An American in Paris

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A GI (Gene Kelly) stays in Paris after the war to become an artist, and has to choose between the patronage of a rich American woman (Nina Foch) and a French gamine (Leslie Caron) engaged to an older man. The plot is mostly an excuse for director Vincente Minnelli to pool his own extraordinary talent with those of choreographer-dancer-actor Kelly and the artists behind the screenplay, art direction, cinematography, and score, creating a rapturous musical not quite like anything else in cinema. The final section of the film comprises a 17-minute dance sequence that took a month to film and is breathtaking. Songs include "'S Wonderful," "I Got Rhythm," and "Love Is Here to Stay." --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

a hit!.......2007-07-31

as with Anchors Aweigh, great music, stars, choreography and sound, all masterfully restored. great fun.

spectacular...........2007-07-18

I remember watching this, as a little girl, sitting back and watching Gene Kelly and the cast just burst with energy, color and life. There is a reason that this 1951 film was the recipient of so many Academy Awards. It was truly a labor of love for Gene Kelly and director Vincent Minnelli. An American GI (Kelly) goes to live and paint in Paris. Though, first involved with an American benefactoress (Nina Foch), he falls in love with a young Parisian beauty (Leslie Caron) who is engaged to another man.

The music and dancing are wonderful here. For starters, the score includes songs like "I Got Rhythm" and "Love is Here to Stay," and secondly, Gene Kelly leaps, spins and glides as if he is suspended in air. The choreography is fabulous and I can't write this review without at least acknowledging the [now legendary] seventeen minute dance sequence, that is a juxtaposition of the paintings that the American GI creates and a sort of fantastical sixth dimension that we get a glimpse of. You must see this film to truly appreciate its place and significance in American cinema, as well is in the hearts of film buffs and Gene Kelly fans alike.

Not as good as "Singin' in the Rain".......2007-05-25

Okay, I know I'm in the minority and this is supposed to be an amazing classic musical that everyone loves, but it didn't really grab me. Here's my situation: my daughter takes tap-dancing lessons and loves them, so I picked up "Singin' in the Rain" on DVD because I thought she might enjoy it. Well, both of us LOVED that movie! Entertaining, funny story, colorful memorable characters, and absolutely breathtaking tap dance numbers.

Since we loved "Singin' in the Rain," I ordered a ton of other Gene Kelly musicals. The first one we watched was "An American in Paris," and honestly, we were disappointed. The story wasn't nearly as good, the characters weren't as likable. Yeah, there's the big ballet in the end, but I'm not into ballet and I don't like overlong numbers like that (in "Singin' in the Rain," I wasn't into "Broadway Melody" either). There are a couple of tap dance numbers in this that were mildly entertaining (Kelly dancing in a funny way to entertain the French kids was cute), but nothing as exuberant and jaw-droppingly amazing as "Moses Supposes" or Donald O'Connor's "Make 'em Laugh", both of which I could watch endlessly.

So speaking totally as a layman who knows nothing about musicals, I can say that personally, I adored "Singin' in the Rain," but didn't enjoy "An American in Paris" nearly as much. (Next up we're going to check out "On the Town," "Les Girls," "Summer Stock" and "Brigadoon.")

Great George Gershwin so so Kelly.......2007-04-02

Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) ex-GI stays in Paris to practice painting. There he is patronized by a jealous Milo Roberts (Nina Foch). Mean time he is trying to make time with a store clerk that is more than she appears to be (Leslie Caron).

Not one of Kelly's best but passable. However even at his best one has to have a taste for that sort of thing. He is sort of a Danny Kay type. His high-water pants are his signature and really looks out of place. He can not sing worth beans. However he did do a good job in "What a Way to Go."

Even though this film is not a notable movie it was directed by Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986.) He directed some great movies and some that you would never suspect such as "The Long Long Trailer."

s'mahvelous.......2007-01-16

I've been watching this movie since I was a little, and couldn't find it anywhere! Gene Kelly is once again wonderful, and his smile still gets me. Leslie Caron aparently made her debut in this and her delicate, beautiful dancing is a joy to watch. This movie does try to be a little more daring and modern in certain scenes than your average musical, but all in all it's great.

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And Now For Something Completely Different
A Beautiful Movie
A Great Movie
Not For Everyone, but Powerful
Shoot me ... shoot me now

Paris, Texas
Starring: Harry Dean Stanton , Sam Berry , Bernhard Wicki , Dean Stockwell , and Aurore Clément
Director: Wim Wenders
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0002XL35G
Release Date: 2004-12-14

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Something like a perfect artistic union is achieved in the major components of Paris, Texas: the twang of Ry Cooder's guitar, the lonely light of Robbie Muller's camera, the craggy landscape of Harry Dean Stanton's face. In his greatest role, longtime character actor Stanton plays a man brought back to his old life after wandering in the desert (or somewhere) for four years. He has a 7-year-old son to get to know, and his wife has gone missing. The material is much in the wanderlust spirit of director Wim Wenders, working from a script by Sam Shepard and L.M. Kit Carson. If the long climactic conversation between Stanton and Nastassja Kinski renders the movie uneven and slightly inscrutable, it's hard to think of a more fitting ending--and besides, the achingly empty American spaces stick longer in the memory than the dialogue. Winner of the top prize at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. --Robert Horton

Description

After four years' absence, a social dropout reappears in l.a. to claim his abandoned son and then heads for texas to reunite the boy with his mother.

Customer Reviews:

And Now For Something Completely Different.......2007-06-11

Before you rush out and buy the "Paris, Texas" (1984) DVD based on the many glowing reviews and comments, you may want a bit of a reality check. The film is 145 minutes long, that's almost two and a half hours. And not much happens during this time. The pacing is about on the level of "The Straight Story" (1999), which was only 112 minutes; so if that film had you climbing the walls you should probably steer clear of this one.

On the other hand "Paris, Texas" is a technical masterpiece with great photography, excellent directing, and solid performances from the entire cast (although that cast is small). And it's a lyrically told story about loss, loneliness, and eccentricity; a look America and American values from an outside perspective (in this case European). I'm not sure that the film's message(s) is gotten across (unless you listen to the commentary feature on the DVD and maybe not even then) but it is certainly more coherent than when Michelangelo Antonioni tried to do the same thing in the early 1970's.

The film opens with a wanderer walking alone in the desert. You eventually learn that this is not Howard Hughes but Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton), that he has been missing the past four years, has semi-amnesia (a lot is made of this but the condition is never adequately explained), has a seven year-old son name Hunter (Hunter Carson), and a wife named Jane (Nastassia Kinski). Kinski fans will be somewhat disappointed as she does not even appear until the last third of the film (except briefly in some grainy home movies).

The film could actually be classified as a "buddy picture-road movie" or two buddy picture- road movies. The first third features Travis and his brother's (Dean Stockwell) journey from Texas to LA, the final third Travis and his son's journey back to Texas. The weakest part is the middle third which serves little purpose other than providing some background details and linking the two journey segments.

Because "Paris, Texas" is not your standard pre-sold commercial product, most of its suspense comes from the viewers themselves, who have little idea just where the film is headed. So if you watch a lot of films and are jaded because everything is so predictable, this movie viewing experience should be a nice change of pace.

Because you haven't met these characters in other films, it takes a lot of storytelling to flesh them out, which is probably the biggest reason for the film's extended running length. Sam Shepard's script is not so much elliptical as it is evasive, somehow the characters tell us their most basic beliefs and deepest fears without really revealing anything about themselves (insert "Two Lane Blacktop" here).

German New Wave director Wenders gets an astonishingly unaffected performance from young Hunter Carson, as convincing as any you are likely to find. Carson never did much after this amazing debut.

The most intriguing sequences take place between Stanton and Kinski. The actors are never face-to-face as their characters speak to each other from opposite sides of one-way mirror. Travis has found Jane working in a seedy shop where lonely men pay to talk to women on the telephone.?

The DP fills the screen with images of people dwarfed by vast, distant, and impersonal land/ cityscapes. The most effective and original is a sequence of Travis walking along a bridge over a LA interstate with the audio supplied by an unseen (until the end) and rambling derelict addressing the bumper to bumper traffic rushing by below.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

A Beautiful Movie.......2007-03-30

Paris, Texas is a real place. Supposedly, the main character, Travis, claims his old father once said he was conceived in Paris, Texas, some tiny dusty ghost of a town blistering in the dry heat of the Mojave somewhere in the center of Texas. Hardly the Paris we'd all first assume.

We find Travis lost, depressed, mute and alone in the center of the hot summer Texan drylands.

Like an egg cooking, we are slowly introduced into this shy and sad character's life. A doctor finds him with only a single clue, a business card in his pocket. The name of the person on the card happens to be his brother (Dean Stanton) in Los Angeles.

From here, the story develops when Travis'es brother's character is developed. We see how his brother took care of his son and then we are introduced into his brother's household where we meet his son Sullivan who vaguely remembers his biological father, Travis and refers to his uncle and aunt as "mom and dad."

The movie slowly unpeels Travis'es life like a gentle emotional nostalgic striptease, until nearly 1 hour and 50 minutes into the film, we finally discover who Travis's lover and who Sullivan's true biological mother is.

It's a slowly developing movie that is patient and true to the nature of our protaganist who has gone 4 years without talking and who has changed as a result of the path in life he's taken.

Wim Wenders, director of "Wings of Desire" has his signature cinematographic touches and as always, patiently introduces us to new characters in an intriguing manner.

The late introduction of Natasha Kinski's character was beautifully done as we develop a picture of her and finally are introduced to her mystically in a red car riding through through tributary freeways of Houston, Texas. So much development is made of her character, that, when we are finally introduced to her, in a seedy joint with "pay to talk to chicks booths", she portrays the very goddess like appeal and attraction that Travis'es character has for her. The sordid location served little significance.

Her acting is convincing and angelically portrayed, and beautifully written.

Visually, the movie is ethereal. The night colors of Los Angeles are remarkable. The landscapes invinceable. There is also an intriguing interpretation of America from a German Director. Sometimes the character mannerisms, behaviors and dialogues are too European and unAmericanly directed. But all and all, I love this movie as I appreciate most Wim Wenders movies.

My favorite scene was easily the scene with Sullivan and Travis chasing mom on the freeways of Houston. It was an exciting, romantic artistic creation.

The scene of the man screaming above the noisey, apathetic Los Angeles traffic was gripping too.

Travis aria to Kinski beyond the dark barrier of a peepshow booth in the third person was oscar award winning.

A Great Movie.......2007-02-03

What a great movie. One of the best movies I've seen in years. I recommend it to anyone who likes early 80's era of a basic storyline about love & justification.

Not For Everyone, but Powerful .......2007-01-13

This is a very long movie with virtually no physical "action." It is words and feelings and feelings not spoken that should be and all permutations of the above. The understated performances from all lend themselves to the broad expanse of space Wenders creates here. The actors give full, highly complex performances, but within the context of the Texas desert and the American southwest, the humans are dwarfed by the world around them.

This movie will not appeal to everyone. It is talky and the language borders on the poetic quite often. The ending is both satisfying and not satisfying and leaves many questions. I, for one, can't help but think the child ends up back with Travis' brother Walt and his wife. However, that could be argued. Trust me, it has been.

Anyhow, this is a fascinating character study in which the scenery and the music become active characters in the film. Dean Stockwell controls the first 45 minutes or so and then deftly hands it over to Harry Dean Stanton who then hands it over to Nastassja Kinski. In the middle of all this is the keeper of the baton, Hunter Carson. It is an amazing piece of work for them all.

Shoot me ... shoot me now.......2006-08-25

This was arguably the longest 2 hours I have spent in my entire life ... it felt like much more ... I found myself more than a little angry with the overkill leadup to what could have been a compelling story. The punch line took way too long to get to ... and when it came, it just wasn't enough to convince me it was worth the wait. With each pregnant pause between dialogue (and guitar strings), I was sure I'd be getting up to leave ... I suspect the invested time (hours and hours it seemed) precluded me from doing so. I wanted that punch line ... then, finally, it came ... and it went.

This one had a ton of potential but it just didn't work for me.

Best Picture Oscar Collection - Musicals (My Fair Lady Special Edition / An American in Paris / The Broadway Melody of 1929 / Gigi / The Great Ziegfeld)

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Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Picture Oscar Collection - Musicals (My Fair Lady Special Edition / An American in Paris / The Broadway Melody of 1929 / Gigi / The Great Ziegfeld)
Starring: Leslie Caron , Maurice Chevalier , Louis Jourdan , Hermione Gingold , and Eva Gabor
Director: Charles Walters , Vincente Minnelli , and Robert Z. Leonard
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006V6TO4
Release Date: 2005-02-08

Customer Reviews:

Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-03-20

Give me any of the musicals anytime. These performances are like a thing in the past. Some of these production companies should take a look at the old to bring back the Glitz!!!!!!!!!!!

Paris, Texas (Original French ONLY Version)

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Paris, Texas (Original French ONLY Version)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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And Now For Something Completely Different
A Beautiful Movie
A Great Movie
Not For Everyone, but Powerful
Shoot me ... shoot me now

Paris, Texas [Region 2]
Starring: Harry Dean Stanton , Sam Berry , Bernhard Wicki , Dean Stockwell , and Aurore Clément
Director: Wim Wenders
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006HCOP

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

And Now For Something Completely Different.......2007-06-11

A Beautiful Movie.......2007-03-30

A Great Movie.......2007-02-03

What a great movie. One of the best movies I've seen in years. I recommend it to anyone who likes early 80's era of a basic storyline about love & justification.

Not For Everyone, but Powerful .......2007-01-13

Shoot me ... shoot me now.......2006-08-25

Paris, Texas [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]

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Paris, Texas [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]
Director: Wim Wenders
Manufacturer: Filmax
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FN01B0

Product Description

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0), Spanish (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN, SYNOPSIS: Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) is wandering through the Texas desert, a bit shaky and in desperate need of water, when he stumbles into a bar and collapses. A German doctor of dubious credentials finds a phone number in Travis' wallet, which belongs to his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell). Walt is shocked to hear about his brother's condition, since no one in the family has seen or heard from Travis in four years; Walt flies to Texas to bring him home, only to find Travis wandering by the side of the road, and they begin the long drive back to Los Angeles, where Walt lives with his wife, Anne (Aurore Clement), and Hunter (Hunter Carson), Travis' seven-year-old son. At first, Travis refuses to speak and is oddly distant, but in time he begins to talk again, and when he arrives in California, he begins the painful process of reacquainting himself with his son and trying to reconcile with his wife, Jane (Nastassia Kinski).
SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Scene Access, Interactive Menu, Filmographies, Documentary, Deleted Scenes, Commentary, Collectors Edition, Biographies,

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Movie
Starring: Paris Texas
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
ASIN: B0002ND5QQ
Release Date: 2003-04-08

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