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Paris
	Topic by: DandelionSF Posted: July 23, 2004 - 5:24 PM PDT Last Reply: August 4, 2004 - 11:05 AM PDT

author	topic: Paris
DandelionSF	post #1  on July 23, 2004 - 5:24 PM PDT   I'm off to Paris in a little over a week, and was trying to think of films that have a lot of Parisian scenery, themes, etc. to get me even more excited. Any suggestions? Thanks!
RHorsman	post #2  on July 27, 2004 - 9:50 AM PDT   1 Night in Paris? Sorry. Couldn't resist.
sinisterguffaw	post #3  on July 27, 2004 - 10:17 AM PDT   Hah! C'mon now, just forget paris. Ba dum bum. Actually, I imagine An American in Paris has some good images. I honestly don't remember if I've seen this movie or not, but if I have it's been a loooong time and I was too young to care.
DLeonard	post #4  on July 27, 2004 - 12:15 PM PDT   Amelie might be one of the more obvious choices. I haven't seen it, but Le Divorce must have quite a bit of Paris scenery. Two more that I really enjoyed but which depict a somewhat older Paris are Diva (1980's) and The Moderns (1920's). Man, now I wish I was going.
underdog	post #5  on July 27, 2004 - 12:25 PM PDT   Actually one of my favorite recent Parisian-set films is sadly unavailable on DVD for some annoying reason: When the Cat's Away. Great use of locations, really cute film, too. Maybe you can find it on VHS somewhere... A few other Paris favorites, on DVD: Diva The Moderns Breathless Stolen Kisses I'm sure I can add more later if you'd like... Bon voyage! C
underdog	post #6  on July 27, 2004 - 12:28 PM PDT   Oops, we both posted two of the same titles at the same time. ;-) Hey, wasn't one of the Pink Panther movies set in Paris? I think the first one... There's also Tres Coleurs: Blue, but that's really depressing, too. And Gigi. And French Kiss.
sinisterguffaw	post #7  on July 27, 2004 - 12:59 PM PDT   I almost forgot one of my favorites (besides the previously mention Amelie): Moulin Rouge. There's also a 1952 Moulin Rouge directed by John Huston.
IVLIA	post #8  on July 27, 2004 - 11:34 PM PDT   > On July 27, 2004 - 12:25 PM PDT underdog wrote: > --------------------------------- > Actually one of my favorite recent Parisian-set films is sadly unavailable on DVD for some annoying reason: When the Cat's Away. Great use of locations, really cute film, too. Maybe you can find it on VHS somewhere... I totally agree with this recommendation, although, again, it ain't on DVD: Chacun cherche son chat i.e. When the Cat's Away: it's amazing in how intimately it depicts the overall feel of a Parisian neighborhood, in this case the 11th arrondissement--the area of the Bastille. Haneke's Code inconnu has a lot of Paris scenery as do Carax's Les Amants du pont-neuf and Olivier Assayas's Late August, Early September. Also, you can't go wrong with Kieslowski's Three Colors. If, by the way, you want some non-cinematic advice about cool Parisian places to see, let me know.
IronS	post #9  on July 28, 2004 - 9:37 PM PDT   This was my film on the GTM thread (prompted by this thread): Funny Face.
kamapuaa	post #10  on July 29, 2004 - 2:22 AM PDT   I was in Paris for the New Year's with some friends. While I loved Paris, and think "Amelie" and "When the Cat's Away" are twice as nice as any postcard, I wouldn't consider any of the many Paris movies I've seen, a true guide to actually being in Paris! Maybe the movie "Alive"??? Except the stuggle to survive against the extreme cold was made a lot easier by the existense of coffee shops every 40 feet. Or "Barfly"? Perhaps that's just me. Or "Hate"??? At night, drunk people were yelling racial epithets at us in the street! I thought that was kind of cool. Or "Love on a Diet"??? Except, watching it in reverse, so they get fat instead. Went to somebody's friend's place, and half the day was spent eating some form of butter or cheese!
Eoliano	post #11  on July 29, 2004 - 7:11 AM PDT   Speaking of butter, no one has mentioned Last Tango in Paris, or Bertolucci's most recent film The Dreamers, which manages to recapture something of Paris in the late 60s. Polanski's Bitter Moon definitely has a fair amount of Parisian flavor, though it's an acquired taste. You can always take a brief tour of the Parisian underworld by way of Melville's Le Cercle Rouge and Un Flic.
Cosplayer	post #12  on July 29, 2004 - 7:46 AM PDT   Daimonds are a girl's best friend!! They go to paris...and it's the only paris movie I know/like!!!!! or you can watch the simple life with paris hilton! (I'm so funny)
IVLIA	post #13  on July 29, 2004 - 9:30 AM PDT   > On July 29, 2004 - 7:11 AM PDT Eoliano wrote: > --------------------------------- > Speaking of butter, no one has mentioned Last Tango in Paris, [...] Parkay! Speaking of Melville, there's another Léos Carax film, POLA X, based on Melville's Pierre or the Ambiguities, which features lots of Parigots in their element. And... to second a previous nomination, I wish La Haine was available on DVD, but the action is mostly set in the Parisian banlieues--not the best place to spend a vacation. Et puis, Irreversible, also starring Vincent Cassell (from La Haine), is chock full of "the real Paris," but it's also a pretty gut-wrenching film and not much of a mood-setter. Enfin, there's Varda's Cléo de 5 a 7, but we're talking pre-May '68 Paris, that is, a Paris that doesn't exist anymore.
sinisterguffaw	post #14  on July 29, 2004 - 10:10 AM PDT   Irma La Douce. Jack Lemmon, Shirley McClaine, Paris, Prostitution. What more could you ask for?
Eoliano	post #15  on July 29, 2004 - 11:23 AM PDT   > Enfin, there's Varda's Cléo de 5 a 7, but we're talking pre-May '68 Paris, that is, a Paris that doesn't exist anymore. One could say the same of the Paris of Atget, but...
Eoliano	post #16  on July 31, 2004 - 8:19 AM PDT   Before Sunset
BrodiesGirl	post #17  on July 31, 2004 - 10:45 PM PDT   > On July 27, 2004 - 11:34 PM PDT IVLIA wrote: > --------------------------------- > > On July 27, 2004 - 12:25 PM PDT underdog wrote: > > --------------------------------- > > Actually one of my favorite recent Parisian-set films is sadly unavailable on DVD for some annoying reason: When the Cat's Away. Great use of locations, really cute film, too. Maybe you can find it on VHS somewhere... > > I totally agree with this recommendation, although, again, it ain't on DVD: Chacun cherche son chat i.e. When the Cat's Away: it's amazing in how intimately it depicts the overall feel of a Parisian neighborhood, in this case the 11th arrondissement--the area of the Bastille. Is that the really cute movie with the girl who has the crazy cat lady watch her cat and then the cat gets lost?
uncleanton	post #18  on August 3, 2004 - 9:52 PM PDT   Playtime! 400 Blows! Les Bonnes Femmes! Band A Part!
Eoliano	post #19  on August 4, 2004 - 1:30 AM PDT   Darlings, I think Dandelion is in Paris by now...
kohnfused1	post #20  on August 4, 2004 - 11:05 AM PDT   > On July 23, 2004 - 5:24 PM PDT DandelionSF wrote: > --------------------------------- > I'm off to Paris in a little over a week, and was trying to think of films that have a lot of Parisian scenery, themes, etc. to get me even more excited. Any suggestions? Thanks! > --------------------------------- "Most" films by Audrey Tautou. Plug her name in the advance search feature.