show and all the references to Paris Is Burning, a movie I've heard of since high school but never saw until now.
From shady and fierce to the drag queen art of "reading", this movie seems like the inspiration for RuPaul's show.The film is about the ballroom circuit for the mostly black/latino gay community.
Some competitions include the now famous "Voguing" - a dance which was popularized by iconic singer Madonna."Paris Is Burning" seems a bit dated now that being "gay" has gradually been accepted as a natural occurrence, but at the time of filming AIDS and homosexuals were synonymous and gays stigmatized.
The titles before each sequence "BALLS", "REALNESS", "HOUSES", etc., were probably the inspiration for Ken Burns' documentaries.
Filmed in New York City at the end of the 1980's, it's a great insight to an urban community that most of the "straight" world never new existed..
Gay or strait its a great doco for anyone who likes film.
It was interesting.Now to add after 10 years of seeing this film, I lived through the so called 'Madonna' craze.
Makes me wonder, if anyone else from mainstream America would watch this documentary, they'll learn they're not as "mainstream" as they think..
Documentaries that singlehandedly convey one person's life are far easier than to tackle an entire culture, so director Livingstone had a challenge ahead to portray New York's ballroom community.
A minority culture powered by African-Americans, Latinos, gays and transgenders where they "walk" in a variety of categories for trophies.
It was emotionally impactful and saddening to hear that these young performers yearn for fame and wealth, because it's something they've never experienced and believe it to be a privilege among "real" culture (a category within the balls where performers must act straight).
"Paris Is Burning", is an extraordinary documentary; detailing not simply the late-eighties sub-culture of "gay", black, New York, drag - and the transsexual balls which defined them - but also the appreciation of "drag" in all of its incarnations, the wanting to be other than what the participants were: oppressed, ignored, and un-appreciated.
It is a testament to the survival of those who have lived on the fringes, and a reminder to all, that there remains, even today, those who must deal with the loss of friends and loved-ones, the children, the house-members, the defiant few who vogued well-before Madonna, who lived in realness and dignity..
In a film in which the subjects are referred to as having "3 strikes against them" from a socioeconomic, racial, and sexual preference perspective, we as viewers are taken deep into the tight knit community that is New York Ballroom culture.
The way in which the concept of "drag" is explained in the film is not simply a definition consisting of describing gay men who dress in women's clothes.
In Paris is Burning, drag is a way to take on a new identity; to disconnect oneself from reality.
For people who are unfamiliar with this culture, listening to these men tell their stories and express the importance of the new york ballroom scene in their daily lives, it is quite easy to understand.
Paris is Burning paved the way for documentaries focused on marginalized groups of people.
In terms of the internet, the majority of the documentaries i come across that are web based (but function in a similar way as Paris is Burning does in terms of purpose and aesthetic) are centered around marginalized groups.
Made back in 1990, the film follows the majority African American and Latino LGBT communities of New York and the 'ball culture' they attended.
It seemed like an amazing night out and for participants an opportunity to express themselves they might not get a chance to do elsewhere.One of the few aspects of the film I did know about was voguing.
This is highly stylized, athletic and fierce and amazing to watch.It is a wonderful insight into a world that you never really here about or indeed see and it would be fascinating to revisit these people and to see whether ball culture exists in the same way today.
It had been recommended to me in a documentary filmmaking class that I took a few years ago.
From the start it really captures you as a very engaged audience member interested and fascinated in the lives of these people.
The film does a great job of really balancing a different number of people while never overwhelming the audience with a ton of information.
Paris Is Burning is a riveting documentary that focuses on the aspirations and culture of African American homosexuals and transsexuals.
One very important aspect of the film is the depth that is shown of the culture of these men.
Prior to this film, there were not many people, including myself, that new much about African American homosexuals, transsexuals and drag balls during this time.
After watching the film though, I felt enlightened about this culture and had a new understanding of what these people were like, how unfairly they were treated, and their desire to be accepted in society.
Even though you might not be interested in the topics of balls, homosexuality, racism, or voguing, you might be surprised by hoe much this film pulls you in and keeps you interested until the end.
I would definitely recommend the film to anyone, especially those looking to expand their point of view about different topics..
There is so much hope and dreams in this role movie that it's impossible not be touched by Venus, Pepper, Dorian and all the other's that appear are in the most raw ways of living, you don't see lies here, you see only the real feeling of humanity, much, much hope and dreams, specially in the young, a certain sad truth of what life really is in the old ones, is simply amazing, not only for telling the story of the drag scene but for telling the story of real people with hopes and fears.10/10
Life-affirming documentary on 80's drag scene.
I don't usually watch documentaries but I loved this one!
The movie depicts the gay New York of the 80's, focusing particularly on the struggles of .
The movie manages to show why The Ball is so important to everybody involved, and how being on stage and acting to be somebody different means so much for people coming from poverty striving for wealth and fame.But even though Paris IS BURNING is quite concerned with societal issues, it never becomes reduced to its political statements.
Instead, the movie just shows, quite subjectively, what happens in the drag scene and what people think and feel.
And then you find yourself drawn into this wonderful world of lively, honest and hard-working people and their quests.The movie's message is life-affirming and leaves you in high spirits.
Paris IS BURNING is a near- perfect documentary that has stood the test of time...
A chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.My first impression while watching this is how it must have influenced both Madonna and "To Wong Foo".
Paris is Burning is a documentary about the drag scene in New York City in the 1980s, but it is so much more than that.
It is a story about people who have had to hide themselves and deal with being marginalized for being black, male and gay.
It is a watching this documentary and then seeing how trans-gender and gay people are still dealing with the same problems today.
I recommend it to everyone, no matter if they are for or against gay rights because it is truly a movie about humanity..
After growing up in the gritty streets of Detroit, MI, and having friends who traveled to New York balls, I fell into the lifestyle of being a House member.
But, I learned a lot from these queens in this movie and I highly recommend you watch it yourself.
To speak on excellent documentaries and skip this one shows the many issues with any type of film study class.
I say this since, often, films featuring people of color are looked over and not mentioned when it comes to said classes.
I can't say, but I must share with you a review of this film.Like most documentaries, there are people featured in the film and others play supporting roles.
For Paris is Burning the focus are on the "Mothers" of the houses and a select few of their children.
Alongside Pepper there is: Dorian Corey, who isn't a mother but a prominent figure in the movie; Angie Xtravaganza; Willi Ninja and Octavia St. Laurent.
Together, these are the people who introduce us to Ball culture and some facets to queer culture.Now, unlike many documentaries, there isn't so much an overall beginning and end when it comes to the film.
It more so features one house at a time while focusing on different segments of a ball.
For Ball culture, Dorian Corey speaks on how things have changed from the Balls being about people dressing as Showgirls to the then style which featured people trying to look like the famous models, or actresses, of the time.
Now, I realize I speak as if Paris is Burning isn't older than myself, but considering how few examples there are of queer culture in media, it was nice to see as many drag queens and feminine men as you would masculine men, trans-gendered and other underrepresented people of the queer community.
It makes it so that the documentary feels natural and almost makes you wish this was a series rather than simply a movie.And this leads me to the negatives of the film which solely deal with structure.
Also, I felt like there should have occasionally been a reminder of who someone was and which house they were part of for you are introduced to so many people that only getting their name once makes it so your memory has to be good.
I just would have liked if perhaps they focused on each house, their mothers and children, as they prepped for a ball, rather than sort of weaving in and out from the mothers talking, what was happening at a ball, seeing some of the children speak and then talking about bits of queer and trans-gendered culture.
But, overall I think this is a decent film to seek out if you have some curiosity and I'd consider it one of the few documentaries I may watch more than once, if just because of the personalities.