Paris Is Burning
by Jennie Livingston
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Product details
Actor: Andr? Christian, Carmen and Brooke, David The Father Xtravaganza, Dorian Corey, Paris Dupr?eDirector: Jennie Livingston
Cinematographer: Paul Gibson
Producer: Jennie Livingston
Editor: Jonathan Oppenheim
Producer: Barry Swimar
Producer: Richard Dooley
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Color, NTSC, Original recording reissued
Running Time: 71 minutes
Release Date: 1997-02-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Fox Lorber
Studio: Fox Lorber
VHS Movie Reviews of Paris Is Burning
Movie Review: For sure 70's
Summary: 2 Stars
I found it entertaining and interesting from a historical prospective, with a few interviews that allowed a glimpse of the real person, otherwise not much substance. My feel was that the way they approached was from a voyeuristic angle rather than one looking to gain insight.
Movie Review: Colors of the Rainbow
Summary: 4 Stars
"Paris is Burning" is a fascinating 1990 documentary depicting the fabulous underside of gritty '80s NYC. The Big Apple was still rough around the edges. At the time, Times Square was seamy. In "Paris is Burning",the down-and-out (of the closet) have made a paradise of their own in the clubs.
"Paris is Burning" chronicles the lives of African-American and Latino gays, and defines their terms like "shade","reading" and of course,"voguing",the dance style they perfected. Their balls (usually held at the Elks Lodge in Harlem) weren't the usual drag balls. Some impersonate army officers; others impersonate executives. They mimic what they see as "straight white America." There are breakdancers. Some,like Octavia St. Laurent and Venus Xtravaganza, are famous for embodying femininity. An old drag queen, Dorian Corey,reflects on how the "houses" and their "children" have evolved from emulating silver screen icons like Marilyn Monroe to small screen divas like the ladies of Dynasty. Questions of gender identity, family, and sexuality are explored. Venus dreams of a white wedding to the man of his/her dreams. Another brags he'll never have a sex change operation. Pepper LaBeija reminisces,sadly,how his mother burned his mink coat. Two teenaged boys,their arms around each other,are joyful despite the fact their families kicked them out.
"Paris is Burning" is bittersweet. There's the pageantry of the balls,an escape from a difficult life. There's a longing for identity and family. Many of the people depicted came to tragic ends. Pepper LaBeija died from the complications of diabetes. Venus Xtravaganza was found strangled in his/her apartment. Choreographer Willi Ninja died from AIDS two years ago. When Dorian Corey died,a skeleton was found-literally-in his closet,a mummy underneath his bed. There is a sense of tragedy. Paris is burning,and it burns brightly.
Movie Review: paris is burning
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved it. reminds me so much of growing up on the streets of downtown L.A. i wish they had a part 2 10yrs later but most of them are no longer with us its sad... i have seen this vedio 20 times since i got it i give it a A+ LOVE ITMovie Review: A Time that Was
Summary: 5 Stars
"Paris is Burning"
A Time that Was
Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride
One of the best reviewed documentaries about gay life has finally found its way to DVD, "Is Paris Burning" by Jenny Livingston. This documentary about gay, black and Hispanic men who are transsexuals or transvestites is absolutely riveting. The beauty of the film is that director Livingston takes a subject that could very easily become a laughing matter and freak show and shows the true humanity of the people in the film. We hear from their mouths their views on being gay, about the people in their lives and those they want in their lives, about what their dreams are and we learn of their disappointments.
This is not a movie about men that dress in female clothing; it is about a marginalized segment of society and the things they do to have a feeling of community. It is a commentary on the materialism in our culture and deals with gender roles, about the differences between the rich and the poor and what the media selects for us, as a culture, to worship. It is very humane and very sad at the same time.
Many of the people in the movie are no longer with us but I have been told that the ballroom scene, as depicted here, is very much alive. Originally released in 1990, the movie is now 17 years old but it is still a revelation. The "vogueing" houses of New York have become an integral part of gay life and have been around for decades. Here is a film that focuses on an aspect of our lives that probably could have gone ignored so the movie has historical importance.
The film begins in 1986 when blacks and Hispanic drag queens held "balls" where they would dress up however they wanted and would display their outfits and be ranked by voting. We get a change to meet the participants and see how they hold together and give each other support. We understand the importance of this community when one says to another, "You have three strikes against you--you're black, gay and a drag queen". The only place they seem to be accepted is at their balls. The guys here are well aware of their position in society. They all live in "houses" run by various "mothers" and they each help the other.
The film is most definitely a period piece--the New York of the film is no more but the balls are still held but that same community spirit is gone. In doing research on the film, I learned that Madonna actually got the idea of vogueing from the houses. It seems that the vogue allowed people to fight with each other within the confines of everything but touch which would bring about an automatic disqualification from one of the houses. The vogues were spectacular. It did not matter who you were or where you came from, the moment you entered a house, you entered a magic kingdom and you became bigger than you really were and you were your own creation. Here we see a group of men who embraced their ideals passionately.
"Paris is Burning" is a movie about real people, a real time and a real place but more than that it is a movie about courage--courage to live life the way one wants to live it regardless of consequences. It is not strange that the majority of participants were from minority groups. The theme of behavior modification shows that it was the only way that they could be themselves. We see to what extent a person will go to be accepted in a country that allows racism and homophobia.
Movie Review: Fascinating and disturbing.
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this in 1990 in the theatre and rewatch it every year because of the unique people and infectious quotes. Love it!
Summary of Paris Is Burning
Paris Is Burning closes with two neon-lit boys holding each other on the streets of Harlem. One looks into the camera and asks, "So this is New York City and what the gay lifestyle is all about--right?" This documentary takes an honest, humorous, and surprisingly poignant peek into one of America's overlooked subcultures: the world of the urban drag queen. It's a parallel dimension of bizarre beauty, where "houses" vie like gangs for turf and reputation ... only instead of street-fighting, they vogue their way down makeshift catwalks in competitive "balls." The only rule of the ballroom: be real.In surprisingly candid interviews, you discover the grace, strength, and humor it takes to be gay, black, and poor in a straight, rich, white world. You'll meet young transsexual "cover girls," street hustlers saving up for the big operation, and aging drag divas reminiscing about the bygone days of sequins, feathers, and Marilyn Monroe.
Made in the late 1980s, this fashion-conscious film shows its age less than you'd expect. It's still a great watch for anyone interested in the whole range of humanity, or anyone who's ever been an outsider, desperately wanting something the world hides out of reach. --Grant Balfour
Fascinating, discomfiting, and poignant (sometimes all at once), Paris Is Burning documents New York City's recherch? "ball" circuit, where members of the black and Latino gay, transvestite, and transsexual communities compete to see who can wear the most outlandish outfits and dance, pose, and generally show off to most outrageous effect. These are folks who live with a double whammy of discrimination, as they are minorities both sexually and racially. But while their tales of rejection by both society and their own families are woeful and bitter, the participants come alive when they hit the "runway" (actually the floor of some old gymnasium) to strut their stuff, liberated from the pressure of blending in with the mainstream. "Whatever you want to be, you be," says one, whether it's a school kid, a country club polo player, a high-rent executive, a character from television's Dynasty (which for some represents the dernier cri in elegance and wealth). anything goes. Along the way, we meet characters with names like Pepper Labeija, Venus Xtravaganza, and Willi Ninja; we also learn about "reading" (i.e., dissing your competitors), "shading" (a more subtle, non-verbal version of the same thing), and "voguing" (later adopted by Madonna, it combines the poses and haughty looks of your average supermodel). Critics at the time of the film's original 1990 release tended to focus on the sadness and not-so-quiet desperation of these people's efforts to transcend their circumstances and become one-night legends, but overall, Paris Is Burning comes across as simply a damn good time. --Sam Graham
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