Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il ?)

Paramount conceived Is Paris Burning? (French: Paris brûle-t-il ?) as Europe's answer to Fox's The Longest Day (1962), and René Clément directed the black-and-white war epic as a 1966 French-American co-production. The 1965 book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre was adapted by five writers, Gore Vidal, Francis Ford Coppola and Jean Aurenche among them. It opened in France on 26 October 1966 and, with over four million admissions, was the year's fourth most popular film there.

Set in one week of August 1944, it follows the liberation of Paris from the sides of the Resistance, the Allies and the occupiers. General von Choltitz, military governor of Greater Paris, has received Hitler's order to destroy the city. The film shows him sparing Paris out of humanity, a legend now debunked, since he lacked the means and time. French, American and German stars fill the cast, among them Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Yves Montand, Orson Welles, Kirk Douglas and Gert Fröbe; it runs about 175 minutes.

Made at the height of the Resistance myth, it faced the memory dispute between Gaullists and communists. It was nominated at the 40th Academy Awards for black-and-white cinematography and art direction, and Maurice Jarre's score for a Golden Globe.