Paris Blues (1961)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Walter Bernstein (writer)
Harold Flender (novel)

Release Date:

27 September 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

A Love So Spectacular, So Personally Exciting, You Feel It Happening To You!

Plot:

Ram Bowen and Eddie Cook are two expatriate jazz musicians living in Paris where, unlike America at the time...

Plot Keywords:

Jazz | Musician | Love | Expatriate | Composer

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Ram Bowen
Joanne Woodward	...	Lillian Corning
Sidney Poitier	...	Eddie Cook
Louis Armstrong	...	Wild Man Moore
Diahann Carroll	...	Connie Lampson
Barbara Laage	...	Marie Seoul
André Luguet	...	Rene Bernard
Marie Versini	...	Nicole
Moustache	...	Drummer
Aaron Bridgers	...	Pianist
Guy Pederson	...	Bass Player
Serge Reggiani	...	Michel Duvigne
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emilien Antille	...	Man with alto sax in jazz cave when Armstrong enters

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:Approved (PCA #19792)

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Diane Productions

Quotes:

Ram Bowen: This romance is doomed.
Lillian Corning: Why?
Ram Bowen: You get up too early.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Century of Black Cinema (2003) (V)

Great Music, almost visionary approach, confused premise

I really wanted this to be a great, great movie, but it just wasn't.

The main premise--a life-and-death struggle between differing species of true love--was for me a bit maddening because on one hand it's a potentially great premise. Difficult to pull off, but something worth taking on. And although the writing/direction/acting came incredibly close to pulling it off, I don't think they did. There were a few flashes of brilliance where both love interests had wonderful dialog that felt like you were watching people working through real-world conflicts of the head and heart. But in the end, I wasn't impressed with the ending, and the "resolution" you saw there.

Another thing that bugged me was that, although the music was very good, and Newman and Poitier (and others, I suppose) pulled off the the syncing with aplomb, it still felt very staged.

The side story re Gypsy's addiction wasn't really satisfying. I guess there was a thing where love can wear a million masks, and Newman's love for Gypsy as a brother and fellow musician was supposed to enter into the reckoning somehow. But it didn't work for me.

Poitier said "man" about twice as many times as he should have.

The music is quite good. Interesting esthetic decisions, such as opening a club scene in-progress with the female vocalist in the middle of the B section of "Sophisticated Lady". The depiction of Paris was almost revolutionary, capturing her raw side; the combination of urban sophistication and a distinctly warm and human disinterest in having every little thing in place; very intelligent move, that. On the other hand, it didn't make sense to have Newman take Woodward on un bateau-mouche; only the "touristas" do that, and Newman was supposed to be a hip habitue type.

I saw a comment to the effect that the Poitier/Carroll dialog on race and the necessity of staying home to man the battlements spoiled the purity of the film. I would say that it certainly raised an interesting issue, worth broaching with the American public. I think the filmmakers should have tried to get across the interesting colorblindness of Paris society in a more direct way; the way you see it when you're walking/riding/hobnobbing around Paris. Having it be implied in the dialog wasn't quite enough. I suspect this aspect might have been lost on some Americans, and would therefore result in a corresponding loss of dramatic tension. By-the-way, don't think I'm a pollyanna about race in France; I haven't forgotten wartime Jewry or Le Pen! It is, of course, a complex issue. But there is a wondrous type of spiritual colorblindness in France that is lacking in the U.S.; it's palpable.

Gosh, I don't know whether to recommend this film to you or not.

I guess, in the end, it's a toss-up. If you want to see what Paris really looks like, you could do worse. There is some great acting, and some fascinating dialogs. The music is very good. But in the end, you may find it to be somewhat of a quasi-intellectual snack, and you're hungry for something real. And I'm sorry, but I can't think of a suitable replacement off the top of my head!